Got a chance to take Junior out for a paddle after dropping my younger son off for a birthday party. Annsville Creek Paddlesport Center outside of Peekskill is a nice spot... Lots of parking, easy dock launch. There's an outfit that does guided tours from here if you don't have your own kayak. You're not exactly communing with nature. Where you launch you can see an Amtrak line and the Indian Point nuclear power plant. If we had more time we would have gone out into the Hudson and up towards Iona Island and the Bear Mountain Bridge but we just explored the creek instead. Most of the way, you're paddling past peoples' backyards but eventually you get into a marshy area where you can kind of pretend you're out in the wild.
You can't beat the launch
In case anybody is interested. I've never gone out with these people so this is not an endorsement