Lake Mascuppic Kayak Trip - Tyngsboro / Dracut

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Hard to believe that today was my first kayak trip on a lake.  I am so close to the Merrimack River that is usually my go to destination .  But I decided to change things up a bit and try a little lake kayaking.    I grew up across the street from Lake Mascuppic so it would only be appropriate for my first trip to be on this lake.  I have lots of fond memories of swimming. fishing, ice skating and many other activities on Lake Mascuppic growing up.  So I packed up the girls and we headed out early this morning for a little trip around the lake.

Lake Mascuppic is approximately 200 acres and has shoreline in the towns of Tyngsboro and Dracut Massachusetts, the majority being in Tyngsboro.  There is a state boat ramp in Dracut at the intersection of Tyngsboro Rd and Willowdale Rd and there is a residents only town beach in Tyngsboro that used to have a boat ramp as well, not sure if that ramp is still in use.  Most of the shoreline is developed with residences and a few businesses.

We put in just south of the intersection of Tyngsboro Rd and Mascuppic Trail.  There is on-street parking here and a very short walk down a gentle slope to the water.  We paddled our kayaks counter-clockwise around the lake trying to hug the shore to stay out of the way of the powerboat and jet-ski traffic.   My wife was in the Vapor with my daughter for this trip so we paddled pretty slowly but were able to get around the lake in about an hour and twenty minutes.   Total Distance of this trip was about 2.25 miles, although we could have made it longer had we hugged the shore a little closer.  Not a whole lot of wildlife on the lake, a few ducks here and there but that was about it. 

We did see quite a few other kayakers out on the lake as well as many houses with kayaks in their back yards waiting for their next trip.  I do have to say after completing this trip that I much prefer paddling on a river than a lake.  Half way into our trip the wind started to pick up a but and on the lake there was nowhere to hide from it.  Between the wind and the wakes from the power boats the chop was pretty brutal at times.  My wife was having a bit of trouble keeping straight with the high profile of the Vapor.  As we neared the last third of the trip the power boat and jet ski traffic seemed to increase a bit.making it a bit treacherous to be in a kayak.  Having my wife and daughter out there with me had me a bit nervous with my head on a swivel to make sure none of them were coming at us.  At one point there wasn't much more than than 20 yards between my wife and my kayak and a jet ski drove between us.  He slowed a bit but it still was enough to make us decide to call it a day.   A couple pics below of the girls.