Cooper River Paddle – Cherry Hill and Pennsauken, NJ

Our paddle up and down the Cooper River.

Cooper River Paddle – Greenwald and Cooper River Parks – Cherry Hill and Pennsauken, NJ
Distance: 4 miles
Type: Out and back
Difficulty: 3 of 10.

Updated – 11/6/21 – Rentals not currently available. Added pictures. Extended trip down to Harleigh Cemetery.

Terrain – Nice paddle downstream, then back up. Current is not too bad. Surrounded by parks and houses.

Put ins – Cole’s Mill Road, Haddonfield, NJ, just off of Grove Street. N 39° 54.950 W 075° 02.128
Launch at Cooper River Park – N 39° 55.470 W 075° 04.270

Rentals – None at this time, might be some coming in the next few years

Two write ups here:
– Grove Street in Haddonfield to Veterans Island in Cooper River Park (4 miles round trip) – 2013
– Cooper River Launch loop up past Cuthbert Road and down to near Harleigh Cemetery in Camden (4 miles round trip) – 2021
Putting the two together, would be a little over 7 miles round trip

Trip 1! – Haddonfield to Veterans Island (2013)
4 miles round trip

Description: So my buddy has a streak going of over two years where he canoes at least once a month, year round. In February, I made the supreme sacrifice and went out canoeing with him. We decided to check out the Cooper River because a) neither of us had ever done it and b) it’s about ten feet from my house.

We put in on Cole’s Mill Road, about twenty feet off of Grove Street in Haddonfield. There is a spot to park one car, and the drop from the bank into the canoe there is not too bad.

Once in, we headed upstream toward Brace Road, attempting to get to the CCC dam in Greenwald Park. We made it a few hundred yards, but then scraped bottom too much to continue. We turned around and tried downstream instead.

Heading downstream, you pass behind the armory and under the railroad bridge.

Under the bridge.

From here, it’s a good stretch up until you pass under Cuthbert Road and into Cooper River Park.

Racing platforms at Cooper River Park.

We made it as far as the tip of Veteran’s Island before we hit heavy headwinds. We fought against them, but soon had to turn around and backtrack upstream. The current was not very strong, and it wasn’t too bad paddling back upstream at all.

Good day on the water!

Trip 2! – Loop from Cooper River Park kayak launch up to Cuthbert Road and down to Harleigh Cemetery
4 miles round trip

In 2021, I finally stopped being a grumpy old man yelling at clouds. Kayaks always made me nervous, because I don’t like the idea of being surrounded by the boat, so I stuck with canoes. But it’s really hard to take a canoe out on your own, and my kids aren’t really big enough to help move it around. So I bought a kayak. Found one with a lot of space that I can get out of easily, so calling it a compromise! Since my canoe is “Ol’ Tippecanoe”, the kayak is, of course, “Tyler Too”.

Anyway, took it out at Cooper River Park a few times (once with Brian, once without Brian) to get used to handling it.

Didn’t get a ton of pictures, because was nervous, but got a few!