Mile 515.0 - LBD 515-512 Leota Bar/Cracraft Chute

John Ruskey

20 Apr 2026 � 1 min read

LBD 515-512 Leota Bar/Cracraft Chute

After Rounding Kentucky Bend the river turns southward around Leota Bar and runs into the Cracraft Chute. This is one of the most stunningly beautiful sections of river anywhere along the Lower Mississippi River. It should be considered a wild and scenic river so pristine are its islands, sandbars, forests, and so expansive the river which flows through them, around them, beside them, and (during high water) on top of them! Leota is the first of three prominent islands in this stretch, moreover boasts the best campsites. Leota rises proudly from the middle of the flood. At high water above 37 on the Greenville Gauge the river stretches several miles wide and Leota appears to be a vibrant green ship sailing over a roiling brown sea. Best camping at high water is found anywhere along the sandy flats crowded up along the base of the cottonwood/willow parklands. As the water drops the sandbars extend outwards in all directions, especially north and south. At low water this results in a superlative three-mile log island that feels closer to heaven than earth. The river continually carves a steep sandbar on the main channel side so you can always get close enough to the woods you can find wind and shade protection, and find firewood close by.

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