The Lower Mississippi River Water Trail

Atchafalaya River

SECTION	MILE	ACCESS CITY
Middle Mississippi & Bluegrass Hills / Bootheel	195-0, 954-850	ST. LOUIS TO CARUTHERSVILLE
Chickasaw Bluffs	850 – 737	CARUTHERSVILLE TO MEMPHIS
Upper Delta	737 – 663	MEMPHIS TO HELENA
Middle Delta	663 – 537	HELENA TO GREENVILLE
Lower Delta	537 – 437	GREENVILLE TO VICKSBURG
Loess Bluffs	437 – 225	VICKSBURG TO BATON ROUGE
Atchafalaya River	159 – 0	SIMMESPORT TO MORGAN CITY

Atchafalaya Upper
Consider The Atchafalaya
The Atchafalaya
Alternate Route To The Gulf Of Mexico: The Atchafalaya River
Big Geography Geography
Atchafalaya Exit
Intro: Atchafalaya River
The Atchafalaya River: Best Route To The Gulf
Best Water Levels To Paddle To The Gulf
Traffic And Industry On The Atchafalaya
NOTE TO PADDLERS:
Who Is The Rivergator Written For?
Reading The Rivergator:
Panel Of Experts:
Wild Miles:
Warning: Stay Away From Intake Canals!
What Are The Wild Miles?
Big Trees And Floodplain:
Important Note To Paddlers:
Your Route: Main Channel Vs. Back Channel
The Atchafalaya Split
Maps And Mileage
USACE 2012 Atchafalaya River And Outlets To Gulf Of Mexico
Louisiana Geological Survey Atchafalaya Basin Map
Maps Of The Atchafalaya Delta
River Speed and Trip Duration
Dangers Of Paddling Through Morgan City
Expert Paddlers Only!
Wind Direction And Speed
Atchafalaya Delta Tides
Tidal Influence:
Estimate Your Camp Height
Tidal Coefficient
Tides In Rivers
Tidal Bore
Water Speed In The Passes
Which Pass?
Wax Lake Outlet: Alternate Route To The Gulf
Shell Island Pass
Location Island Pass
Amerada Pass
Main Channel: Melanie Island
The Joy Of Reaching The Gulf
Camping On The Gulf At The End Of The River
The Best Gulf Beaches
Open Water Of The Gulf?
Some Helpful Hints:
Getting Back To Land
Getting Back
Upstream Paddling
What Do You Do Now With Your Vessel?
LiNKS = Leave No Kid On Shore
Atchafalaya Basinkeeper
Bayou Teche Experience
Bayou Sara kayak Rental
Pack & Paddle
Services For Lower Mississippi River Paddlers
Lower Mississippi And Ohio River Forecast
Reading Google Maps
Lower Mississippi River Mileage
Rivergator
Towboat Protocol
What To Pack:
Atchafalaya Swamp Pack List:
Primitive Camping In The Marshes & Swamps
Biting Bugs
Poison Ivy
Can You Drink The Water?
Where Do You Go? (To The Bathroom?)
Water Quality
The Atchafalaya Basinkeeper
The Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper
Environmental Reporting Phone Numbers:
Maps And Mileage
Louisiana Geological Survey Atchafalaya Basin Map
Atchafalaya River Boat Ramps (Functional Jan 2016)
River Gages
Best Water Levels To Paddle To The Gulf
What Do You Do Now With Your Vessel?
LiNKS = Leave No Kid On Shore
Left Bank And Right Bank
Towboats And Buoys
VHF Marine Radio
Resources
Cajun Culture And The Atchafalaya Wilderness
SOLA Coffee Companies
How To Brew A Great-Tasting Pot Of River-Rat Coffee
The Atchafalaya
A Note On Mileage
A Note On Pronunciation
Where To Start Your Atchafalaya River Expedition
Leaving The Mississippi River
Mississippi River Maps And Mileage
NATCHEZ GAGE (NG)
WATER LEVELS AND DIKES
USING THE NATCHEZ GAGE:
Three Inflow Openings At Old River
Warning
Old River Control Structure: 3 Inflow Channels
316.3 RBD	Hydro Inflow Channel
313.7 RBD	Knox Landing
311.7 RBD	Auxiliary Intake — Old River Control Structure
316.3 RBD	Hydro Intake — Old River Control Structure
Short History Of The Old River Control Structure
314.6 RBD	Main Intake — Old River Control Structure
313 LBD	Buffalo River
Clark Creek Natural Area
311.7 LBD	Clark Creek
311.7 – 310 LBD	Tunica Hills Below Clark Creek (Mississippi Loess Bluffs ##6)
311 – 309 RBD	Point Breeze
310.2 LBD	Wilkinson Creek
306 LBD	Welcome To Louisiana!
306 – 294 LBD	Angola State Penitentiary
306 LBD	Angola Ferry
304.5 – 303 LBD	Shreve’s Bar
306 – 302	Back Channel Of Shreve’s Bar
306 – 302	Main Channel Of Shreve’s Bar
303.8	Old River Lock And Dam: Entrance To The Atchafalaya River
Leaving The Mississippi Towards Lock & Dam
The Atchafalaya River: Best Route To The Gulf
How Does A Lock & Dam Work?
Contact Lockmaster
Safe Paddling Through A Lock & Dam
Lock Signals
Inside The Lock Chamber
Order Of Locking Through
Mileage Down Lower Old River Channel
6.9 RBD	Three Rivers Junction
Red River
Three Rivers WMA And Red River NWR
Atchafalaya – A Modern History

Atchafalaya Lower
Atchafalaya River Basin Biotas
A Lived-In Landscape
Atchafalaya Mileage
RBD = Right Bank Descending, LBD = Left Bank Descending
Gas Pipelines
Simmesport Gage (SG)
Water Levels According To The Simmesport Gage
Maps And Mileage
USACE 2012 Atchafalaya River And Outlets To Gulf Of Mexico
Louisiana Geological Survey Atchafalaya Basin Map
0.1 LBD	Three Rivers Landing
1.4 LBD	Small Dune
1.9 RBD	Coville Bayou
3.4 LBD	Bayou Coteau
4.5	Simmesport KCS Railroad Bridge
4.6 LBD	Simmesport Sand Dune
4.8 LBD	Kuhlman Bayou
5.5	Simmesport River Park
Simmesport, Louisiana
Canadaville, Louisana
9 – 11 RBD	Odenburg Island Dikes
12.5 LBD	Marine Bayou
13 – 20	Atchafalaya Squiggles
13.2 RBD	Porcupine Point
14.5 LBD	Cypress Point
14.5 RBD
14.7 RBD	Small Dunes
15.5	Primitive Boat Ramp (Private)
16 RBD	Eddy Dune
16.5 RBD	Trash Site
17 – 18 RBD	Hick’s Landing/Gordon Point
18 – 20 LBD	Bayou Point
Borrow Pits And Blue Holes
20.5 LBD	Small Sandy Shelves
20 – 25	Bayou Current To Elba Landing
22 RBD	Cell Tower
22.2 LBD	Small Hump Of Sand
23.4 RBD	Barberton Landing
25.1 RBD	Elba Landing
26.1 RBD	Small Bluff Of Sand
26.2 LBD	Broad Sandy Shelf
26.3 RBD	Old Channel Of Bayou Rouge
27.1 LBD	Point Coupee/Bayou Latenache Pumping Station
27.1	Morganza Floodway – North End
28.1	Underwater Pipeline Crossings
28.2	Aerial Pipeline Crossing
29.6	Melville Union Pacific Railroad Bridge
29.7 RBD	Melville Boat Ramp (Primitive)
29.8 LBD	Melville Ferry Barge East Bank Landing
30 – 40	Melville To Krotz Springs
31 LBD	Broad Bay
31.5 LBD	Cross Bayou
31.7 LBD	Open Field Cow Pasture
32.5 LBD	Cross Bayou Point (Owl Hoot)
35.6 LBD	Small Sandbar
36 – 37 RBD	Sandy Landings
37.1 RBD	Cell Tower
39.7 LBD	Bayou Sherman Point
Atchafalaya Basin Pack List For Swampy/Marshy Camp Sites
Switching To The KROTZ SPRINGS GAGE (KG)
Water Levels According To The Krotz Springs Gage
38.5 – 42.7	Krotz Springs Utility Crossings
39.3	Water Drainage Structure: Origins Of The Teche River
39.5 RBD	Cell Tower
39.6 LBD	High Sand Dune
40.3 RBD	Gravel Landing
40.3	Wire Suspension Bridge For Pipeline
41	Krotz Springs US Hwy 190 And 71 (2 Bridges)
41.5	Krotz Springs Union Pacific Railroad Bridge
42.3 RBD	Krotz Springs Boat Ramp
Krotz Springs History
42.5 RBD	Port Of Krotz Springs
Krotz Springs To The Split
Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge
44	Sherburne Bend
44.5 RBD	Frank Diesl Point
44.9 LBD	Small Sand Dune
46.1 RBD	Bayou Big Graw Boat Ramp
49.3 RBD	Bayou Courtableau
49.7 LBD	Coswell Point
51 RBD	Courtableau Point
54.2 LBD	End Of The East Bank Levee
55 LBD	Atchafalaya NWR Boat Ramp
55.1	Two Blue Holes
55.4 LBD	Alabama Point
56.4 RBD	Old Atchafalaya Point
56.4	The Atchafalaya Split
Whiskey Bay Pilot Channel
59.8	I-10 The Atchafalaya Basin Bridge
60 RBD	Sand Dune
60.5	Union Texas Petrochemical Aerial Crossing
61.7 LBD	Bayou Des Glaises Boat Ramp (Primitive)
62.3 LBD	Bayou Des Glaises
66.4 RBD	Splice Lake
66.7 LBD	Pat’s Throat
68 RBD	Willow Point
68.5 LBD	Blue Heron Point
70.9 LBD	Upper Grand River
73.4 LBD	Little Tensas Bayou
75.3 LBD	Texaco Resources Dock
75.5 RBD	Splice Island (Bottom End)
Primitive Camping In The Marshes & Swamps
75.7 LBD	Jake’s Bayou
75.8	Three Major Pipelines
76.4 LBD	Lake Mongoulois Point
77.2	RBD Bayou Chene
79.9	Tarleton Bayou
81.2 LBD	Bayou Sorrel
81.2 LBD	Bayou Sorrell: Alternate Route Down The Atchafalaya
3 Days On Dean’s Route
East Grand Lake
82.4 LBD	Bee Bayou
82 – 99	Chicot Pass
83	Pipeline Tailings
83.2	Philip’s Canal
85.7 RBD	Danbury Management Corp Dock
86.2 RBD	Canal Entrance
86.8 RBD	Canal Entrance
88.1 RBD	Canal Entrance
89.7 RBD	Pipeline Canal
91.2	Texas Gas Transmission Co. 12″ Gas Pipeline
Attakapas Island Wildlife Management Area
95.4 LBD	Blue Hole
96.1	Texas Gas Transmission Co. 12″ Gas Pipeline
96.7	Old Pipeline Canal
97.3	Louisiana Intrastate Gas Corp 4″ Gas Pipeline
98.2 RBD	Myette Point
MORGAN CITY GAGE (MCG)
Water Levels According To The Morgan City Gage
Tidal Influence
Estimate Your Camp Height
100.2 LBD	Blue Hole Landing
102 RBD	Sixmile Lake: Access To Wax Lake Outlet
Wax Lake Outlet: Alternate Route To The Gulf
Paradise Regained: The Wax Lake Delta
103.8 LBD	Narrow Bayou Leading To East Grand Lake
105 LBD	Blue Point Chute: Shortcut To Cypress Wonderland
107.9	Exxon Gas Transmission Company 20″ Gas Pipeline
108.3 RBD	Shortcut To Sixmile Lake
109 RBD	Cypress Pass Back Channel
109.5	Duck Lake Channel
Duck Lake
Many Rivers To Follow
111.7 RBD	Lower Atchafalaya River
111.7 RBD	Riverside Pass
112.5 RBD	Three Island Pass
113 RBD	Little Island Pass
Main Channel Atchafalaya River
115.1	American Pass
115.8 LBD	Pipeline Canal To Dog Island Pass And Flat Lake
Flat Lake
115.8 – 119.8 LBD	Drew’s Island
117 RBD	Stouts Point
119	Drew’s Pass
Dangers Of Paddling Through Morgan City
Waves
Small Tows In Harbors
Towboats Vs. Tugboats
Stay Off The River In Fog
Fleeted Barges
Buoys And Other Hazardous Stationary Objects
119 LBD	Swiftships Boat Yard
119.5 RBD	Bayou Teche (Berwick) Lock & Dam
119.5 RBD	Bayou Teche Water Trail
121	Morgan City US Hwy 90 Bridge
121.2 LBD	Morgan City Downtown Landing
Morgan City
121.3	Morgan City Texas And New Orleans Railroad Bridge
121.4 RBD	Berwick Public Boat Ramp
121.4 LBD	Mr. Charlie: The International Petroleum Museum
Intro: Morgan City To The Gulf Of Mexico
Maps Of The Atchafalaya Delta
Best Water Levels To Paddle To The Gulf
Morgan City Gage (MCG)
Water Levels According To The Morgan City Gage
Flood Stage Warning:
Weather And Tides
Check The Winds And Weather
Tidal Influence:
Estimate Your Camp Height
121.5 LBD	Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (East)
121.7 – 130.3	Bateman Island
Pipelines And Electrical Lines
124.2 RBD	Berwick Intracoastal Waterway Boat Launch
124.2 RBD	Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (West)
124.5 RBD	Gulf Intracoastal Waterway Point (South Side)
Atchafalaya Delta Navigation Channel Buoys
126-127 LBD	Outside Bend Highground
127.4	Bateman Island Point And Bend
127.5 – 128 RBD	Cypress Forests
128 – 131 LBD	Sweetbay Lake
131 LBD	Access To Bayou Shaffer Via Sweetbay Lake
131 RBD	Glass Island
Night-Time Sky In The Atchafalaya Delta
131.8 – 132 LBD	Stands Of Young Cypress Trees
134 RBD	Sandy Willow Spit
134 LBD	Avoca Island Cutoff
135-136 LBD	New Dike Wall
135-138 LBD	New Navigation Channel Around He Avoca Island Bend
136 – 137	Sandy Marsh Island
137.8 RBD	Shell Island Pass
Gulf Route: Crossing Over To The Wax Lake Delta
Atchafalaya Delta Wildlife Management Area
138.5 LBD	Low Lying Muddy/Sandy Beach With Willows
139.1 LBD	Small Shell Beach
140 LBD	Deer Island
140.5 RBD	Breaux’s Pass
140.2 LBD	Location Island Pass
142.2 LBD	East Pass
144.2 RBD	Amerada Pass
144.2 RBD	Willow Island
144.3 LBD	God’s Island
144.3 LBD	God’s Island
144.8 RBD	Log Island Pass
145.4 RBD	Yvette Island
146 RBD	Melanie Island
148.5 RBD	Donna Island
150.5 RBD	Eugene Island
151.5 LBD	Bird Island East
Pount Au Fer/Raqet Pass
Getting Back To Land
Atchafalaya Delta WMA Campground
Wax Lake Delta Passes
Getting Back
Upstream Paddling
What Do You Do Now With Your Vessel?
LiNKS = Leave No Kid On Shore

Louisiana Delta	229 – 10	BATON ROUGE TO VENICE
Birdsfoot Delta	10 – 0	VENICE TO GULF OF MEXICO