The River in our Midst
A Journey into River Edge
Many people have traveled long distances this Summer, making up for lost time after COVID. For me, it has been the summer of a staycation. Creativity was the watchword in an effort to create adventure right here in the neighborhood.
As part of that effort, I managed to convince another family member to check out the still new kayak rental place just up the road in Oradell at the Van Buskirk Island Paddling Center. Located at Van Buskirk Island County Park– across from the historical Hackensack Waterworks building (200 Elm Street at New Milford Avenue), the rental site trailer has been open on Weekends and Holidays for about a year. For me, since its opening it has been an aspirational destination.
A recent visit there did not disappoint.
The ride along the Hackensack River lasted barely 45 minutes. But in that short span of time, one felt transported to another place – it could have been the Passaic Northwest, the Bayou, or the woods of Minnesota.
The paddle center website describes the experience as “paddling the calm forest-lined waters of the Hackensack River from Bergen County’s newest park….This clear, freshwater stretch of river is located just downstream of the Oradell Dam and above the head of tide”.
Notwithstanding the horns of NJ Transit trains along Pascack Valley Line, the river remains a bucolic oasis. We experienced wildlife; cranes, geese, ducks and a variety of other birds. As significantly, we shared a wonderful moment as a family.
Interestingly, our family has had a presence in town for some seven decades. But I believe that our August kayak paddle was the first time we actually were on the river. It all made me appreciate the river part of our local identity – that we not only live along the river but the river is us as folks from River Edge – if we choose to embrace it and make the most of it.
The scene along the paddle could have easily been from 70, 100 200 years ago. Notwithstanding repeated episodes of arrogance and neglect that almost killed off the river, it endures and is again starting to thrive, appreciated once more.
It may not be exotic. It is not far. But it is an excursion worth the time and the effort.
