Born as a mountain brook, the Hudson River courses through dangerous rapids and waterfalls in a dramatic plunge of 4,000 feet. Then, remarkably, the river slows and widens, becoming over the next 154 miles a massive arm of the sea, with saltwater and powerful tides.

One summer Peter Lourie set out to explore this extraordinary river by doing what no one had ever done: he canoed the entire 315-mile Hudson, from its source in the Adirondack Mountains to its mouth at the southern tip of Manhattan, where it meets the Atlantic.

This exciting day-by-day account of Lourie’s journey, complete with full­color photographs, gives young readers the feel of shooting wilderness whitewater, gliding through the fjordlike Hudson Highlands and, finally, plying the ocean shipping lanes off Manhattan’s shore. Far more than a canoeing adventure, this book paints a vivid portrait of a river that is a nation’s treasure.

Resources

Bank Street's Geo-Education model

Hudson River Classroom Guide

Peter Lourie's Hudson River Presentation

Writing about Rivers activity guide

Behind the Book

I was the only person ever to canoe the entire Hudson River from its source at Lake Tear of the Clouds on the edge of Mount Marcy to the sea. I made this three-week journey in June through the whitewater at the beginning of the river in the Adirondacks and all the way down past power dams, locks, and then into the big tides of the lower river, ending up in the wild New York Harbor. My daughter was only one when I made the trip, and I missed her a lot. She missed me, too.

(All photos on this page copyright © Peter Lourie.)

Reviews

“Peter Lourie's adventure in a canoe captures the spirit of the Hudson River from the mountains to the sea.” (Robert H. Boyle, author of The Hudson River: a Natural and Unnatural History)

“Lourie recounts a 315-mile canoe journey from the headwaters of the Hudson to New York City. Each page is liberally illustrated with good quality full-color photographs; those of the locks at the Champlain canal are particularly effective due to the unusually low vantage point of the canoe.” (School Library Journal)

“The author spent three weeks traveling the length of the Hudson River, from its wild, mountainous beginning at Lake Tear of the Clouds, past rapids, farmlands, castles and palisades, to its wide busy mouth in downtown Manhattan, where the mountains are replaced by skyscrapers of glass and steel. Throughout the 315-mile trip, the author shares pertinent geographical, historical and scientific information, including environmental concerns relating to the Hudson. Attractive, full-color photographs and a simple map add to the appeal and usefulness of this nonfiction picture book.” (Children's Literature)