Get the most informative paddling guide to the area, featuring 50 of the best routes for canoeing and kayaking. Boasting more than 400 miles of coastline, beautiful sandy beaches, expansive salt marshes, and dozens of protected bays and harbors, Long Island is truly a paddler’s paradise. It offers something for everyone, from expert sea kayakers to families with young children. Amazing wildlife; ever-changing landscapes; charming history; and, on its western edge, a view of the setting sun behind the Manhattan skyline—there’s no better way to explore it all than from the water. Paddling Long Island & New York City is the most comprehensive guide to the area’s top paddling locations, including rivers, harbors, lakes, and portions of the New York City Water Trail. Written by expert local paddler Kevin Stiegelmaier, the guidebook provides engaging and concise information about Long Island’s geology, weather, history, and wildlife, while also offering carefully selected details vital to a successful paddling trip. You’ll appreciate Kevin’s helpful hints on trip planning, including notes on tides, equipment, weather, and camping. Plus, the book’s safety information and navigational “rules of the road” are essential to know. Whether you’re looking to spend a long day on the water or you only have time for a quick tour of a local harbor, this book has the information you need to make the trip enjoyable. Wet your paddle and whet your taste for outdoor adventure! Inside you’ll find: Details on 50 top paddling trips - Route descriptions with full-color maps and photos - Recommended runs for fishing, trips with children, wildlife viewing, and more - At-a-glance data including difficulty, distance, and potential hazards - GPS coordinates for put-ins and take-outs "With hundreds of miles of coastline, touring New York by water only makes sense." —WABC-TV New York "Stiegelmaier provides paddlers with the information they need to explore 400 miles of coastline where they can enjoy everything from the glittering Manhattan skyline to the sandy beaches, salt ponds and forests of Montauk Point." — Sea Kayaker Magazine Kevin Stiegelmaier has always been a lover of the outdoors and nature. Growing up on Long Island instilled in him a love of the ocean and led to a degree in marine biology. It also led to the purchase of his first kayak and the beginning of what has been a 14-year passion for paddling. In that time Kevin has canoed and kayaked on every type of water in every state along the East Coast, although he prefers exploring the waters of his home state, New York. Kevin lives on the North Shore of Long Island with his two children, AnnaGrace and William, and teaches high-school biology whenever he isn’t paddling. He is also the author of Canoeing & Kayaking New York (Menasha Ridge Press). Accabonac Harbor Overview: Ask any group of paddlers on Long Island to name their favorite place to paddle, and, if they’ve ever been there, most of them will say Accabonac Harbor. And rightly so. This small harbor has a lot that makes it such a special place. First and foremost are its miles of undeveloped shoreline. Though just a short distance from the heart of East Hampton, in a fairly populated part of town known as Springs, Accabonac somehow has managed to evade extensive development. Instead of encountering large waterfront homes replete with Adirondack chairs, barbecues, and boats tied up at docks, visitors to the harbor are greeted by an extensive salt-marsh ecosystem, complete with the usual wildlife species that call such areas home. Accabonac’s serene waters flow along low-lying grassy islands, through strands of smooth cordgrass marsh, and within the mazes of channels in between. The beautiful sandy beaches separating the harbor from the bay are perfect for a short rest, a quick swim, or a long and lazy picnic lunch. But none of the features that make the harbor so amazing would mean anything if it were inaccessible to paddlers. Thankfully, this is not the case, as two excellent launch sites exist at the end of Landing Lane and Shipyard Lane, respectively. Although neither location boasts more than a safe place to launch a kayak and parking spaces for a handful of cars, both put you on the water—in the southern portion of the harbor—primed and ready to paddle. So while not just anyone can be considered a “Bonacker,” as a local is affectionately known, everyone can—and should—come and experience Accabonac Harbor for themselves. Maps: USGS Gardiners Island West (NY), Gardiners Island East (NY) Landing Lane to Cartwright Island and Back Level: IB - Distance: 8.7 miles round-trip - Time: 4 hours - Navigable months: Year-round - Hazards: Open water - Portages: None - Rescue access: Easy - Tidal Conditions: 3 hours before or after high tide - Scenery: A+ Description: The beauty of Accabonac Harbor is obvious, even if you’re just sitting on the beach at the end of Landing Lane. From here, only a small cluster of homes is