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Mile 272.5 LBD — Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge

John Ruskey

26 Apr 2026 � 1 min read

Paddlers have a unique opportunity to walk up to one of the largest and oldest trees in the south, the co-champion bald cypress of North America. If the river is high you can paddle all the way, but it will have to be bank full 30BG or higher. If it is below 30BG you will have to make a landing somewhere and walk. One of the best places to make a quick stop and hide your vessel is within the shady overhanging trees at the mouth of Hardwick’s Ditch at 272.4 left bank descending.

Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge is home to the largest tree of any species east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. At an impressive height of 96 feet, a diameter of 17 feet and a circumference of 56 feet, it is truly a sight to behold. The tree is estimated to be approximately 1,500 years old. Visitors may view the tree by way of the Big Cypress Trail, a .75 mile round-trip trail through a unique mixture of bottomland hardwood forest on flat terrain.

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