nope. the current is nuts. you can google the drownings.

go nuts. don’t be surprised when you end up 3 towns south without a ride. but you do you.

My friend tried and got stuck 1/4 of the way out. He tried swimming back but was just stuck against the current. Eventually he made it back and we quickly decided to never try that again.

Legal, yes. Safe, absolutly not. It's known for having brutal undertow, strong current, and submerged dead fall. Many have drowned in the river. I won't kayak it with waders because it would be over for me if I went in, even with a PFD. Frankly I wouldn't want to even let that water touch my body. It's nasty.

Depends where, I’d probably only do it if you are an accomplished swimmer and with a spotter in a boat. With a floatation device might also be wise.

I kayak in it all the time between Middletown and the Sound. The river itself has a strong current that can be unpredictable and is also effected by the tides.

Lots of boat traffic, floating debris and last summer dead catfish.

If you go up to northern Vermont it’s pretty beautiful and clean.

You'll probably get a disorderly charge for endangering others that help you.

One guy jumped off the boat I worked on "The Becky Thatcher" and didn't make it. I wasn't working the shift at that time but the CG ruled it a suicide. The Captain was quite distraught during the mornings briefing.

I know one guy that tried it from Harbor Park and was arrested and feature in the Middletown Press as an idiot.

One of my high school buddies jumped off the Camelot Boat and was arrested.

You'll freeze.

I wouldn’t do it. Not unless I was being chased by drug-crazed mercenaries!

[deleted]

3 on a slow day

I've almost been hit by other boats in an actual boat I would not trust these old inattentive fucks to see a swimmer trying to cross a river that is mainly 1/4mile wide, not to mention the current.

If you want to swim in the river there are little "beaches" here and there scattered about that are pretty safe and clean. The river has postings on water quality. Hamburg cove is very popular for swimming.

Don't go in in the river for a week after heavy rain though it gets littered with logs and junk.

Man.. is that boat still around? Rode on it decades ago.

My first time canoeing on the river we could see the boat launch to get back home but fighting the current and boat traffic it took forever. We nearly exhausted ourselves trying to go a few hundred yards upstream (I was a teenager, don’t be cruel). Definitely learned the river was not to be messed with that day.

I would not suggest it at all, but if you’re dead set on it, there are spots in Windsor and Enfield that you can walk across in the dry periods of summer relatively safely.

When the tide is going out. And if the tide is coming in you could end up two towns up river.

You would have to be an expert level swimmer, and have a chase boat with a well trained rescue swimmer/ take all waranted precautions, but im sure it's been done countless times over the years. But, that river has taken many lives. Is this more of a hypothetical question or do you plan to do it once its warmer?

Legally, I haven't heard anything that would stop you and it would be really hard for anyone to try considering the countless places that you can enter it. But there is a law for everything, it seems, so I wouldn't doubt something being in place.

Someone swam across the Atlantic so the CT River is not all that nuts.

It is not safe.

It is legal.

We used to jump off the front of a (big) boat in the river (against the current)…..and by the time you come up, you are already at the back of the boat. We are all great swimmers and if we would miss the ladder on our way up we couldn’t swim back to the boat. The boat would have to come back and get us. Swimming to shore wouldn’t have been possible.

Even there you have to be super careful. The rapids are brutal in spots, and there are some sharp drop offs. South of King’s Island is especially rough. Amazing fishing though.

Back in the 70's some train boxcars went off the railroad bridge in Middletown. They were later found near the swing bridge in East Haddam. The current is that strong.

[deleted]

It still is. Its in Deep River now all packaged up for the winter.

Eh/yes.

Kramer strike again

Where do you put your kayak in?

Very true. Dangerous even in a boat. I’m thinking the mud flats between Windsor and South Windsor by the island at the mouth of the Farmington on a very good day would be the only option. I’ve seen people walk across in the dead of summer a few years ago.

Some coworkers and I go out on the bosses boat sometimes. We'll usually park by the sand bar and hang out in the water. That's safe. But walking 10 feet in any direction and it's a drop off to 10-15 foot deep water, which will instantly take you and start dragging you away.

Think about how many cities and towns are along the length of this river. Then think about how many cities and towns are along all of it tributaries. Then think about all the raw sewage that ends up in the river after a heavy storm overwhelms each of thoae associated water treatment plants. 💩🤮

Not safe to swim across. You’ll likely drown

[deleted]

A number of different spots to be honest. I’ve used all the DEP launches on the river. Salmon River is probably the one I use most often.

I used to row on the river for crew. Current is VERY strong in certain parts. Undertow is real. Would not recommend. Also the river itself is kinda meh.

Thank you. I use Great Island in Old Lyme a lot and I’d like to branch out. As for safety, always use a paddle leash. Too many drownings happen when people think they can reach the paddle floating away

I wear my life vest year round but that’s also good advice. I’m always out fishing so my paddle starts floating away I’m probably casting at it till I get it snagged lol.

Dude, I have 300hp turbocharged jetski, and I am afraid of it. Debris, current, dead stuff... nah I literally feel safer in the sound. Yes, I can hit the top speed of like 70 because there aren't really waves, but I only did it once with a spotter in a boat ahead because you hit a log at 70mph and you're ass over tea kettle. I wouldn't swim in it.

Kramer? That you?

yes there are times and areas where the river can be risky but this isn’t sorcery.. it happens where depth changes rapidly and especially during peak tide flow hours but every river has these natural features. I wouldn’t say that the CT river is unsafe at all if you use common sense and educate yourself on what areas and times to avoid. The CT rriver is quite small but also can very greatly (width wise) so if you want to give it a test run on a narrower spot - try Glastonbury/Portland/Chester - actually i can think of a pretty narrow spot in most towns so that was a pointless statement. Sorry. OBVIOUSLY I WOULDNT RECCOMEND DOING THIS IN WINTER & go with a buddy if possible. Have fun

Absolutely not safe. Perfectly legal. I’m a search and rescue technician, and when I was taking a human tracking class we were discussing natural barriers. Things that people reach and change direction without some sort of other help (boat, car, airplane, etc). The CT river was the instructors first choice. She said you couldn’t cross it. I confidently told her I could get across. Might take me down river by 10 miles but I’d eventually make it across. She told me flat out “you would die trying”. It’s a dangerous and unpredictably river. The currents are very powerful

If they are asking if they can swim the river, they cant swim the river.

lol why not though?

Sounds like a terrible idea. If you want to swim a longer distance, find a longer swimming friendly stretch of beach on the LI sound and, on a calm day, do laps along the shore.

as someone who's fished their entire life on that river I would say to never attempt this due to strange currents that being said, I've done it multiple times as a stupid kid

Definitely not safe. Idk about legal

Absolutely not

I’m not sure if you guys are talking about the same river as me but maybe 1 or 2 people drown on average in a year. I’ve lived on the river my entire life and for such a narrow river it’s quite popular, lots of boat traffic (many very inexperienced operators) tons of great anchorages, many sandbars filled all summer long with people swimming (most people 3 sheets)… so yeah not seeing the danger here people! Do it at slack tide out of the way of boat traffic and with a buddy. I’ve heard more people drowning at bantam and candle wood lake tbh.

This like new super safe society is like really depressing. I’m truly sorry for all the poor kids who had helicopter parents growing up and are now afraid of everything. I think back to things my friends and I got into as a kid and it seems like a totally different world!

Legal? Might be. Safe? No. Don't swim in rivers if you don't have to.