Mile 228.3 - RBD Intercostal Waterway (Port Allen Lock & Dam)
228.3 RBD Intercostal Waterway (Port Allen Lock & Dam)
The Intercostal Waterway cuts through Port Allen and heads southwestward towards Morgan City, and from there points further west along the Louisiana and then Texas coastlines. You have to lock through the levee to get to the canal. There are a number of options from here on down to the Gulf for exiting east and west along other portions of the Intercostal Waterway, and interconnecting canals. Paddlers have been known to paddle down one of these options for destinations off the big river. But be ready for a long flatwater slog down straightline canals with nothing but barges, workboats and other commercial traffic for company, and small boats busy as bees. Your bankside companions will be a long parade of herons, egrets, pelicans, gators and turtles.
The GIWW: The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway connects to the river at mile 228.5 at the Port Allen Lock, RBD. If you prefer to reach the Gulf of Mexico by way of the Atchafalaya River instead of the Mississippi, you missed your best chance days upstream at the Old River Control Structure. But here is another exit from the Chemical Corridor into “Cajun Country.” Lock through and paddle West then South for about a day. If you’re feeling ambitious, the GIWW runs from Mexico to New Jersey. (Mike Beck)
The 84-feet high concrete structure is 1,202 feet long. The lock moves ships, large and small, by lowering or lifting crafts up to 45 feet to connecting waterways. Lock operation for navigation consists of equalizing the water level in the lock chamber with either the river or canal stage enabling the vessel to sail up or down the river or canal safely. Contact the Lock & Dam at 2101 Ernest Wilson Drive (PO Box 499) Port Allen, LA 70767, or call (225) 343-3752.
Your best resupply on the West bank of the river, from Port Allen, would be the Walmart Supercenter south of the Intercostal Waterway about a half-mile on Louisiana Highway 1. Lock through the Port Allen Lock & Dam, and make landing at the Boat Ramp, on the north bank underneath Hwy 1 just past Lock & Dam. One stop shopping for everything you might need. If you have no desire to see Baton Rouge, and don’t mind locking through twice, this would be a good option.
Walmart Supercenter
255 La Highway 1 South
Port Allen, LA
(225) 749-7455
Note: you could possibly access this Walmart Supercenter from a primitive landing RBD mile 227.3, but you would have to slip in behind fleeted barges, tows and freighters that might be parked within the “Baton Rouge General Harbor” RBD 228-226. At low or medium water find the best place to make landing. It’s a shorter walk than the route above, and no locking necessary. After landing, pull your vessel out of the water and walk up dirt road across batture, and over levee. This dirt road runs straight into paved Hwy 988 (Beaulieu Lane). Walk quarter mile east to Hwy 1. Walmart Supercenter will be prominently visible across the fields to the north. In high water above 30BG you could paddle right up to the levee!