New York | Suffolk County / North Fork Long Island
Mattituck Creek
Mattituck Creek Waterway Access Site to Route 48 / Love Lane head of Mattituck Inlet
Route planning details, access notes, and local verification guidance.
Route location
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Need to know
Why this call
Conditions
Gauge history and hourly forecast
Use the gauge context and hourly forecast to verify local conditions before launching.
Gauge detail
Gauge history & hourly forecastDetailed view
Gauge
Recent trend
Checking preferred range.
Checking trend.
Gauge source
--Checking timestampMN DNR provides the current paddling level here, but not chart-ready recent samples.
Weather
Hourly forecast
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Next 8 hours
Short-route forecast
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Route overview
Quick facts and what's next
Distance, difficulty, shuttle basics, and the near-term outlook before you commit to the drive.
Quick facts
Plan ahead
Upcoming outlook
These are early planning reads. Re-check live conditions before you commit to the drive.
Waiting on forecast.
Waiting on forecast.
Plan
Plan your trip
Launch points, shuttle details, distance, and access notes.
Route logistics
Access and shuttle
A planning-only approximately 2.8-mile Mattituck Creek tidal-inlet section from the current NYSDEC Mattituck Creek Waterway Access Site near the Sound to the permit-governed Route 48 / Love Lane head-of-inlet ramp. The current DEC directory provides the large public canoe/kayak launch and waterway access site, Southold identifies the Route 48 ramp as available by permit, Mattituck Park District describes the head-of-inlet kayak setting and changing tide depth, and Long Island Paddlers documents paddling the shoreline between the Sound and Route 48.
Prepare this trip
Take the plan with you
Download the canonical route, add a calendar hold, or send a simple float plan to your group.
Put-in
NYSDEC Mattituck Creek Waterway Access Site / Naugles RoadNYSDEC currently describes the Naugles Road site as a large public waterway access facility with canoe/kayak use. Confirm the exact carry, parking, waterline, channel opening, and current notices before launching.
Take-out
Southold/Mattituck Creek Route 48 / Love Lane permitted rampSouthold’s Route 48 ramp is permit-governed, and the Mattituck Park District warns that head-of-inlet depth varies with tide. Obtain the current permit and verify the water entry rather than relying on a map pin or visible shoreline.
Plan this segment
Pulling access map tiles. Usually under 5 seconds.
Access caveats and watch for
Access caveats
- NYSDEC currently describes the Naugles Road site as a large public waterway access facility with canoe/kayak use. Confirm the exact carry, parking, waterline, channel opening, and current notices before launching.
- Southold’s Route 48 ramp is permit-governed, and the Mattituck Park District warns that head-of-inlet depth varies with tide. Obtain the current permit and verify the water entry rather than relying on a map pin or visible shoreline.
- The route is bounded at Route 48 and does not claim a safe open-Sound extension, a private dock, or any shoreline landing between the named endpoints.
Watch for
- Peconic River 01304500 regional proxy only; tide/current, wind, Sound swell, visibility, recent weather, and channel depth control the day
- mud/shallow edges, wakes, marinas, moorings, fishing and workboat traffic, private shoreline, cold water, and water-quality notices
- DEC Naugles Road launch hours/parking, Southold Route 48 permit, Love Lane head-of-inlet water depth, shuttle timing, daylight, and the hard Route 48 take-out boundary
Route gallery
See this route on the water
Photos help show what the access looks like and what the route actually feels like on the water.
Score & sources
Data and sources
See the gauge, weather, and source notes behind today's call.
Why this scoreToday's evidence strength is checking
Evidence strength mostly comes down to three things: how direct the active gauge is, how clear the range is, and how fresh the data is.
- Checking evidence-strength notes.
- Checking evidence cautions.
Data behind the scoreGauge, thresholds, and timing
These are the live readings and threshold notes behind today's score.
| Gauge site | Peconic River at Riverhead, NY |
| Gauge height | Checking |
| Discharge | Checking |
| 24h trend | Checking |
| 24h change | Checking |
| Current band | Checking |
| Rain last 24h | Checking |
| Rain last 72h | Checking |
| Air temp | Checking |
| Water temp | Checking |
| Wind | Checking |
| Gusts | Checking |
| Rain timing | Checking |
| Ideal range | Needs paddler reports |
| Known low-water floor | Not calibrated yet |
| High threshold | Not calibrated yet |
| Evidence strength behind the range | Official and local sources |
| Gauge observed | Checking |
| Paddle Today updated | Checking |
| Main source behind this score | No route-specific numeric cutoff; use tide/current, wind, Sound swell, channel depth, boat traffic, recent weather, and local inspection with the Peconic River station only as regional estuary context |
| Gauge source | Checking |
| Weather source | Checking |
| Rainfall source | Checking |
NotesWhat to know before you go
These notes cover the access details, route quirks, and source caveats most likely to matter once you get there.
- Named tidal-inlet paddling corridorMattituck Creek shoreline from Long Island Sound to Route 48; approximately 2.8 planning miles
Long Island Paddlers documents paddling the whole shoreline from the Sound to Route 48, while the current DEC and municipal sources establish the endpoint access areas.
- Current public DEC water accessMattituck Creek Waterway Access Site, 41.011552, -72.555860
NYSDEC lists the hard-surface facility with canoe/kayak launch, 60 cars/trailers, fishing pier, washdown, pumpout, and access to Long Island Sound.
- Current Route 48 head-of-inlet accessSouthold/Mattituck Creek Route 48 ramp, 40.993121, -72.537629
Southold identifies the facility as available to residents and nonresidents by permit; Mattituck Park District describes the head-of-inlet kayak setting and tide-dependent depth.
- Tidal and dredged-channel contextMattituck Inlet is a maintained federal channel and harbor-of-refuge setting with recreational boating and changing depth
Mattituck Park District describes the inlet, channel, maintenance dredging, marinas, and Sound access; treat channel, tide, wind, wakes, and workboat activity as route controls.
- Regional estuary proxyUSGS 01304500 Peconic River at Riverhead
Use only as broad regional stage context; it is not a Mattituck Creek gauge and cannot replace tide/current and local observation.
- Camping postureNearby managed basecamp only; no launch or inlet shoreline camping claim
The endpoint sources establish water access and day-use/boating facilities, not overnight permissions.
- Approved route imageAerial Mattituck Inlet context
The Wikimedia Commons image is labeled as inlet context and does not certify current channel depth, launch operation, tide, wind, or Sound conditions.
- Same-river proxy gaugeUSGS 01304500, Peconic River at Riverhead, NY
There is no route-local USGS Mattituck Creek station in the current package. USGS 01304500 on the Peconic River is retained only as a regional estuary/stage proxy; tide/current, wind, Sound conditions, channel depth, traffic, and the actual launches control this tidal route.
- Safety and river conditionsCheck live gauge, recent rainfall, trend, debris, bridges, and access conditions before launch
NYSDEC / Town of Southold / Mattituck Park District / Long Island Paddlers and its linked safety material warn that conditions change rapidly and require local inspection.
- Image decisionApproved watershed/proxy-gauge context image used for route presentation
The image is clearly labeled as watershed/proxy-gauge context and does not claim to depict this exact reach.
Verify it yourselfCheck the source links
Use these links to double-check the gauge, route details, and access notes before you head out.
- NYSDEC / Town of Southold / Mattituck Park District / Long Island Paddlers route record
- NYSDEC Mattituck Creek Waterway Access Site and Route 48 launch context
- USGS 01304500 Peconic River at Riverhead regional estuary context
- NYSDEC paddling and boating safety guidance
- USGS 01304500 monitoring location
- USGS 01304500 current conditions
- Mattituck Creek context image
Paddler reports
Recent notes from paddlers
A few quick notes from people who were on this route recently.
Reports
Paddler reports
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Quick answers
Mattituck Creek paddling FAQ
What water level is good for paddling Mattituck Creek?
Paddle Today watches Peconic River at Riverhead, NY and uses Not calibrated yet as the conservative low-water floor for this route. The ideal range still needs more paddler reports.
Where does this Mattituck Creek route start and end?
This route starts at NYSDEC Mattituck Creek Waterway Access Site / Naugles Road and ends at Southold/Mattituck Creek Route 48 / Love Lane permitted ramp, about Approximately 2.8 planning water miles from the DEC Mattituck Creek Waterway Access Site to the Route 48 / Love Lane head-of-inlet ramp on the water.
Is this Mattituck Creek route good for beginners?
This is listed as a moderate route. Expect more planning than an easy float, and use the live score, route notes, and source links before committing.
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