2010-04-20 – Hackensack River Meadowlands Between the Spurs of the NJ Turnpike
I discovered this access point to a kayak trip recently while surfing the Internet. I knew getting into the water at this location would be fairly easy and accessible. The issue was the so-called water. We were to venture to a new river basin in a much more industrialized portion of the so-called Garden State. The choice was made to kayak the Hackensack River and the Meadowlands marsh somewhere off of the new Exit 15X on the Turnpike.
While not generating an image of the Garden State at this location, it does conjure up visions of New Jersey like no other kayaking trip I have been on. New York City is clearly visible to the east, Newark to the southwest, Secaucus to the northeast and the Meadowlands to the north. Let’s not forget the landfills to the west of us. Above us we had all the jets lining up to land at Newark Airport and straddling us closely on seemingly all sides were the eastern and western spurs of the New Jersey Turnpike with all the bridges and causeways used to bypass the water I was paddling on. This was a trip down New Jersey’s memory lane that is reminiscent of the opening scene in the Sopranos.
Read MoreWhile not generating an image of the Garden State at this location, it does conjure up visions of New Jersey like no other kayaking trip I have been on. New York City is clearly visible to the east, Newark to the southwest, Secaucus to the northeast and the Meadowlands to the north. Let’s not forget the landfills to the west of us. Above us we had all the jets lining up to land at Newark Airport and straddling us closely on seemingly all sides were the eastern and western spurs of the New Jersey Turnpike with all the bridges and causeways used to bypass the water I was paddling on. This was a trip down New Jersey’s memory lane that is reminiscent of the opening scene in the Sopranos.
