baton-rouge-to-venice

Mile 192.7 RBD — Cane Sugar Refinery (Cora Texas Manufacturing Co)

John Ruskey

26 Apr 2026 � 1 min read

In low water you will pass a whitewater explosion West Bank near 192.7, where a pipe stabilized with giant concrete blocks lets loose a torrent of steaming water into the river. In a south wind you will detect a distinct toasted carmel aroma in the air, or maybe “hot dog” smells, or maybe something else. This is where the raw sugar cane is brought in from surrounding fields, and are mashed and then cooked, the sugar juices strengthened through evaporation until crystallization. Blackstrap molasses is one of the by-products. This Cora Texas Manufacturing alone grinds more than 16,000 tons of cane per day and often produces more than 4,000,000 pounds of raw sugar per day!The history of Cora Plantation and its sugar mill date back to 1817. Many of the first experiments in the manufacturing of sugar occurred on Cora Plantation and Cora factory. Cora Texas Manufacturing is the second largest sugar factory in Louisiana.

More from this section

Mile 19.0 RBD — Fort Jackson Beach

Best camping along this stretch of river in low/med water, up to 10NO. The levee falls back and the batture becomes wider around Jackson Point, allowing for the return of natural shorelines and good camping for one mile from 19.5 to 18.5 RBD. It is so rare

Mile 22.0 LBD — Bolivar Point

Low/medium water camping, up to 12NO, underwater above that. Best camping is found on the first sandbars located close to main channel on East Bank as you pass mile marker sign 22LBD. This is a beautiful location, with the river making a right angle turn, freighters proudly plowing by,

Mile 23.5 LBD — Neptune Pass

Three openings in rip-rap allow quick exit from storms, waves and wind, and high banks behind might make for good camping. There are three openings around the Neptune Light on the East Bank between 24 and 23 LBD. Paddlers could quickly exit the main channel through any of these small

Mile 29.5 LBD — Point Pleasant

Good low/med water camping on grassy shelves. Paddlers will find several miles of natural wild shoreline below Point Pleasant on the East Bank, from 28 - 31 LBD. If you seek a campsite, stop at the first good-looking place you find. Further down the campsites are corrupted by noise

Mile 33.0 RBD — Sixty-Mile Point

Low water only. Natural wild shoreline with possible low-water camping and picnicking, but shallow approach. Watch for tides and waves from passing ships. Partially due to the bend of the river here, and partially due to the Nairn 1973 Flood Crisis, a widening of the batture is found on the

Mile 60.0 LBD — Poverty Point

Possible low bar in low water, but not reliable campsite, goes under above 5NO. Poverty Point makes for a good picnic site in low/med waters, fine for light weight canoes, kayaks or paddleboards, but could prove to be a difficult shallow bank for any larger vessels. Just below the