Burlington County Fall Foliage Family Float Festival
By Marty Lazar

October 19, 2003

I went to the Burlington County Float Festival listed in the HRCKC schedule. It was quite interesting, and since they hold it every year about this time, the club might want to put something in the bulletin about it for next year.

As advertised, the county runs a big shindig. All canoes and equipment are free, as is the shuttle back to the starting place. The advantage I had in bringing my own kayak is that I didn't have to wait on line for the put-in, and the line was pretty long all day. However, they had a number of busses and trucks bringing back people and empty canoes, so for people who don't have or want to bring their own canoes, the wait was worth it.

The river was very slow, and I could have paddled back to the put-in. One woman did. But it was fun running past all of the decorated docks. Some of the people had "trick-or-treat" candy in plastic bags, and would throw it to passing canoes - I retrieved a bag, and gave it to some of the kids who didn't get any. People who wanted to could also vote for the dock they thought was the most highly decorated. The actual river time was just a little more than an hour.

But I wanted to go back to the start, where there was a house tour, a factory ruin to look at, a rock band, and food. There was lots to do. So I hopped the shuttle bus back.

From Bergen County, travel time is 1 1/2 hours. People who are interested next year should call the Burlington County Division of Parks: 609-265-5858/5068.

Marty