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Boats Launch Access Sites

Here are places where you can launch car-top canoes, kayaks and small boats. Some sites have ramps for boats on trailers. If a particular spot is dependent on the tide, it is typically a good idea to launch an hour or more before the tide comes in, and return an hour or so after it starts to ebb.

Adams Point, Durham, NH

  • Puts you into Little Bay, just above the Furber Straight passage into Great Bay.
  • Ramp — tide dependent
  • Located at the end of Adams Point Road in Durham, NH. From Newmarket, take Bay Road for several miles. Look for the sign for UNH’s Jackson Estuarine Lab on the right. From Durham, take Durham Point Road for several miles. Look for the Jackson Estuarine Lab sign on your left.
  • Limited parking — free

Cedar Point, Dover, NH

  • Good place to launch for a paddle right there in Royalls Cove, or up the Bellamy River, or south under the Scammel Bridge into Little Bay.
  • No ramp — only for car-top canoes, kayaks and small boats
  • Negotiating the steep, narrow path to the shoreline is a challenge.
  • The parking lot is on the left just before the bridge into Dover, if you are driving on Route 4 from Durham. From Dover on Route 4, take a right into the parking area immediately after the Scammel Bridge.
  • Limited parking — free

Chapman's Landing, Stratham, NH

  • This puts you onto the Squamscott River, a couple of miles upstream of Great Bay. Where the water is fresh above the dam in downtown Exeter, it is known as the Exeter River.
  • Ramp
  • Beside the Route 108 bridge over the Squamscott River in Stratham.
  • Ample parking — free

Durham Town Landing, Durham, NH

  • This is the tidal portion of the Oyster River, a couple of miles upstream from the river mouth at Little Bay.
  • No ramp — only for car-top canoes, kayaks and small boats
  • Limited parking — free

Exeter Town Landing, Exeter, NH

  • Located at the upper tidal portion of the Squamscott River, just before the dam in downtown Exeter.
  • Boat Ramp.
  • From Route 101, take the Route 85 exit at exit 10, and head toward Exeter (from 101 west, take a right; from 101 east, take a left). Take this to Water Street in Exeter. Just before downtown, the entrance to the launch and parking area is on the left, next to the Phillips Exeter Academy boathouse.
  • Limited parking — free

Little Harbor/Back Channel, New Castle, NH

  • This inlet in New Castle has small islands to explore.
  • No ramp — only for car-top canoes, kayaks and small boats
  • Off Route 1A in New Castle. Take route 1B from downtown Portsmouth toward Newcastle. As you pass over the second bridge, the parking area is on your immediate right.
  • Limited parking area — free

Hilton State Park, Dover, NH

  • The Piscataqua River runs down from the north past this park at Hilton Point on its way to the sea. Some of this water combines with ocean tides and flows between Dover Point and Bloody Point in Newington, NH on toward Little Bay to the south. Currents are churning and very strong beneath the surface at this bottleneck between the river and the bay.
  • Ramp — tide dependent
  • From Portsmouth head west on Spaulding Turnpike (NH16) to exit 5 in Dover
  • Ample parking — free

Jackson's Landing, Durham, NH

  • This the tidal portion of the Oyster River, a couple of miles upstream from the mouth of the river at Little Bay. It is just downstream from the Durham Town Landing.
  • Ramp access for all boats — tide dependent for motorboats
  • Take Old Piscataqua Road off Route 108 in Durham.
  • Ample parking — free

Newmarket Town Landing, Newmarket, NH

  • Here is where you can explore the upper portion the Lamprey River’s tidal flows, just below the dam in downtown Newmarket.
  • Ramp
  • The entrance to the parking area is off Route 108 in downtown Newmarket, across the street from the post office, right next to the Newmarket Community Church.
  • Limited parking — free

Pierce Island, Portsmouth, NH

  • This spot launches you into Little Harbor, where you can paddle west to South Mill Pond, or out to the Piscataqua River.
  • In downtown Portsmouth, head toward Strawberry Banke. Once you are on Marcy Street, take Pierce Island Road less than a quarter mile to the launch area on your right.
  • Ramp
  • Ample parking — fee is charged

Odiorne Point State Park, Rye, NH

  • Paddle under the bridge to explore marshes along Seavey Creek to the left, or Berry Brook to the right. Heading the other way from the launch ramp will take you out to Witch Creek. This leads to Little Harbor, then the mouth of the Piscataqua River.
  • Ramp
  • Off Route 1A in Rye
    From Portsmouth traffic circle, take Route 1 south. Turn left to Elwyn Road and continue on past Foyes Corner onto Route 1A. The entrance is 1.8 miles on your left just after the wooden bridge.
  • Ample parking
  • Fees: $5.00 car top boats; $8.00 car and trailers

Sandy Point, Stratham, NH

  • This puts you on the southern shore of the beautiful and expansive Great Bay. Mind the tides and wind conditions. Low tide leaves more than half of Great Bay exposed as mudflats. Only wading birds walk across these. People sink.
  • No ramp — only for car-top canoes, kayaks and small boats
  • Tide dependent
  • Take Route 33 in Stratham to Depot Road. Take a left at the end. Once over the train tracks, go straight down to the parking area by the water. The Sandy Point Discovery Center will be off to the left.
  • Limited parking — free