Lottery for Long Dock Kayak Storage Starts Now! A Sure Sign of Spring!
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| The kayak pavilion at Long Dock Park prior to rental season. Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin |
Spring has been showing its frostier side around the Hudson Valley recently, but steamy hot days will be here before we know it. What better way to cool off than heading to the Hudson River, and what better way to enjoy the crisp waters than in a kayak or canoe? If you have your own river-faring vessel like a kayak, you have a shot to store it right at Long Dock Park in Beacon!
That’s right, the 7th annual lottery for kayak/canoe storage at Scenic Hudson’s pavilion at Long Dock is happening. Now through Friday, April 22, 2016, hopeful paddlers can enter the lottery by filling out a form here at Scenic Hudson’s website. People whose entries are drawn from the lottery will be notified by Friday, April 29. The storage pavilion's season runs from May 7 to October 31, and use of the storage costs $175. If you have any other questions, call Laura Sumner at (845) 473-4440, ext. 247, or email her at lsumner@scenichudson.org
The area that we now know and love as Long Dock wasn't always so welcoming, however. For many decades, it was a bit of a wasteland. A history of industrial use and general neglect left a lot for Scenic Hudson to turn around. But turn it around they have, after some serious cleanup and soil remediation work, not to mention the incredible landscaping with Hudson Valley native plant species. The park has even won prestigious national awards for its design and - in true Beacon fashion - environmentally friendly aspects! Thousands of people now visit Long Dock every year to spot wildlife (including bald eagles!) and enjoy the expansive river views. Check A Little Beacon Blog's Annual Events Guide for when Scenic Hudson conducts their riverside cleanups, and sign up for our newsletter that tells you what is going on each weekend so that you don't miss it!
If you haven't tried kayaking or canoeing, you can still get hooked on paddling. Longtime Beacon shop Mountain Tops Outfitters rents watercraft by the hour or day, and they even run kayak tours from Long Dock to Denning's Point and Bannerman Island during the summer. Who knows - you might enjoy it so much that you'll be a 2017 lottery hopeful!
If you haven't tried kayaking or canoeing, you can still get hooked on paddling. Longtime Beacon shop Mountain Tops Outfitters rents watercraft by the hour or day, and they even run kayak tours from Long Dock to Denning's Point and Bannerman Island during the summer. Who knows - you might enjoy it so much that you'll be a 2017 lottery hopeful!
