A gorgeous fall day is a great time for kayaking (Burke: allergies, costs)

[irisheyes13]

Originally Posted by normie

Has anyone ever tried kayaking in Lake Anne? Do they allow the general public there, or is it for association members only?

I would be interested in the answer to this as well.
Thanks!

[normie]

Originally Posted by irisheyes13

I would be interested in the answer to this as well.
Thanks!

Maybe we'll try it this weekend and see what happens. I'll let you know if someone tries to stop us, or if we see any signs saying the lake's for residents only.

[normie]

Originally Posted by normie

Maybe we'll try it this weekend and see what happens. I'll let you know if someone tries to stop us, or if we see any signs saying the lake's for residents only.

Well, maybe not this weekend. Looks like it's going to be soggy....

[irisheyes13]

Originally Posted by normie

Well, maybe not this weekend. Looks like it's going to be soggy....

Thanks, I will be interested to hear about it when ever you get the chance to check it out.

[GreenGene]

The Occoquan River is a great place to kayak. My wife and I got our kayaks in July, and one of our favorite places to go is Fountainhead Regional Park (http://www.nvrpa.org/parks/fountainhead/ - broken link) (Fairfax County). West of the dam, the Occoquan is a reservoir - no swimming, no jet skis, no boats with motors over 10 horsepower. It's a great spot for fishing (from what we've observed) and a wonderful place for a relaxing paddle. We were there last Friday for about five hours, and had a great time (as usual). We usually see a fair amount of wildlife - great blue herons, egrets, bald eagles, ospreys, deer, etc.

You can also put in at Lake Ridge Marina (Prince William).

To access the Occoquan east of the dam (where the Occoquan is no longer a reservoir and therefore much busier, go to the Occoquan Regional Park (Fairfax County).

We've also tried Pohick Bay and Mason Neck, but because they are bays, there's more traffic and no restrictions on the size of motors or type of watercraft. And the water seemed to be more choppy and a bit more of a challenge.

I'd be interested in hearing about Lake Anna - that's a spot we've talked about trying.

[irisheyes13]

Thanks GreenGene, we will check these out!!

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by normie

Has anyone ever tried kayaking in Lake Anne? Do they allow the general public there, or is it for association members only?

For the record I am planning to head down to try kayaking here tomorrow (Saturday, September 4, 2010). I will report back with my results. I think you can just go to the Reston Used Book Store and rent them by the hour. I'd imagine they'd be cheaper than what I paid last week at the Thompson Boat Center in the District, and it would be so much nicer to walk someplace to kayak instead of driving and then feeding parking meters in Georgetown. Kayaking is kayaking, right?

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by RestonRunner86

For the record I am planning to head down to try kayaking here tomorrow (Saturday, September 4, 2010). I will report back with my results. I think you can just go to the Reston Used Book Store and rent them by the hour. I'd imagine they'd be cheaper than what I paid last week at the Thompson Boat Center in the District, and it would be so much nicer to walk someplace to kayak instead of driving and then feeding parking meters in Georgetown. Kayaking is kayaking, right?

Have fun! If you don't find the rentals through the book store, check at the gym (I think it's called Body by Geoff or something like that). I seem to recall seeing them there.

Lake Anne and Beaverdam are two great places when you're new to the sport. The difference between rivers and lakes is with lakes you don't have a lot of little island, coves, bridges, etc. to explore. Although Lake Anne does have the Monet Bridge and the canal, which can be interesting and are good places to get photos of herons.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Caladium

Have fun! If you don't find the rentals through the book store, check at the gym (I think it's called Body by Geoff or something like that). I seem to recall seeing them there.

Lake Anne and Beaverdam are two great places when you're new to the sport. The difference between rivers and lakes is with lakes you don't have a lot of little island, coves, bridges, etc. to explore. Although Lake Anne does have the Monet Bridge and the canal, which can be interesting and are good places to get photos of herons.

I'm just back from kayaking, and I must say it was amazing. I walked over to Lake Anne, made my way through the crowds at the farmers' market, and headed to the used book store. I spoke to Bud Burwell, co-owner of the store (who is also a great supporter of the upcoming Reston Regional Library used book sale that I love to volunteer at, by the way) about renting a kayak. He took my basic information and gave me a little red ticket to present to the boat attendant. It was only $6/hour to rent a kayak---DIRT CHEAP! However, tomorrow (Sunday, September 5, 2010) is the LAST DAY you can rent kayaks for the season. This means next weekend it's back to the much higher hourly pricing in Georgetown, unless someone knows of another cheap place.

I made my way down to the dock and saw nobody was around. After about five minutes this dreamy California surfer-looking dude came down to assist me. I presented my ticket, filled out a sheet with my personal information, and he helped me into a kayak. Off I went. The strong winds today made for some great water, and I felt my muscles really straining as I tried to speed-paddle against the wind/waves. I spent about an hour out on the kayak, and then headed back to the dock, took one last longing glance at the boat attendant (who I'm 99% sure didn't swing in my direction....grrrr), and then headed back to my home in the Uplands via the path/trail system.

Now I'm battling an allergy attack from the sky-high pollen count, but if my Claritin kicks in soon I'm planning to go running at Burke Lake. If not, I may drive out to Winchester to cluck like a chicken in the middle of the pedestrian mall and scare South Jersey Styx!

[normie]

Sounds like you found a good deal. If you want to try kayaking on the river next spring, the best deal may be at Riverbend Park. You have to take a class first (which costs about $35 and includes a guided river tour). Then, once they know that you know the basics rentals are $15 for 2-3 hours. Riverbend includes riffles, islands, coves, and interesting landmark on the MD side, and lots of nesting birds. But the season is coming to a close there (which is a shame because some of the best kayaking is in October and November, IMO).