Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Harpeth River - The Narrows

Estimated Length: 5.3
Date: April 9, 2017
Weather: Sunny
Time on River: 2 hour
Put-In: Narrows of the Harpeth
Closest City: Kingston Springs
Take-Out: Narrows of the Harpeth
Outfitter: Canoe Music City, Foggy Bottom, Tip-A-Canoe, Adventures on the
Harpeth

   Our first canoe trip of the year was Sunday and of course it was the Narrows of the Harpeth. Got to the put-in at 10am and the park was already busy with both hikers and paddlers. I noticed that the park now has signs for over flow parking so the amount of people enjoying this great little park must be on the rise.
   
Lex and I started paddling about 6 years ago and it has been amazing to see the growth of this sport/activity in Middle TN. There are 4 big outfitters that I know of that service this section of Harpeth and probably some smaller ones that I don’t know about. One of the reasons for the growth of paddling is due to organizations such as the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association (TSAR) and the Harpeth River Watershed Association (HRWA). Both associations have joined forces to create the Harpeth River Blueway Project which has a mission ”to promote recreational opportunities, safety and the preservation of natural cultural features along the Harpeth River through the provision/kayak access sites and accompanying signage”. If you go the following website: http://www.harpethriver.org/programs/recreation/  it will give you great information about current and proposed recreational access points along the Harpeth.  This is a great map to have on hand when planning any trip down the Harpeth.

   The weather was beautiful for this paddle. There was a breeze which kept things cool but did make paddling a bit difficult in places. The river was moving at a good clip which made up for having to fight the headwinds. Vegetation along the river is starting to sprout making everything feel alive. The turtles where out in full force and I was able to capture a few of them sunning.

   My advice to anyone wanting to take this paddle is get out early in the morning to beat the traffic from the outfitters or make it a weekday trip. 

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