Life on the water. Shared.
Some of the best places on the Chesapeake Bay are the ones most people never discover.
A beach that doesn't have a parking lot. A lighthouse that's watched over these waters for more than two centuries. A deadrise workboat heading out before sunrise. Quiet creeks waiting to be explored and stretches of shoreline that can only be reached by boat.
These aren't crowded attractions or heavily developed waterfronts. They're the kinds of places where families end up staying longer than they planned, kids immediately jump out to explore, and a day on the water turns into the highlight of the trip.
Based in Mathews, Virginia, Backwater Expeditions helps guests experience the Chesapeake Bay through delivered boat rentals, delivered kayak rentals, private captained tours, and guided ecotours.
Whether you're looking to fish, paddle to a remote beach, search for dolphins, explore on your own, or better understand the wildlife, history, culture, and communities that continue to shape life on the Bay, we've got an experience for you.
Most trips originate in Mathews County, though we regularly serve Gloucester and Middlesex and can often accommodate requests throughout Virginia's Middle Peninsula and portions of the Northern Neck.
Come see the Chesapeake from a different perspective.
Find Your Way Onto the Water
The Chesapeake Bay means something different to everyone.
For some, it's a day of fishing or exploring by skiff. For others, it's a kayak adventure, a remote beach, a lighthouse on the horizon, or a deeper look at the wildlife, history, and communities that continue to shape these waters.
Choose the experience that speaks to you:
Services
17' Skiff Rental
Your Day. Your Adventure.
Some of the best places on the Chesapeake Bay don't have roads leading to them.
Our 17' York River Skiff gives you the freedom to fish, crab, explore quiet creeks, visit remote beaches, cruise scenic shorelines, and discover hidden corners of the Bay at your own pace. Depending on your departure location, we can recommend some of our favorite beaches, fishing areas, wildlife viewing opportunities, waterfront restaurants, historic landmarks, and places that many visitors never discover on their own.
Every launch location offers something different. Davis Creek provides excellent access to New Point Comfort Lighthouse and nearby natural beaches. Milford Haven offers protected waters, Gwynn's Island, and one of the area's most unique boat-access-only beaches. East River is ideal for scenic cruising, fishing, and local history, while Mobjack Bay offers room to roam and endless opportunities to explore.
Guests with access to an approved dock can take advantage of our 24-hour rental option, with delivery typically made around 7:00 PM and pickup the following evening. Looking for a simple day trip? Weekend rentals are also available from select launch locations throughout the area.
Whether you're planning a family outing, fishing trip, beach day, or simply looking to spend a day on the water, we'll help point you toward the places that make the most sense for your launch location and interests.
Delivered Kayak Rentals
Explore at Paddle Speed
One of the best things about kayaking is its simplicity. No fuel. No engine. No schedule. Just a paddle, a kayak, and the freedom to spend a day on the water.
Backwater Expeditions uses Ocean Kayak Scrambler 11 Series sit-on-top kayaks, a proven design known for stability, comfort, and ease of use. At 11.5 feet long, they track well on the water while remaining approachable for first-time paddlers and families. Their sit-on-top design makes getting on and off easy from beaches, docks, and shorelines, while also providing a comfortable platform for fishing, wildlife viewing, photography, or simply relaxing on the water.
Each rental includes a kayak, paddle, properly sized life jacket, whistle, and waterproof flashlight, along with a brief orientation covering local conditions, safety considerations, and recommended destinations.
We offer both delivered kayak rentals 7 days a week and meet-at-the-launch options on weekends. If you're staying at a waterfront vacation rental, private dock, campground, or waterfront home, we can often deliver directly to you. For guests not staying on the water, we also offer rentals from select launch locations throughout the region.
Where you launch can completely change the experience. Depending on where you're staying, we'll help point you toward beaches, marshes, scenic shorelines, fishing opportunities, family-friendly paddles, or longer adventures that make the most of your time on the water.
No roof racks. No trailer. No hauling 11.5-foot kayaks across Virginia.
Just show up and start paddling.
Guided Ecotour
Weaving the Bay Together
An ecotour is more than a boat ride or a paddle.
It's a chance to slow down long enough to understand the place you're moving through.
We may paddle to a remote beach, cruise past a working waterfront, visit New Point Comfort Lighthouse, search for dolphins, explore a marsh at sunrise, or stand on a shoreline that is actively being reshaped by wind, waves, tides, and storms. Wherever the trip takes us, the goal remains the same: to better understand the Chesapeake Bay and the people, wildlife, and communities connected to it.
Along the way, we'll weave together blue crabs, oysters, fisheries, marshes, water quality, submerged aquatic vegetation, shoreline change, commercial fishing, maritime history, working waterfronts, coastal resilience, and the landscapes that continue to shape life on the Bay today.
A blue crab becomes a conversation about underwater grass beds. An oyster reef becomes a lesson in water quality. A beach becomes a story about erosion, storms, and sediment. A passing workboat opens the door to discussions about commercial fishing, local traditions, and the families who continue to make their living on the water.
No two ecotours are exactly alike because no two days on the Chesapeake are exactly alike. Weather, tides, wildlife activity, and the interests of the guests onboard all help shape the experience.
Led by a USCG Licensed Captain, Virginia Certified Ecotour Guide, Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional – Shoreline, former Coastal Resilience Planner, and maritime first responder, these tours combine professional experience, local knowledge, and a genuine passion for sharing the Chesapeake Bay.
Available by kayak or aboard our 23' Carolina Skiff, with private tours designed around your group, interests, and pace.
Come see the Chesapeake from a different perspective.
Life on the water. Shared.
What is an ecotour?
To me, an ecotour is a relaxing paddle with purpose, or a slow ride in the skiff where the point is to slow down and actually take in what is around you.
Not a scripted tour where someone rattles off facts the whole time. More like taking a break long enough to notice the environment you are moving through and better understand the story behind it.
Why marshes matter. Why some shorelines are disappearing while others build. Why crabbers and watermen know things about the Bay that charts and reports do not always show. How weather, fisheries, boats, history, economics, and communities all connect together out here.
Some trips become hands-on adventures for kids and families — hopping onto a quiet shoreline, dip-netting small crabs from the shallows, handling and identifying what they catch, watching baitfish move through the marsh grass, or learning how oysters and blue crabs connect back to the health of the Chesapeake itself. Those conversations naturally shift depending on the age and interests of the group. For younger kids, it may simply be excitement and discovery. For older kids and adults, it often becomes a deeper conversation about food sources, commercial fishing, ecosystem balance, shoreline change, and the future of coastal communities.
We may talk about Indigenous history, old steamboat routes, working waterfronts, commercial fishing, oyster grounds, erosion, storms, or the way small coastal communities have changed over generations. But it is not a lecture and it is not political.
I am not there to tell people what they should think. I am there to share perspective from someone who has spent years working in and around these environments professionally and personally.
As a former Coastal Resilience Planner, I worked on flooding, shoreline erosion, water quality, and resilience projects tied directly to the future of coastal communities. Before that, I spent over a decade working on the water in marine emergency response and maritime public safety. That included working alongside commercial and recreational fishermen, responding to boating accidents and emergencies, and spending thousands of hours seeing the Chesapeake from the water instead of from behind a desk.
No two ecotours are the same because no two groups are the same. Some people want a peaceful paddle and light conversation. Others want to dive deep into history, fisheries, marsh ecology, or the realities of coastal change. Some guests grew up on the water. Others have never been in a kayak or held a crab before.
Both belong here.
The goal is not to overwhelm people with facts or act like a textbook. It is to help people experience the Chesapeake in a more meaningful way through conversation, observation, and real-world experience.
Life on the water. Shared.