Jersey Shore Sea Kayak Association – Launch site directory

Driving Directions:

• From North
• Garden State Parkway South to exit 109 (Route 520 - Red Bank).
• Left on 520 East.
• Get *immediately* to the right lane.
• Take the immediate right after the overpass into the jughandle.
• Follow the jughandle to the left and the traffic light.
• Go straight through the light, this is now Half Mile Road.
• Follow directions below from step 4 **

• From South
• Garden State Parkway North to exit 109 (Route 520 - Red Bank).
• Come off the exit and bear to the left to the traffic light.
• Go straight through the light, this is now Half Mile Road.
• ** Follow Half Mile Road to the end at traffic light.
• Right on West Front Street, which will eventually turn into West River Road.
• Follow West Front Street / West River Road approximately 4.5 miles.
• Watch for an Exxon gas station on the right side, and tennis courts to the left just past the service station. This is the second Exxon station, the first is in a congested shopping center area. The second is in a quieter area, about 2 miles down.
• Left on Lafayette Street, at the tennis courts. The launch is down at the river's edge at the back of the park.

Address:

Lafayette Street

Rumson, NJ 07760, Monmouth County

Land owner: Township

GPS Coordinates: L 40^o 22' 22.2" N    Lo 74^o 00' 28.8" W

Water: Salt

Water type: River

Launch area is: Beach, Bulkhead

Launch area surface is: Sand

Facilities: Trash Receptacle

Launching considerations / restrictions:

The site is posted by the township as 'no boats' but many people launch from here without any trouble. It appears to be applied to power boats.

Parking situation:

Parking is at the end of Lafayette Street. Pay attention to the signs and the yellow curbs, generally there are plenty of spaces at the end of the street.

Comments:

Be advised to pay close attention to speed limits in this area!

Navesink River is a tidal river with a good couple feet rise/fall to it. It is generally a more pleasant experience to paddle at the higher watermarks. The bottom is generally muddy and quite nasty, not a great place to have to try and move on foot.

The point where the river joins the Shrewsbury River has a nasty eddyline to it and is notoriously heavy with boat traffic, only paddle this intersection if confident in your abilities.

The scenery ranges from some small islands and sandbars, wooded acreage, and residential properties. During the summer season the best times to go are weekday evenings, the boat traffic is much reduced. Sunsets are nice as well here.

Related Links:

Mapquest street map

Satellite image showing launch site.

Satellite image showing launch site relative to Sandy hook.

Satellite image showing launch site and river to West.

Satellite image showing launch site and river to East.

Chart showing launch site and river to West.

Chart showing launch siteand river to East.

Last Update: 7/8/2009

Copyright © 2010 by Jersey Shore Sea Kayak Association - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No warranties are expressed or implied.