Editors’ Choice
Cape Ann SUP
Essex
Cape Ann SUP offers lessons, rentals, tours, and special events that let you get on the water and enjoy the wildly popular sport of stand-up paddleboarding. Based in Essex, the company also has locations at the Beauport Hotel and the Cape Ann Motor Inn, both in Gloucester. And if you’re looking for more than a pleasant paddle, Cape Ann SUP also offers paddleboard yoga and organizes retreats in Costa Rica.
2 Essex Ave., Essex, 978-233-1787, capeannsup.com
Readers’ Choice
Plum Island Kayak
Newburyport
Friendly, knowledgeable staff lead regular tours that allow novices and experienced kayakers to paddle among horseshoe crabs or seals, under the light of a full moon, or through the estuaries and marshes of the North Shore. Introductory classes teach the basics of kayaking or stand-up paddleboarding, and rental services let you plan your own adventure.
92 Merrimac St., Newburyport, 978-462-5510, plumislandkayak.com