# Sell me (or don't) on paddling your urban river **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 6, 2014, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-or-dont-on-paddling-your-urban-river/697626 "2014-09-06T00:48:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-or-dont-on-paddling-your-urban-river/697626/41 "2014-09-07T16:27:31Z")
Here in South Florida there’s the Intracoastal Waterway and several tributary rivers. You could flat-water paddle from here to Norfolk Virginia. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2022, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-or-dont-on-paddling-your-urban-river/697626/42 "2022-03-27T00:32:00Z")
While trying to find another thread I ran into this one, which I’d completely forgotten about, and thought I’d update and provide a couple of thank-yous: Since 2014 I have actually done a number of urban paddles, all of them quite great: Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, shared with an enormous lake freighter and with my 4-year-old grandson in the bow (thanks, @ZipperJJ!) Potomac River, DC, forest on the VA side, monuments in DC on a wet and chilly morning in the fall (thanks, @dasmoocher!) Schuylkill River, Philadelphia, beastly hot upstairs but lovely on the river (thanks, @Stratocaster!) Milwaukee River, Milwaukee, tons of bridges and cuts right through downtown Passaic River, Newark, NJ, at a remove from most of the downtown area and completely empty of traffic Buffalo River, Buffalo, one abandoned factory after another plus a couple refurbished ones Zumbro River, Rochester MN, short but sweet with geese all over the place Wolf Lake, Hammond IN, also factories; I remember omnipresent smoke plumes from when I was a kid Hoping to get another couple in this summer, maybe Pittsburgh (thanks, @Trinopus and @kayaker), Boston, Madison…I don’t know yet what’s feasible and where my travels will take me, but as they say it’s the journey that counts. Thanks to all who made suggestions: maybe someday I’ll get to the South or the West, or back into Canada. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2022, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-or-dont-on-paddling-your-urban-river/697626/43 "2022-03-27T00:42:40Z")
There is a mostly channeled ‘killer creek’ here in Central NY. Onondaga Creek. People paddle down it now and then, yes, right through downtown, to its source south of the city. It looks so nice and peaceful! If I was 40 years younger, I would love to join them - they clean up a lot of it. A lot of garbage, trash, tires, shopping carts in that water. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2022, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-or-dont-on-paddling-your-urban-river/697626/44 "2022-03-27T01:17:53Z")
Damn dude, you did it! Good work! ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2022, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-or-dont-on-paddling-your-urban-river/697626/45 "2022-03-27T01:21:25Z")
We live near the Mad River, in Ohio. It’s a beautiful, little river to paddle on. ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-or-dont-on-paddling-your-urban-river/697626/46 "2022-03-28T08:50:26Z")
The Bow River in Calgary is very nice in summer. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-or-dont-on-paddling-your-urban-river/697626/47 "2022-03-28T14:51:48Z")
Maybe another one in Philly for you to paddle as this was in today’s (online) [paper](https://www.inquirer.com/health/philadelphia-delaware-river-pollution-swimmable-maritime-20220328.html) ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-or-dont-on-paddling-your-urban-river/697626/48 "2022-03-28T14:59:28Z")
It’s been a while since I read it, but I believe the book _Up the Rouge!: paddling Detroit’s hidden river._ by Joel Thurtell mentions having to take a course of antibiotics after the trip. He also mentions the wonder of being in a hidden wilderness, so close to urban sprawl. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-or-dont-on-paddling-your-urban-river/697626/49 "2022-03-28T15:22:13Z")
Seattle does have an urban river, the Duwamish. I wouldn’t recommend it though. > **[Duwamish River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duwamish_River)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > The Duwamish River is the name of the lower 12 miles (19 km) of Washington state's Green River. Its industrialized estuary is known as the Duwamish Waterway. In 2009, the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center was opened on the west bank of the river as part of the tribe's reassertion of its historic rights in the area and its continuing struggle for federal recognition of tribal status. > The native Lushootseed name of the Duwamish River (and of t... On the other hand, We have the Lake Washington Ship Canal and Lake Union, which are great for kayaking. Also, Elliot Bay in calm weather. > **[Lake Washington Ship Canal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Washington_Ship_Canal)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > The Lake Washington Ship Canal, which runs through the city of Seattle, connects the fresh water body of Lake Washington with the salt water inland sea of Puget Sound. The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks accommodate the approximately 20-foot (6.1 m) difference in water level between Lake Washington and the sound. The canal runs east–west and connects Union Bay, the Montlake Cut, Portage Bay, Lake Union, the Fremont Cut, Salmon Bay, and Shilshole Bay, wh... ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-or-dont-on-paddling-your-urban-river/697626/50 "2022-03-28T19:11:50Z")
I’ve paddled the Sheboygan River in WI from just below the falls in Kohler (home of all those toilets and sinks) thru a wonderful rural stretch in the middle of Kohler’s world class golf course, then into downtown Sheboygan, with a delightful mix of rural, industrial but not particularly dirty or smelly, to low end urban, into the harbor and into Lake Michigan. Some very nice restaurants are accessible downtown from the river. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-or-dont-on-paddling-your-urban-river/697626.md?page=2)