Spring Creek
April 11, 2009
by John Rich

On April 11th, trip leader Ken McDowell and 17 other paddlers showed up under the Highway 59 bridge at 8:00 am to paddle Spring Creek, north of Houston. 

The original plan was to start in Spring at the Riley Fuzzle bridge, and go downstream back to Hwy 59. Unfortunately, the water level was very low, making the upper stretch of Spring Creek most likely impassable. There was a real risk of having to drag boats over sandbars for miles. So Ken made the correct decision to alter the plan to avoid that stretch of the Creek. Instead, “Plan B” was to put-in at Jesse Jones Park, paddle upstream as far as possible, then turn around and go back past Jesse Jones Park, and continue downstream to Hwy 59.

The shuttle was done by Southwest Paddle Sports, who picked us up under Highway 59, and took the boats and paddlers to Jesse Jones. This is a short and simple shuttle drive: south on Hwy 59, west on 1960, and then turn into Jesse Jones Park.

The below street map shows the easy shuttle route, and the blue line shows the section of creek that was paddled. The solid blue line is Spring Creek, and the dotted blue line is Cypress Creek.

The second image below is an aerial view of the same section, showing how undeveloped and pristine it remains, with white sand beaches on the outside of the meanders.

On this online water flow chart, I’ve marked the day of the paddle with the red arrow. You can see that the water level is low at that point, and that the characteristic of this creek is to get large spikes during rainstorms, and then to quickly drop back to a low level again. Just one day after our trip, the rain created yet another spike. At 40 cfs there is not enough water to paddle Spring Creek above Cypress Creek. The previous time I've paddled that stretch the water was at about 80 cfs, which made for a very pleasant day.

 

Float plan and street map		Aerial photo		USGS water flow chart

(Click once on the thumbnail images to display a larger version.)

Southwest Paddle Sports does an excellent job on the shuttle service, for anyone running a trip in this area.

How many boats can you fit on a boat trailer designed to hold ten boats? Answer: at least 16! And if it wasn't for those battleship-size canoes that occupy an entire berth by themselves, it could hold even more.

Neat license plate		Shuttle service		The boat trailer

Arriving at Jesse Jones Park, we checked in with the park ranger, pulled the posts up out of the middle of the paved hiking trail down to the creek, and drove the shuttle van down the quarter-mile trail to the boat ramp. The boats were unloaded from the trailer, and carried down the concrete ramp to the water line. After final preparations were made, we pushed off into the creek.

Boat ramp		Preparing to enter		On the water		Ken McDowell, trip leader

After paddling upstream for a while, we stopped for a rest and lunch break on a white sand bar at the confluence of Cypress Creek and Spring Creek. From there we scouted Spring Creek upstream, and confirmed that there wasn’t sufficient water to paddle, and that we had made the correct decision to not begin further upstream. You could walk across the creek there and barely get your ankles wet.

Break time		Lunch time

After lunch, we gathered up for a group photo. The participants were: Ken Anderson, Joe Coker, Roy & Lydia Cruzen, David Kitson, Halcyon Learned, Linda Leatherwood, Jim Goodale & Honey Leveen, Linda Love, Ken Mcdowell, William & Gabby Neptune, John Rich, Milton Robertson, Jacqueline Webster, and Natalie & Ellen Wiest.

Group photo

Then Ken called us together into a pow-wow to discuss our next move. Some paddlers wanted to try continuing further upstream on the Cypress Creek branch, while others were ready to turn around and head for the take-out at Hwy 59. So we had a show of hands, and 10 people decided to go upstream, while the remaining 8 headed back downstream. The up-streamer’s weren’t sure how far they would get due to low water, but they were going to give it a try.

As it turned out, Cypress Creek had sufficient water to paddle without dragging bottom. The banks were lined with woods, and occasional spots contained fishermen. The creek seems to contain bass, catfish and gar. You could see fish breaking the surface, but not with enough of the body showing to positively identify the type.

We followed Cypress Creek upstream to the Cypresswood Drive bridge, and called that our turn-around point.

This bridge could serve as an additional entry and exit point for Cypress Creek. There is sufficient space for parking under the bridge, and a short walk down a 15-foot high soft sand bank to the flat beach water line.

Cypress Creek		Cypresswood Drive bridge		Gabby naps while William gesticulates

After a short break under the bridge, we headed back downstream, stopping two more times for breaks. Once again at the junction of Cypress Creek and Spring Creek, and then back at Jesse Jones Park. At the park, several paddlers went up the path to check the closing time, to ensure that their vehicles wouldn't be trapped inside closed gates by the time we were done. The park closes at 7:00 pm, and they tow vehicles which are left behind. Beware.

Aircraft taking off frequently from Bush Intercontinental airport pass over the creek, creating a very noisy disturbance. But the noise is temporary until they've passed by overhead. The odd thing is, that the Highway 59 road traffic is just as noisy, and continuous! But you don't hear that until you're within about a mile of the highway.

Aircraft

In the first photo below, Joe Coker approaches the Highway 59 takeout point. In the third photo, He-men Ken Anderson and William Neptune carry two boats at once from the take-out back to the vehicles, parked 100-yards away under the bridge.

Joe Coker approaching the take-out		The take-out beach		Carrying boats

The group that went up the Cypress Creek branch ended up paddling a total of about 9 miles, getting off the water by 4:30 pm, making for a day that was just right; not too long, and not too short. The weather cooperated and wasn't too cold, nor too hot, and we didn't get rained upon. While it was disappointing not getting to paddle the upper section of Spring Creek, we did get to explore Cypress Creek instead. And as usual, it's all done with an amazing group of wonderful people. About half of this group I had not paddled with before, so I got to make a bunch of new friends. All in all, a darned good day on the water.

 

The author, John Rich