The Lower Mississippi River Water Trail

Lake Providence Harbor Boat Launch

Narrow concrete ramp cut through the muddy banks of the harbor.  Good at all water levels.  Don’t leave vehicle here except for daytrip.  The walk to town is three miles.

 

Boat Launch to River

You can put in at the Lake Providence Harbor Boat Launch and paddle one-and-a-half miles to reach the main channel of the Mississippi River.

 

Back Channel Ajax

When the river is high (above 33 Vicksburg Gauge) adventurous paddlers can dive into a series of chutes and back channels that dart in and out of a myriad of islands that have formed over the years in the Ajax Bar vicinity.  The route chosen here is just one of dozens of possibilities.  Pick a line and follow it, but be watchful for snags, strainers and other hazards.  Frequent log jams changes in sandbar topography.  Ajax is mostly contained within the Shipland Wildlife Management Area.

 

LBD 487-481 Shipland Wildlife Management Area

 

 

Opposite Lake Providence and behind the Ajax archipelago canoeists and kayakers can enjoy the 3,500-acre Shipland Wildlife Management Area (WMA) which was established in 1982 on land purchased from the Nature Conservancy.  This is the only WMA in the Mississippi batture lands; that is, the land between the Mississippi River and the main-line river levee. The area is classified as bottomland hardwood but the habitat varies across the WMA from sand fields composed of grassland and stunted trees to a forest of oaks, pecan, and sugarberry, to low wet areas of willow trees and buttonbush.  During low water levels there are also several hundred acres of sandbars in the Mississippi River that can be accessed on foot. In the last 10 years, several types of logging operations were conducted on the area to improve the habitat for wildlife. WMA personnel also plant winter and summer food plots and maintain permanent openings to provide additional food for wildlife.  Shipland WMA provides year-round public hunting and fishing opportunities. Deer hunting is the most popular form of hunting followed closely by squirrel and waterfowl hunting. Deer seasons are restricted to archery and primitive weapon, with harvest limited to antlerless deer and bucks with an inside spread of at least 12 inches, or one main beam length of at least 15 inches. The black color phase of fox squirrels occurs on the area and is considered a trophy by hunters who come from areas where this phase is not found. Waterfowl hunting opportunities exist mainly in the Mississippi River, and the hunting can be good at times. Rabbit and turkey hunting is generally poor due to the yearly flooding by the Mississippi River depressing their numbers. There is a small ox-bow lake on the southern end of the area that provides good fishing opportunities. Although there is not a boat ramp on the area providing access into the river, there are places a small boat can be launched from the bank if the river is not too low. Primitive camping is also allowed on the area.

Shipland WMA is also a very good area for bird watching. The borrow areas next to the main line levee, and the sand dunes in the river provide excellent areas to see shore 

Leave A Comment

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
Introduction  
Greenville to Lake Providence
Greenville, Mississippi  
Greenville Accomodations and Restaurants  
Greenville Blues Festivals  
Greenville Boat Ramp  
Greenville Harbor  
537 LBD Warfield Point Park
537 LBD Old Warfield Point Boat Ramp
537 LBD New Warfield Point Boat Ramp
537 LBD New Warfield Point Boat Ramp
534 LBD Vaucluse Landing
531.5 RBD Sunny Side Landing
530.7 LBD Greenville Bridge
529 – 525.5 LBD Lakeport Towhead / American Bar
525 LBD American Cut-Off / Lake Lee
Lake Lee Public Boat Ramp  
Options for Paddlers Below Greenville Bridge Near American Bar and Lake Lee  
Lake Washington  
523 – 520 RBD Island 68
519 – 515 RBD Kentucky Bend
515 – 512 LBD Leota Bar / Cracraft Chute
514 – 512 RBD Worthington Cutoff, Matthews Bend, Grand Lake, Island 88
512 RBD (And Up Back Channel) Grand Lake Landing Boat Ramp
510 – 506 RBD Cracraft Bar
Paddler’s Choices Through Cracraft Chute & Sarah’s Cutoff  
Entering Louisiana  
503.5 RBD Bunch’s Cutoff
503 RBD Chute of Old River Lake
505 – 502 LBD Corregidor Bar
500 – 495 RBD Wilson Point Bar
496 LBD Tennis Court Landing
Vicksburg Gage  
Water Levels and Dikes  
494 – 487 LBD Baleshead / Stack Island / Ben Lamond
Two Stack Islands?  
Lake Providence  
Lake Providence Landings  
Paddler’s Choices in the Mayersville – Lake Providence Area  
487 – 481 LBD Shipland Wildlife Management Area
Lake Providence to Vicksburg
Vicksburg Gage  
Water Levels and Dikes  
Water Levels and Dikes  
Lake Providence  
Lake Providence Landing  
Paddler’s Choices in the Mayersville – Lake Providence Area  
487 – 481 LBD Shipland Wildlife Management Area
480 – 474 Fitler Bend
471 – 465 Arcadia Point Bar / Cottonwood Bar
Paddler’s Routes Arcadia Point Bar / Cottonwood Bar  
462 – 459 RBD Willow Island
461 LBD Chotard Lake Terrapin Neck Cutoff
Laney’s Landing  
459 LBD 2010 F-4 Tallulah – Yazoo Tornado
458.8 LBD Eagle Lake Pass
458 LBD Tara Landing
457 RBD Madison Parish Port and Public Boat Launch
Bluz Cruz Kayak and Canoe Race  
Willow Island, Chotard Lake, and Eagle Lake: Paddler’s Routes  
458 – 449 Milliken Bend
449 – 445 RBD Sparta Island
449 – 445 RBD Marshall Cutoff
446.5 LBD Paw Paw Chute
The “Heart of the Darkness” Tour  
Around Paw Paw to Forest Home Chute  
Paw Paw to Vicksburg Via the Yazoo  
Steele Bayou Control Structure  
What Are the Paw Paws  
Paw Paw Chute / Sparta / Brown’s Point: Paddler’s Routes  
445 – 442 Brown’s Point
444 Brown’s Point Fault Line
441 – 438.5 RBD Delta Point Bar
Habitat Restoration on the Lower Miss  
438 RBD King’s Point / Secret Entrance Into Lake Centennia
437.7 LBD Mouth of the Yazoo River
Vicksburg  
Vicksburg Services and Accommodations  
Vicksburg Services, Accommodations, and Restaurants  
Looking Downstream  
Loess Bluffs 437 – 225 VICKSBURG TO BATON ROUGE
Atchafalaya River 159 – 0 SIMMESPORT TO MORGAN CITY
Louisiana Delta 229 – 10 BATON ROUGE TO VENICE
Birdsfoot Delta 10 – 0 VENICE TO GULF OF MEXICO