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On the Cutler Park Reservation, a square mile of preserved marshland, I saw a less common snowy egret—smaller, with a slender black bill—perched in a tree. I paddled about a mile until I came upon the remnants of the Caryville Dam, the very first dam on the Charles that has been deliberately removed. It was once the centerpiece of a thriving little village with its own grist mill, cotton mill, and shoe factory.
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Why I Needed to Kayak the Charles River from Source to Sea
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By the mid-20th century, the structure was no longer used, causing it to fall into disrepair. I was not eager for such an onerous abs workout, so I began my adventure on the Charles around River Mile 5 in suburban Milford. The source of the Charles River is a reservoir called Echo Lake in Hopkinton. Kayaking there is not permitted, so I began looking for a place to start just downstream from the dam forming the reservoir. The Charles that I encountered there, on the side of a bike path, was a mucky little trickle, ankle-deep and maybe 2 feet wide as it flowed through a swamp. In 2020, when Salvatore paddled the river source-to-sea, he assiduously made it through the section by using his paddle to push himself through the muck.
Charles River Sightseeing Cruise
The 90 Minute Architecture Cruise on Charles River is narrated by a volunteer from Boston By Foot. Enjoy a 90-minute cruise while taking in the spectacular scenery of Boston and Cambridge. After an hour, I neared the Watertown Dam, which likely will be the next to come down after the South Natick Dam. The city council is in support of its removal, and the DCR, which owns the dam, deems it a “significant hazard dam” in “fair” condition.
The 19 dams now on the Charles constitute a vestigial machine-age straitjacket. None of them has a current industrial purpose (though some provide flood control or serve as water supply dams), and most are ancient, making them porous or prone to breaching. They remain in place, though, blocking the flow of fish upriver and turning the Charles into a very unnatural—but often pretty—medley of small lakes. After hundreds of years, dams along the Charles River could come down to let the currents run wild and free—and help the environment. To get a closer look, our intrepid river rat set out to become the second person ever to kayak the iconic waterway's complete length. Parking is located in the mall garage at 100 CambridgeSide Place.
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When I emerged into the sunlight from the tunnel, the concrete civilization fell away. Suddenly, I was in a raging little stream, coursing along through scrubby woodlands and over downed trees caught in the river. The lower price tag for removal was just part of the decision, though. Dam removal provides significant benefits for the natural environment. Pair up your cruise with a lunch at the Cheesecake Factory!
Built in 1778, it powered a paper mill and, later, a cotton mill that in 1807 manufactured the sails for “Old Ironsides,” a.k.a. the USS Constitution. As I approached the dam, I was exceedingly fearful of capsizing a third time, in the dark. My plan was to take out the moment I heard the dam’s rapids, portage around them, and then make a final late-night surge to the harbor in Boston. I opted for a car portage that involved a little planning.
Charles River Cruise: A Tour of Boston by Riverboat
In the 1800s, the human stain upon the river was a lot worse. The Pilgrims and their descendants flushed the city’s sewage straight into the Charles—so bountifully, in fact, that on summer days, a ghastly smell pervaded the streets. By 1879, water pollution was such a concern that Boston enacted a “Sanitary Improvement” plan, creating the Fens, a restored salt marsh in the Back Bay, to absorb flood waters and sewage. In Needham, a large white bird, a great egret, flew straight toward me and landed right near my boat, its feet skimming the water, kicking up a tiny wake. It emerged and flew for 100 or so yards, just inches over the water, eyes down as it continued to hunt.
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After I portaged over the dam and put my boat back in the water, the river was roiling, its channel narrowed so the current sprang as hose water does when you constrict the flow with your thumb. Suddenly, I encountered lots of boulders and found myself bouncing along through foamy white rapids, my pulse thumping hard in my throat. Other sites in Boston that your guide might point out during your riverboat tour, include Boston University, Fenway Park and the Esplanade, which is a three-mile path that runs along the Charles River. Enjoy a 90-minute cruise while taking in the spectacular scenery of Boston and Cambridge from the serene waters of the Charles River.
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On that morning last autumn, songbirds darted over the water as I kayaked downstream through a wide channel lined by maples and oaks in the suburban semi-wilderness of Millis, Medfield, and Dover. The river twisted through S-turns, the current silent but strong under my boat, pushing me along. These days, thanks to the Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant, the Charles is only invaded with sewage after heavy rains. Freeing the river of dams wouldn’t erase the river’s rainy-day problems, but it would certainly improve things, says U.S. Still, civilization and its ugliness were at hand my whole way down the Charles.
Charles River Sunset Cruises depart from Lechmere Canal, The ticket booth and boat departure is located outside the doors at the canal side of the CambridgeSide Mall. Over the years, I have ridden my bike across a swath of the Mongolian steppe to visit the towering statue of Genghis Khan, and also kayaked nearly the whole 51-mile length of the Los Angeles River. I did this in part because it’s my belief that our current environmental crises—climate change, species die-off, water pollution—are rooted partially in our alienation from nature. Undamming the whole Charles is still more of a green dream than a firm plan.
The Charles River begins in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, which is about 36 miles west of Boston. Hopkinton is a small town with a population of less than 3,000 people. But the city is fairly well-known, having gained its fame by being the starting point of the annual Boston Marathon. Our boats board at the Lechmere Canal, which is directly outside the doors at the canal side of the CambridgeSide Mall. Park in the CambridgeSide Mall Parking Garage then proceed to the first floor and the ticket booth and boat can be found outside on the canal side of the mall.
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