Staying Home Sucks, home
Luther Parker marker at First Connecticut Lake 2
First Connecticut Lake Picnic and Launch Area Ramp. Photo: Dmoore5556, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

First Connecticut Lake Picnic and Launch Area Ramp

Kayak spot · United States

Flat water: a lake, canal or slow river

Is it worth the trip?

84Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Thu 5: Wind 4 kn gusting 10, Air 17 °C

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 84 out of 100

Wind
6 kn
Gusts
15kn
Air
12°C
Rain
0 mm

Tue 3 · 88 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
7kn
Air
12°C
Rain
0.7 mm

Wed 4 · 92 out of 100

Wind
5 kn
Gusts
14kn
Air
17°C
Rain
0.2 mm

Thu 5 · 93 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
17°C
Rain
0 mm

Fri 6 · 89 out of 100

Wind
1 kn
Gusts
6kn
Air
14°C
Rain
9.3 mm

Sat 7 · 70 out of 100

Wind
7 kn
Gusts
16kn
Air
7°C
Rain
10.2 mm

Sun 8 · 28 out of 100

Wind
10 kn
Gusts
25kntoo gusty
Air
3°C
Rain
0.3 mm

Tap a day for wind, gusts, air and rain. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 171, good
  2. Mon 284, good
  3. Tue 388, good
  4. Wed 492, good
  5. Thu 593, good
  6. Fri 689, good
  7. Sat 770, good
  8. Sun 828, poor
  9. Mon 980, good
  10. Tue 1078, good

The spot in one fact

  • Flat waterthe water

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know the river level, weirs or your skill.

Wind and weather forecast and score for each day at First Connecticut Lake Picnic and Launch Area Ramp
DayScoreWindGustsAirRain
Sun 1Nov71, good9 kn22kn8°C0 mm
Mon 2Nov84, good6 kn15kn12°C0 mm
Tue 3Nov88, good3 kn7kn12°C0.7 mm
Wed 4Nov92, good5 kn14kn17°C0.2 mm
Thu 5Nov93, good4 kn10kn17°C0 mm
Fri 6Nov89, good1 kn6kn14°C9.3 mm
Sat 7Nov70, good7 kn16kn7°C10.2 mm
Sun 8Nov28, poor10 kn25kntoo gusty3°C0.3 mm
Mon 9Nov80, good1 kn7kn9°C0 mm
Tue 10Nov78, good5 kn14kn7°C0 mm

Wind and gusts are in knots, rain in mm. River levels: no free forecast gives them, so check a gauge before you go. More

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

No month stands out

Good kayaking days in a typical week, each month, for grade III paddlers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan5of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb5of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar5of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr5of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May7of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug7of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov5of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
  12. Dec5of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical weather, not a forecast, and not the river's level: a month that is often good to be outside may still be low water.

Map

the spot and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Photos of First Connecticut Lake Picnic and Launch Area Ramp

First Connecticut Lake in August 2019
Photo: Dmoore5556, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

More kayaking near here

1 place

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About First Connecticut Lake Picnic and Launch Area Ramp

A launch on the Connecticut River. No grade stated: ask locally before you paddle. OpenStreetMap marks the water as private or closed to boats: check before you go. None within 10 km, the nearest 37 km away. The town to stay in is Pittsburg. Within 5 km we also list 1 kayak spot.

  • River Connecticut River
  • Grade No grade is stated.
  • Who it suits No grade stated: ask locally before you paddle.
  • Access OpenStreetMap marks the water as private or closed to boats: check before you go.
  • Schools, hire None within 10 km, the nearest 37 km away.

Spots and rivers: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Whitewater sections © Rivermap (rivermap.org), Riverzone and Jonathan Riddell, ODbL.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,210–US$2,180 each

about US$1,210–US$2,180 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, kayak hire.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to BTV, estimated from distance and season, 3 airlines on the route, with a hold bagabout US$161–US$335
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$154–US$255
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$348–US$583
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$636
Kayak hire5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$201–US$375
Totalabout US$1,210–US$2,180

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Pittsburg

Closest

Pittsburg

16 min by car · 2 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 2 places to stay in Pittsburg · Booking.com

About Pittsburg its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$134 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 7h 15m

About 7h 15m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → BTV, direct, then 3h 05m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

On the water

Paddling schools, clubs and hire nearby

No paddling school, club or hire mapped within 25 km.

Schools, clubs and hire: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits