River Log section: Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
229.1 LBD Glass Beach (Baton Rouge Boat Ramp) There is a paved public ramp just downstream from the Interstate 10 Bridge, at mile 229 on the East bank. On the maps it is labeled Baton Rouge Boat Ramp, but locals call it Glass Beach. Its banks are covered with
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
229.1 RBD Greater Baton Rouge Dock No.1 Wharf: Community Coffee If the wind is blowing directly across the river when you are loading in or taking out at Glass Beach you might detect the distinct aroma of roasting coffee beans. This is not a delusion. Amidst all of
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
229.3 I-10 Highway Bridge “New Bridge” Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the American Interstate Highway System. It stretches from the Pacific Ocean at State Route 1 (SR 1) (Pacific Coast Highway) in Santa Monica, California to I-95 in Jacksonville, Florida.
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
229.4 LBD Argosy Casino If you think you see a steamboat tied up below the USS Kidd wipe your eyes and save your pocketbook for better things to gamble on, like where you’ll find your next Po-Boy sandwich or Abita Beer. Argosy is now known as the Belle
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
229.6 LBD City Excursion Wharf AKA “The Paperclips” Locally referred to as “the Paperclips” for reasons that should be obvious when you see it, this is where the American Queen docks when she is in town. Otherwise it doesn’t get much use.
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
229.6 LBD USS Kidd A fletcher-class destroyer, first launched in 1943 and sailed extensively during WWII and the Korean War now serves as a museum and memorial in downtown Baton Rouge. Definitely worth exploring for any history or marine buff.
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
230.1 RBD West Baton Rouge Tourist Commission, Court Street Landing The City of Port Allen has made their old ferry landing into a nice public park. Paddlers should be able to find a place to make landfall but be careful the main channel comes rather close to the right
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
230 LBD Welcome to Baton Rouge: Downtown Riverfront Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana, was founded on top of the 50-foot Istrouma Bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River, the last of the Mississippi Loess Bluffs. This last bluff coincides with the edge of the Pleistocene Escarpment. Beyond
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
231.9 LBD Sunrise, Louisiana Sunrise was a small town of about 9 “city blocks“ between LA Hwy 1 and the Mississippi River Road at around mile 231.9 LBD. Surrounded by cane fields it had its beginnings in property purchased by former slave Alexander Banes from a white plantation
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
231.8 RBD Placid Refining This second-rate refinery takes all of the low grade crude (“sour crude”) refused by ExxonMobil (who only accepts “sweet crude”). This makes a convenient location for business. When a freighter comes up the Mississippi with payload full of trashy petroleum the highbrow ExxonMobil scientists turn
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
232.2 LBD ExxonMobil And now the whopper with the big ships, buckle yourself in for the experience. The fortress-like ExxonMobil Refinery can no longer call itself the largest refinery in the world, but it is still a megalith of pipes and cat crackers, and is the 3rd largest in
Vicksburg to Baton Rouge
232.2 LBD ExxonMobil Graffiti Wall The ExxonMobil port is where you are likely to make your first encounter with sea-going ships carrying petroleum products to and from remote corners of the globe. Yield to any traffic, and stay tuned in to VHF 67 for any planned activity. We’re