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Connecticut River Reach 24
Hartford CT to Middletown CT

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Last Updated: 8/2018
[1] Charter Oak Landing - Mile 48.5
Position: 41-45.12 N 72-39.25 W
Altitude: 7 feet
Boat Launch:
This is a beautiful well constructed park located below the Charter Oak Bridge.
There is parking for 17 Vehicles with trailers and 9 vehicles without trailers.
Nearest Launch Address:
 195 Reserve Road, Hartford, Connecticut 06114
A large parking area and park.
A concrete ramp for all types of boats.
STATISTICS
 
Skill Level:            Class 1
Estimated Time:    6 hours
Paddle Distance: 18.1 miles
Reach Distance:  18.1 miles
USGS Maps: Hartford North CT​​,  Hartford South CT, Glastonbury CT, Middletown CT, Middle Haddam CT 
[4] Rocky Hill Boat Ramp - Mile 38.7
Position: 41-40.00 N 72-37.78 W
Altitude: 7 feet
Boat Launch:
This paved parking and concrete boat ramp is well used.
Directly next to the ramp is the ferry crossing the river.
Plenty of parking for:
  • 32 Vehicles
  • 26 trailer and vehicles
Nearest Launch Address: 
330 Meadow Road, Rocky Hill, CT 06067

Ferry and boat ramp (on right) seen from across the river.
Mile 37.6 31.0- Seaboard Marina  - River Left
684 Tryon Street, South Glastonbury, CT 06073
(860) 657-3232
​
Mile 66.0 - Route 190 Franklin Street Bridge
Miles 33.6 to 34.4 - Gildersleeve Island
      Gildersleeve Island contains approximately 80 acres, and is situated on the Connecticut River midway between the towns of Cromwell and Portland, CT
        Seasonal waterfowl hunting is practised by the game club that owns Gildersleeve Island. In the summer, the island’s exposed sand bars provide boaters, kayakers, and canoeists opportunities for picnicking and other recreation. 
          Please do not interfere with protected wildlife.  Keep your distance for Bald Eagles who nest on the island.
[2] Wethersfield Cove Ramp - Mile 46.2
Position: 41-43.45 N 72-39.25 W
Altitude: 8 feet
Boat Launch:
This popular boat ramp is  widely used by motor boats.  The parking is huge.  After launching you must paddle north and then east under the Route 91 bridges.  From here you will enter the river.
Nearest Launch Address:
537 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT 06109

Enter the park.  You may have to pay a fee for launching though part of the year there is no one to administer
A view of the ramp with the launching dock on right.
Miles 31.0 31.7 - Wilcox Island

Mile 31.0 -  Arrigoni Bridge - Middletown, CT

Mile 30.8 - Railroad Swing bridge
[5] Harbor Park Middletown - Mile 30.4
Position: 41-33.59 N 72-38.64 W
Altitude: 7 feet
Boat Launch:
  • There is no launching at the park.
  • Parking for plenty of car top boats but not boat trailers.
Nearest Launch Address:
65 Harbor Drive, Middletown, CT
Use the parking lot next to Harbor Park and carry to the large ramp area used by Middletown High School Crew and Wesleyan University Boat House is next door.
This ramp is long and wide.  The dock area is off limits for kayak/canoe launch and recovery.
​​Wethersfield Cove  
       The Connecticut River has meandered over time in its base of loose sediment crdeated by glacial Lake Hitchcock and Wethersfield Cove was once a deep  bend in the river.  Here, early settlers se aside land for a common and a public landing place.  The first vessel built for the Connecticut Colony, the TRYALL,  was launched here in 1649 and voyaged to the West Indies in search of markets for local produce that later included the red onion.  Before 1691 the Town granted land for six warehouses and althoughy the cannel began to move westward after the flood of 1692, the Cove served as a port of delivery through the 1830s.  Dredging and highway projects have since narrowed the Cove entrance.
        Over time the Cove fisheries provided salmon, shad, alewives and the shore was lined with fish houses for processing the catch.  Local farmers also harvested ice before the water quality delined in the eary 1900s.  Home to 1908 yacht club and early rowing clubs, the Cove remains an imprtant community asset for boating ice skating and fishing.
(This text comes from a sign posted by the town at the Wethersfield Cove)
Mile 45.35 - William H. Putnam Memorial Bridge - Route 3​
[3] Glastonbury Public Ramp - Mile 44.0
Position: 41-42.62 N 72-36.95 W
Altitude: 7 feet
Boat Launch:
The facilties are very new with plenty of parking, a boat house, and other recreational facilities.
Nearest Launch Address:
300 Welles Street, Glastonbury, CT 06033
Launch trailer boats on this concrete boat ramp.  It costs $20 for residents and $40 for non-residents.
For kayak/canoe launching, follow the sign and launch here for free.