Paddling the Opalescent River: Bend by Bend Guide
The winding Opalescent river
Mountains, sandy banks, clear water and a calming stillness; every twist and turn while paddling the Opalescent River reveals why the state of New York has protected this beautiful river.
Truly, this river does not feel North American. With its forever winding path, the opalescent shares the same labyrinth-like quality as something you’d find in the Amazon.
Read through for my guide to paddling this amazing River and some helpful bonus tips at the end!
a foggy morning on the opalescent river
GETTING THERE
The first challenge of the Opalescent River is getting there. The area surrounding the river is quite remote, with limited cell service and mostly dirt roads. Detailed instructions on getting there can be found here.
Once you reach Opolescent Road, which is the put-in location, it is important to note that the access bridge and road itself are private property, owned by the Opalescent Hunting Club.
Put-in for the opalescent river
As such, you will need to unload your gear onto Opolescent Rd, and then park your car on Tahawus Rd for the duration of your trip.
The actual put-in spot is to the left of the bridge, down a short, narrow and muddy path to the river bank.
Once you launch your boat, you will paddle up the Hudson River for a short time. Once you hit the split, keep right to start your journey on the Opalescent River!
THE RIVER
Based on the other guides I had read from previous years, I was unsure of how far we would get by paddling on the Opalescent.
Some other blogs/guides indicated that paddlers were only able to make it a mile up the river before deciding to turn around, mostly due to shallow water levels.
Fortunately for us, we managed to get roughly 3 miles up the river before setting up our campsite for the evening.
The first thing you will notice about this river is its unique path through the forest. The Opalescent River seems to wind on forever, eventually becoming enveloped by the Adirondack mountains.
Another interesting attribute of this river is its sandy river banks, creating perfect spots to pull up your boats and rest while taking in the views.
sandy banks along the river
perhaps the best part about this river is its tranquillity, besides the one person we encountered while paddling, there were no signs of recent human activity along the river.
After taking a dip in the river and enduring about 45 minutes of hard rain, we spent the night by a campfire, taking in the spectacular starry night sky, which was on full display due to the lack of light pollution!
Besides the tracks from wildlife engrained in the river’s sandy banks, you will feel quite secluded while paddling!
BONUS TIPS
one point to note, is that you will spend a significant amount of time lining your boat through the shallow sections of the river, especially when paddling upstream. wear waterproof socks or some kind of water-shoe!
Although I brought my fly fishing rod, I did hardly tossed the fly as there were no signs of trout or bass.
As per New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation, wild camping is permitted anywhere along the Opalescent River, so long as they are at least 150 feet away from any road, trail, spring, stream, pond, or body of water.
Happy paddling!
