Athens-Hudson Lighthouse Paddle

For many of our paddles Mary and I will just look at a map or think of something that we find interesting to go look at.

You may have noticed the recurring theme of lighthouses for some of this year's paddles. We paddled to all the mid-Husdon lighthouses that showed on our maps.

This is the last one of the year. We paddled out of the Athens State Boat Launch located at the north end of the town of Athens. Athens is located on the western bank of the Hudson River opposite the town of Hudson.

The lighthouse is located in the middle of the river to warn of a section of very shallow water north of the lighthouse in the middle of the river. Located in this section of shallow water is what one of our maps called the 'Middle Ground Flats'.

The Middle Ground Flats is a fairly flat island located in the middle of the Hudson between the towns of Athens and Hudson. There are a lot of small buildings, some with mowed lawns, lining the shore the Flats. Apparently these buildings are lived in by part time squatters on the island. People live on the island for part of the year. As we paddled around the Flats we saw many sites but not one person. One of our books warned about going on the island so we never landed.