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June, 2006
Rec. Kayak Trip Report: Saco River Tidewater: No Boofing Here
By Randy Randall
Look! You can't be living on the edge all the time.
Oh sure, the adrenalin rush can become addictive and you've got to work some more on trying to stick your Space Godzilla, but hey, there's more to life (and to kayaking) than risking bodily injury. Once in a while it's good to slow down, take the low road and smell the roses. Going slow and easy has its own merits and attractions, and you know Maine is blessed with hundreds of beautiful, wild, scenic-beyond-belief kinds of places that a long kayak will let you be a part of.
Let me tell you about a place I like, mainly because I live here and so spend more time on the Saco River then any other place. Oh, I'm not talking about places like Limington Rips or Steep Falls, places you've probably been to or heard of. No, I'm talking about the Saco River Tidewater, below the power dam in Saco where the tide floods in and the river empties into the ocean. Never been there? Well leave the short boats on the roof and put your long kayak in at any one of the places I'm going to tell you about, and you could end up having a really enjoyable, low key, refreshing day on fresh and salt water.
It's four miles approximately, from the dam in Saco, what they call Cataract Falls, to the Atlantic Ocean. It's a gorgeous trip and easy paddling if you plan to go downriver on the dropping tide. Saco has a public launching ramp located below the falls and just before the Saco Yacht Club on Front Street. It's a good place to park and to put in. You may run into some ardent striper fishermen, but not many. Front Street is behind the Lily Moon Café, just off Main Street in Saco.
Saco has another public launching site in Camp Ellis at the mouth of the river. This ramp is on the upriver side of the commercial fishing pier, to the right as you drive past the ticket booth. Launching here puts you closer to the open ocean, but four miles downriver from the town. Catch an incoming tide, though, and you can have an easy time paddling upstream. Hug the shoreline and hunt for slack water and the trip will be equally enjoyable. Camp Ellis is a working fishing village with its fleet of lobster boats and draggers and the odor of ripe lobster bait wafting over the pier. The opportunities to take scenic photos of working lobstermen and million dollar homes are everywhere.
Another put in is on the Biddeford side of the river at the state launching facility at Meeting House Cove. This is the busiest public launching ramp in the state, so rowers and paddlers have to watch out for boats coming and going as well as boat trailers and trucks parked all over. Meeting House Cove is about half way between Saco and the ocean, so depending on how you look at it, you're two miles closer to Saco Bay or you've got to paddle both upriver and down to experience the whole tidal estuary.
And then of course there's our place on the Saco side. We own and operate Marston's Marina here on this stretch of the river. It's a private, members-only kind of place, but not unfriendly to kayakers and rowers. Stop by and say hello either from the water or by road. We're almost directly opposite Meeting House Cove, so launching here is the same deal. Two miles to up town, or two miles to the ocean. Take your pick.
Closer to the ocean on the Biddeford side is the University of New England and its beautiful seaside campus. The college has a first class dock and launching spot and the UNE Outing Club keeps a fleet of kayaks right there on the shore.
Besides soaking up the scenery there are a few other things you can do to while away a lazy day. Stop at Camp Ellis and go ashore for lunch. There are two popular seafood restaurants right there within sight of the public pier. One is a take out place and the other is a sit down affair. There's a lobster pound just down the road around the bend. While you're ashore you might walk out on the jetty. This breakwater is a mile long and the first half is sort of paved with giant granite blocks, which makes for good walking. Sandy beaches are everywhere so there's no problem finding a place to sunbathe, take a swim or have a nap. Paddle across the river and you come to Hills Beach on the Biddeford side, which is another popular picnic and swimming site.
If you're into fishing, bring a rod and try for the striped bass, which have made the Saco River and Saco Bay famous. World-class stripers have been caught right up close to the power dam. Fish for schoolies, river shad and bluefish all along the river and look for the big cow stripers to be lurking out near the end of the jetty. The current fishing fad is fly fishing for the schoolie bass, and even going after the big ones if you can get them to look at a fly. Oh yeah, when the mackerel arrive the breakwater is alive with fishermen of all ages and the action can get very hot.
Wildlife is abundant. Cormorants and heron perch and hunt along the shorelines. Seagulls of course dominate the fishing pier, putting on a show for the tourists. There's a bald eagle that patrols the river, riding on the thermals and searching for a little something. Seals frolic in Camp Ellis harbor, while ducks of all varieties hang out around the docks, in the marshes and on the small islands.
From Camp Ellis you will be looking out onto Saco Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. You'll see Ram Island and Basket Island and Stage Island all within paddling distance. Further out to sea is Wood Island with its lighthouse. Paddle along the Biddeford breakwater and when you come to the end, bust a right and your bow will be pointed toward Biddeford Pool. If you've got the energy and the time, paddle through the gut and into The Pool, a quintessential Maine coastal village. A rocky shelving beach on the left is a popular place to launch kayaks and to go ashore. If you'd just as soon skip the whole Saco River tidewater and head directly to Biddeford Pool down Route 9, there's a launching ramp there, too, called Vines Landing.
Go much further past the Saco Breakwater and you're in sea kayak territory, which requires a whole other set of rules, but if you're boat is set up for it and time is plentiful you can have some delightful off shore paddling in and amongst the islands. If you go ashore on Wood Island at the boathouse, you must stay on the boardwalk. Most of the island is a wildlife preserve and plants like poison ivy have a way of flourishing among the boulders. But do walk to the lighthouse and enjoy a view that has appeared on many calendars and postcards. Be careful, though, going past the Saco breakwater. There are days when boating in the river is safe and quiet, but outside the breakwater the rollers and waves can be treacherous. Conditions can be really dangerous when there's an outgoing tide and an on shore breeze, which together can stir up some gigantic waves and wicked sea conditions at the number four buoy. Not unlike playing in a haystack on the Penobscot, playing in these massive ocean waves can turn a marginal situation into an emergency in an instant.
Now, the trick is to plan all your sightseeing and paddling so you are on your way back up the river, or parked on the Camp Ellis pier in time to watch the sunset. Key West may throw a sunset celebration each day, but tourists and locals alike throng to the Camp Ellis pier to picnic, socialize and watch the sun put on a glorious color display as is sets in the west.
Randy Randall and his family have owned and operated Marston's Marina for over 50 years. Find them on the Saco River, two miles downriver from the village of Saco, or on the web at www.marstonsmarina.com
Email nick [at] noumbrella [dot] com with your questions, comments and concerns.
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