19.6 LBD St. Phillip’s Bend Pass

There are a multitude of branching distributary passes to follow from St. Phillip’s Bend Pass, you could follow any of them to reach the Gulf and then easily paddle back. As with Harvey Pass this could be an interesting side trip, or it could be the end of your expedition.

Plaquemines Bend/Fort Jackson Point

Plaquemines Bend is the very last of the tight bends of the Lower Mississippi River! After hundreds of bends and turns of the river on the Lower Miss, and then dozens of “blind corners” below Baton Rouge, this is the very last one. Congratulations paddler. You have moved one position closer to the culmination of your expedition.

But don’t let your guard down yet. This is one last place where you will need to exercise extra caution as you follow the currents around the bend and paddle into the straightaway below. To stay in the fast water, a crossing will be necessary sooner or later. Fastest water route is following the outside of the bend round Bolivar Point, go right bank past the Louisiana Responder and Fort Jackson, follow the strong water outwards and across the main channel over to the East Bank towards Olga 16LBD. The Bootheville Anchorage starts at 18.5 along the West Bank, and most traffic stays mid-channel. You can follow whatever line of travel you want, of course deferring to oncoming freighters, tows, and tugs. The tows have been steadily declining as you travel down to the end of the river, and the few tows you encounter are all either work tows pushing one or two barges, or supply tows pushing 2-6 barges. Many are also without barge and performing the various duties necessary with industry at the end of the river. But now below the Empire Locks you will find fisherman traffic steadily increasing, both sport fishermen and commercial fishermen.

Paddlers can make landing on a rocky landing directly downstream of the Louisiana Responder, or pull up directly below ramparts of the fort, also a rocky landing. If these rough landings don’t fit your temperament, keep downstream another 200 yards to find a much softer landing before (or behind) a sandy spit that extends outwards to a sharp point near 19.5 LBD. Shallow muddy sandbars emerge here in low/med water at low tide. You could pull up and make camp here, but there is vehicle access and you might have visitors. Popular fishing spot. If you want to visit Fort Jackson, safeguard your vessel and do so. But you will locate the best camping options another half mile further downstream, around the bend, where the river turns southward, and a narrow beach is found with a sandy ridge running above. Best camping in the area.

19.5 - 18.5 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 to find natural shorelines on the Lower Miss -- those without rip-rap, revetment, or other un-natural means of man-made protection. As result they are always special places. A long narrow sandy/muddy beach emerges in low water below a grassy ridge here, and offers the best camping in the area. Ideal campsites can be found in low water 0-8 NO. You might find dry spots up to 10NO, but everything will be underwater around 12NO. The campsites along the river here are bisected by several inlets, which make for interesting sites, and are are always busy with wildlife, especially birds, but also amphibians, insects, and crustaceans. Behind the sandy ridge paddlers will find a wetlands between the river and the levee, fed by a narrow inlet which responds to the tide changes with water sometimes flowing in, sometimes out. This dynamic place is a birder’s paradise, and creates a buffer for paddlers to find a little peace from the levee and the busy “man-scape” beyond. While Fort Jackson Beach offers a diverse selection of picnicking and camping choices, always make a measurement of river level and camp height to make sure you won’t have any midnight surprises when the tide comes up and a freighter passes by. Also, be very careful of fire ants in this and all land locations in this area. Note: Known pig habitat. Lastly, ATV access possible via south end of beach where it comes close to levee.