River Log section: Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
347.2 LBD Old Mouth of St. Catherine Creek The old mouth of St. Catherine Creek opens up here behind the very last island along the Opposite Esperance Archipelago. A thriving cauldron of decay and regrowth can be found behind the island in the fecund mud conglomerate of all the
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
348 - 345 LBD Ellis Cliffs (Mississippi Loess Bluff #5) The Mississippi Loess Bluff #5 does not come close enough to the river to touch from the water, unless the river is at extreme flood stage. At normal water levels you would have to walk through deep woods and swamps
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
348 - 344 RBD Esperance Point Intriguing back channel opens up through the woods at the top end of Esperance Point, and broad open sandbars on around the bend for several miles in low and medium water levels. Everything but the tops of riverbank go under in high water, but
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
348.6 RBD Esperance Landing Old Steamboat Landing and woodlot. Army Corps 2007 Map shows a boat ramp here, but it must have been blown out by the 2011 flood because none is visible at time of writing (Dec, 2014).
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
352.5 LBD St. Catherine National Wildlife Refuge A beautiful narrow bayou enters the river left bank descending at 352.5, at the base of a stand of tall cottonwoods. This bayou marks the upstream boundary of St. Catherine National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), which follows the river through this stretch
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
352.5 - 346.5 LBD Opposite Warnicott/Esperance Archipelago Great bomb-proof (all weather, all water level) camping is found throughout the incredible six mile long string of white sand islands strung along the left bank of the main channel as it courses through St. Catharine Bend. During high water
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
356.5 - 360 RBD Morville/Jeffries Landing The mile-wide Mississippi River below the Natchez Bridge gets squeezed into a channel half that width as it rounds Carthage and as result dives deep and flows fast and furious, even at low water. Watch carefully and plan your route in the
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
358 - 355 LBD Carthage Point Towhead Carthage Point Towhead hugs the left bank opposite the Natchez Islands and would make for ideal picnicking and camping except that it’s an active hunting camp, and should be avoided during the fall hunting season. That said, giant sandbars emerge around its
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
355 LBD Carthage Point Natchez river guide Adam Elliott found an interesting artifact about four miles below the Natchez Bridge LBD, 400 yds above the first dike above Carthage Point Towhead: an old timber framed wreck that becomes visible when the water falls below 20ft on the Natchez Gauge. Adam’
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
360 - 356.5 RBD Natchez Islands Your first best campsites downstream of Natchez are found on its namesake islands, which begin to emerge right bank descending in a four mile long archipelago of narrow islands. Good camping throughout up to medium water (around 20NG), then the choices become limited
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
361 LBD St. Catherine Creek (New Mouth) This mid-sized creek starts in the hills north of Natchez and scribes an arc around the city itself. St Catherine’s Creek has played an important part in the history of Natchez from the era of the Natchez Indians and also for early
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
362.8 RBD Vidalia Boat Ramp (Lower) Great boat ramp usable at all water levels (until extremely low conditions when it bottoms out in mud and is isolated by a sandy/muddy gravel bar that forms between it and the river). Of course, us paddlers can find access at any