Atchafalaya River

Mile 306.0 - LBD Welcome to Louisiana!

John Ruskey

20 Apr 2026 � 1 min read

306 LBD Welcome to Louisiana!

At the lower end of the Fort Adams Reach, just above Shreve’s Cut-Off, around mile 306 the river leaves Mississippi for good along its east bank and is completely enveloped by Louisiana, the last state along the Mississippi River. While you have already entered the State of Louisiana right bank descending (several hundred miles upstream, at mile 507, near Corregidor entering Sarah Cut-Off, below Cracraft), as you slide downstream towards Shreve’s Island you cross another invisible line which brings you into Louisiana on both banks. By the time you get to the Angola Ferry Landing, you are now completely surrounded by the Great State of Louisiana, and you might be tempted to start celebrating the end of your month’s long expedition down the longest and biggest river in North America with your own watery Mardi Gras. Not so fast pardner! You still have about 300 miles of paddling through the Pelican State before you hit the salty beaches and balmy breezes of the Gulf of Mexico. Oh yeah, and also the endless freighter traffic, pipelines, and oil wells on the horizon.

The Mississippi River flows a little over five hundred miles across Louisiana before reaching the salty Gulf waters, with geography ranging from wooded loess bluffs, bottomland hardwood forests, cypress/tupelo gum swamps, and finally grassy coastal plains bordering the sea. Along the way through Louisiana the Mississippi journeys through Lake Providence, Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area and the Old River Control Structure (the birthplace of the Atchafalaya River).

And now you are paddling past Angola State Penitentiary towards the Old River Lock and Dam, with upcoming Louisiana highlights including the Tunica Hills, Cat Island (Co-champion bald cypress), St. Francisville, New Rivers Bridge (the newest bridge on the Lower Miss), Profit Island, Baton Rouge, Bayou Goula, Plaquemine, New Orleans, and finally Venice, Pilot’s Town, and mile zero at the Head of Passes. From here the three major outlets fork outwards into the Caribbean: the Southwest Pass, South Pass, and Pass L’Outre. You still have several hundred meandering miles to get through Cancer Alley and reach Bourbon Street, but stroke by stroke you’re getting there!

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