Mile 437.7 - Mouth of the Yazoo River
LBD 437.7 Mouth of the Yazoo River
For your final approach into Vicksburg stay with the flow left bank descending and look for the mouth of the Yazoo River. It opens up just before the first bank side industrial activity, rusted cranes, and old boats, scraps of steel and broken concrete. Remember, there is no public access on the main channel of the river below here. You must enter the Yazoo to reach downtown. Paddler’s intending to meet their shuttles or resupply in Vicksburg will need to turn left at LBD437.7!
There is a red channel marker LBD 437.3 planted squarely at the confluence like a conquistador’s cross. The water of the Yazoo enters the river normally a creamy
brownish green... a softer and creamier blend of mud than the Mississippi. It’s best to cut the corner tight when entering the Yazoo. Especially after a heavy rainfall. The Yazoo can run strong and you won’t want to be forced to fight the current here. Towboats enter and exit the Yazoo to reach the Vicksburg Harbor, which was carved out of the bottomlands three miles upstream. Proceed cautiously up the Yazoo watching for tows and gators. Monitor VHF13 if carrying radio. Gators are commonly seen and like to sun themselves on the left bank ascending. Paddle one mile up the Yazoo to reach the public boat launch at the foot of Clay Street. For positive identification you can tell your greeting party that you are arriving at the “Vicksburg Boat Ramp.” It’s behind the sea wall across from Catfish Row Art Park. Shuttle drivers can come down Clay Street and enter at the break in the sea wall with all the beautiful murals.
After safely pulling off the river, look up to the right of the sea wall gate for a display of flood crest heights, and you’ll see how much higher the 2011 flood was than any others previous! If it’s hot you can cool down in one of the fountains at the Art Park. Nothing feels better than a fresh water bath after a week on the muddy & sweaty summer Mississippi! Public Bathrooms. Park operates daily 9am-sunset. You can also enjoy a walking tour of the history of the region walking along the sea wall’s Riverfront Murals. They were completed in 2002 by artist Robert Dafford.
Vicksburg
Vicksburg marks a significant change of geography for the Lower Mississippi River paddler. Vicksburg heralds the end of the Mississippi Delta and the beginning of the Mississippi Loess Bluffs. From here down to St. Francisville there are no continuous levees on the Mississippi side because of the high ground created by the bluffs, which approach the river and then retreat along various tributaries like Bayou Pierre, Coles Creek and the Big Black River. The Yazoo-Mississippi Delta technically ends at the mouth of the Yazoo River, also known as “the River of Death.” This junction also marks the first left bank tributary since Noncannah Creek in Memphis, 300 miles upstream!
The Yazoo River (along with its major tributary the Big Sunflower) drains all the Mississippi Delta and much of the Hill Country. If there was ever any river that had the blues, it is the Yazoo. Its reach includes Delta blues stars like Memphis Minnie, Charlie Patton, Howling Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Robert Johnson, and also Hill Country blues stars Mississippi Fred McDowell, Othar Turner, and Jessie Mae Hemphill, and many, many others. Almost anyone you can name in the Delta Blues or Hill Country blues traditions were born and raised in this drainage. See Rivergator Appendix for complete descriptions of the paddling trails of the Lower Delta including Centennial Lake, the Yazoo River, Big Sunflower River, Little Sunflower River and Yalobusha River.
Vicksburg’s nickname “the Key to the South” also applies to paddlers. Here you will find your best place to start or end an expedition. For long-distance paddlers it will be you best resupply. Vicksburg is thick with history, culture, good food and great accommodations. The feeling is “thick” here also. Thick and oily. Downtown feels like
it is living in another era, a feeling that reaches out into all parts of town, and is highlighted at the National Military Park.
A good place to start your visit is the Old Courthouse Museum with great panoramas of downtown. It’s located up the hill at 1008 Cherry Street, and is one of the first buildings you’ll see from the distance as you paddle up the Yazoo. Be sure to visit the recently completed Lower Mississippi River Museum and Riverfront Interpretive Site located within the MV Mississippi. You can walk down a scale model of the Greenville-Vicksburg stretch that you just paddled! For a spectacular view up the main channel of the river go to the turnout on South Washington (Louisiana Circle) across from the Dixiana Motel. The Vicksburg National Military Park is a must-see for its moving exhibits and beautiful monuments and scenery. Be sure to visit the Gunboat Cairo exhibit. The park commemorates the campaign, siege, and defense of Vicksburg in 1863 and includes over 1,340 monuments, markers and plaques, a 16-mile tour road, a restored Union gunboat, and a National Cemetery. Vicksburg National Cemetery embraces 116 acres and holds the remains of 17,000 Civil War Union soldiers, a number unmatched by any other national cemetery. Paddlers take notice: you can purchase Maps of the entire Lower Mississippi at the US Army Corps headquarters on Clay Street! Bring your ID and visit the map room.
Besides being the supreme river engineering stronghold, Vicksburg is also the home to the Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee and the US Fish & Wildlife whose fish toxicology reports have demonstrated that the Mississippi River is a lot cleaner than anyone thought. In fact, its the cleanest river in the State of Mississippi. According to the fish taken and examined.
Vicksburg Services and Accommodations
For long distance paddlers Vicksburg will be your best place for resupply, rest and relaxation, and reconnoiter. Do not leave your vessel unattended! Portage or safely stash your vessel and gear and walk up the hill to Washington Street which is full of restaurants, shops, bars, cafes, a drug store and a dollar store. The library is at the South end of downtown, and the Highway 61 Coffeehouse at the other, both are great for orienting yourself and finding local information. There are a couple of options for hotels nearby, but no grocery stores. You’ll have to hop the bus or find a ride for food supply. All grocery stores are miles away in the strip malls along Interstate 20. The Relax Inn (1313 Walnut St.) is within walking distance (3 blocks) of the Vicksburg boat launch with reasonable rates. Portage your vessel and ask them to let you safely store it. Public Wi-Fi in the 1200-1400 blocks of Washington Street.
Public Transportation
The City of Vicksburg offers public transportation through the NRoute system. NRoute operates Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sit back, relax enjoy a safe comfortable air-conditioned ride while listening to music by some of Vicksburg's and Mississippi's most famous Delta Blues musicians. You might even learn a little more about Vicksburg along the way! Need schedules or special assistance? Call or go by
the NRoute office to obtain route schedules and maps. All buses are handicapped accessible. They are also equipped with bike racks for those commuting from place to place.
For $2, you can go to grocery stores (Kroger, Corner Market, Wal-Mart) hospitals, the Vicksburg National Military Park, and the US Army Corps Map Room. Washington Street (2 blocks from V’burg City Front boat ramp) has NRoute bus stops on it. See below the website info.
We Care Customer Hotline 601-636-1053
Maps and other assistance offered at 2501 Hall's Ferry Road
For fare schedules got to nroute@vicksburg.org
Wi-Fi: Vicksburg provides free wireless internet access along the 1200 through the 1400 block of Washington Street. You can also find Wi-Fi at the Tourist Information Center (on Clay Street, across from the entrance to the Vicksburg National Military Park) and the Vicksburg Convention Center (1600 Mulberry Street).
Vicksburg services, accommodations and restaurants:
Warren County Library
700 Veto St, Vicksburg, MS
(601) 636-6411
Attic Gallery/Highway 61 Coffeehouse
1101 Washington Street
(601) 638-9221
Lower Mississippi River Museum and Riverfront Interpretive Site
Located within the MV Mississippi
910 Washington Street
601-638-9900
Old Court House Museum
1008 Cherry Street
601-636-0741
US Army Corps of Engineers
Vicksburg District
4155 Clay St Vicksburg, MS 39183
(601) 631-5000
Rusty's Riverfront Grill
901 Washington St
(601) 638-2030
Relax Inn
1313 Walnut St
601-631-0097
Cedar Grove Mansion Inn & Restaurant
2200 Oak St
(601) 636-1000
Walnut Hills
1214 Adams St
(601) 638-4910
Vicksburg Information Center
52 Old Hwy 27, light at Clay Street
(across from the main entrance to the Vicksburg National Military Park)
Phone: 800-221-3536 or 601-636-9421
Vicksburg City Hall
1401 Walnut St
Vicksburg, MS 39180
(601) 801-3411
Vicksburg National Military Park
3201 Clay Street
601-636-0583
Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum (1890)
1107 Washington Street
601-638-6514
601-636-5010
www.biedenharncoca-colamuseum.com
Looking Downstream:
For paddlers continuing on downstream from Vicksburg towards Grand Gulf, Natchez, Fort Adams, Three Rivers, the Atchafalya, and points south, here is a little teaser of what’s to come!
Leave from the landing at the foot of Clay Street and float out of downtown Vicksburg on the river that drains the Mississippi Delta, the Yazoo “the River of Death.” Enter the main channel of the Mississippi with the best views you’ll ever have of the I-20 Bridge and the scenery around Centennial Bend. Unparalleled views of the Vicksburg Bluffs, the Bluffs at LeTorneau, Grand Gulf Bluff and the islands and back channels along the way including Sargent Point, Togo Island, and the mysterious mouth of the Big Black River. Sweeping views of Grand Gulf Nuclear Power Plant. Float past ecologically-diverse Yucatan Lake, a rich habitat for everything from songbirds to alligators! Paddle around Hardscrabble Bend past the mouth of Bayou Pierre and Civil War site Bondurant (Petit Gulf Hills), and continue downstream in the strong current of the Mississippi as it winds between islands and sandbars, back channels and bayous (accessible depending on river level). Below Waterproof, Louisiana, the river meanders along with spectacular views of the Natchez Bluffs, an ever-changing scene of unending skies, jungle forests, Victorian mansions and moody riverscapes.
Keep following the river in the next Rivergator Section (to be added in 2014).
CLICK HERE for the Appendix