Mile 494.0 LBD — 487 Baleshead/Stack Island/Ben Lamond
The river opens up below Mayersville and Wilson Point Island into a virtual ocean of open water and hypnotic distances that seem to shrink even the biggest tow/barge packages into flea-sized morsels. Distances are difficult to calculate here. As you paddle downstream with the main channel it easy to get mesmerized by the waves, the colors in the water, and the endless lines of trees and the sky that meets them. Distant towboats appear from out of the treeline and seem to take forever to approach and then pass. Trees and island forms take shape and then seem to rearrange themselves as you paddle along and then reappear as different shapes. It’s a similar experience to paddling on any big waters.
In high water yawning wide back channel opens up behind the top end of Baleshead LBD 491 or 492. Unless you are planning on cutting behind the “right bank” Stack Island further downstream (RBD 489) for entrance into the Lake Providence Harbor, you can wander behind Baleshead and the “left bank” Stack Island and enjoy the pleasure of back channel paddling for many miles free of any towboats or buoys. You might want to avoid the back channel in medium water levels when the river speed slows down and you need to watch out for cascading water over the dikes. At low water there is no option but stay main channel and follow the current outwards around the entire conglomeration of tall islands, desert-sized sandbars and clumps of willows in between. You can camp anywhere along the way at low water, but at high water your options are narrowed to the top end of “left bank” of Stack Island, and a few small sandy locations at the tops of the other islands. Towards flood stage all sand disappears except for the highest ground on “left bank” Stack Island.
At low water canoeists and kayakers must stay main channel through some very long straightaways and very, very long gently curving turns around Mayersville, Mississippi and Lake Providence, Louisiana. But at high water levels, above 30 on the Vicksburg Gauge, several long back channels open up delivering fascinating scenery and sometimes spectacular wildlife.
Main Channel
The main channel route through this area is fairly straightforward. Go with the flow around the outsides of the bends, and make your crossings through the middles. As always be forever alert to towboats and their navigation routes, moreover watch for buoys.
Tennis Court Landing LBD 496
There are two ramps are located here. The older one is frequently bogged down in mud (below medium water 25GG). The new one was recently crushed by an upstream tow (sometime in 2011). Access to Mayersville is over a gravel/muddy road that gets flooded around 45 Greenville Gauge.
Back Channel Wilson Point Towhead
At high water Wilson Point Bar splits the ocean of water in two, the majority of the flow going wide around the bend, and a smaller portion staying right bank descending and flowing more slowly through a beautiful back channel. Nearing flood stage 48 on the Greenville Gauge (43 Vicksburg) the top of Wilson Point Bar splinters into a tapestry of smaller channels which flow over the top of the island in a dozen or more sluices through the sandbars and in between stands of willows, cottonwoods, sycamores and other scrubby vegetation.
Back Channel Baleshead/Stack Island/Ben Lamond
In high water yawning wide back channel opens up behind the top end of Baleshead LBD 491 or 492. Wander behind Baleshead and the “left bank” Stack Island and enjoy the pleasure of back channel paddling for many miles free of any towboats or buoys. Once you get past the lower island around 487.5 start checking traffic for return to the main channel, or continue downstream behind the next set of islands.
Back Channel of Stack Island
Cut in behind “right bank” Stack Island (RBD 489) for a beautiful seven and a half mile meandering back channel experience. Best run at medium water or higher, above 20 on the Vicksburg Gauge. Primitive access into town two miles down RBD. Reenter main channel out of the Lake Providence Harbor at RBD 483.
Lake Providence Primitive Landing
You'll see a primitive landing with access into town two miles down RBD. Hide your canoe or kayak and walk through woods, over levee and into town by way of City Dump
Road (which brings you out on Lake Street US 65). If you need a quick resupply of water or food, this would be your closest landing to town.
Lake Providence Harbor Boat Launch
Narrow concrete ramp cut through the muddy banks of the harbor. Good at all water levels. Don't leave vehicle here except for daytrip. The walk to town is three miles.
Boat Launch to River
You can put in at the Lake Providence Harbor Boat Launch and paddle one-and-a-half miles to reach the main channel of the Mississippi River.
Back Channel Ajax
When the river is high (above 33 Vicksburg Gauge) adventurous paddlers can dive into a series of chutes and back channels that dart in and out of a myriad of islands that have formed over the years in the Ajax Bar vicinity. The route chosen here is just one of dozens of possibilities. Pick a line and follow it, but be watchful for snags, strainers and other hazards. Frequent log jams changes in sandbar topography. Ajax is mostly contained within the Shipland Wildlife Management Area.