Just as I was thinking I would like to paddle Buffalo Bayou but didn’t know the status of its access points, Tom Douglas proposed a scouting trip to check them out. As usual that was all the enticement it took for me to join him and an interested group of others. The overall plan was to update the paddling trail maps and signage as provided by Texas Parks and Wildlife in its Paddling Trails series. For the TPWD description and overall map, look here.
November 6 our group met at the far upstream end, where the bayou emerges from Barker Reservoir and crosses under highway 6. Our group included, in addition to Tom and myself, Bruce Bodson, John Bartos, Sarah Bernhardt (Bayou Preservation Association), Carolyn White (Memorial Park Conservancy), and some others including Mark Mulligan of the Houston Chronicle.
My descriptions of the locations are from the paddler’s perspective and particularly for those of us who are offloading boats to carry to the water’s edge.
Stop #1 Terry Hershey Park at Highway 6. There is a nice big parking lot here, and not far from where the water courses under the bridge. Putting a boat in the water, however, is a bit more challenging. Either you will have to very cautiously go down a concrete embankment to put your boat in fast-flowing, no-eddy streamflow; or you will have to carry your boat some distance down a heavily bike-travelled, fenced walkway to drop into the water probably 200 yards downstream of the highway 6 bridge. Interesting little drop in the watercourse also with a midstream boulder or chunk of concrete where it seems almost unavoidable at our scouting water level. The USGS gage at highway 6 showed about 65 cfs for this date. This is also mile 0 for the Terry Hershey Park bike path.
Access Point #2, Mayde Creek from Memorial Mews, Terry Hershey Park. There is on-street parking here and a modest hike across the grass to the stream bank. The access point is somewhat washed out but at least it’s not a cliff and a wide hike and bike path passes through. Mayde Creek enters Buffalo Bayou a short distance downstream.
Access Point #3. At Dairy Ashford. This might be described as urban ugly, with a steep sandy bank approach. You will have to carry your boat at least 100 yards to get to the water.
Access Point #4. West Sam Houston Parkway. Nice big parking lot, lovely urban landscaping and trails here. This is the most benign of all the entry points (IMHO) as far as physical aspects. However, note the user-unfriendly signage at the fence separating you from easy access to the river bank. Our group was undecided on whether or not former ticketing operations still applied – i.e., will you get ticketed and fined for attempting to use this since we are not “maintenance only” workers.
 |
|
|
Access Point #5. Briar Bend Park canoe launch. This is a very pleasant neighborhood park with picnic area and an established canoe launch trail down to the water. High water events have clearly eroded part of the facility close to the water and graffiti artists seem to have taken a liking to it. Some of us old timers remember Bob Arthur, former club member and canoeing promoter, who is memorialized here. Street parking is available and like almost all of the other sites, no restroom facilities are available. It’s a circuitous and moderately steep walk to the launch site. The illustrious scouts posed here for our group photo.
Access Point #6. Woodway canoe launch. Both erosion and accretion have challenged this location. There is a nice parking lot, with a stroll down to the launch site. It’s been quite a while since I was here and we can see there has been a lot of recent work to make it usable. Houston Chronicle photographer Mark Mulligan took photos that appeared on the front page on Sunday, November 15. The Chronicle article is about the Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries Resiliency Study. Steep sandy banks line the bayou on both sides.
Access Point #7. Hogg Bird Sanctuary. Perhaps the most controversial of the access points. Excellent large parking lot but frequently locked and utilization by boaters is discouraged. Adding to that, it is a very difficult route to the water. There is no path, with steep banks, and dense vegetation. Might be used in an emergency but not recommended.
Access Point #9. Sabine Street. Parking is on the street or across the way at the athletic facility. A lovely canoe arch is above the walkway leading down to the water – with a long set of steps and those pesky railings that would make carrying your boat a bit more challenging. The concrete dock area is more suited to the pontoon boats that take tourist rides along here. The agile among us can drop into our boats off the side of the dock. We spotted an alternate more natural access point down a drainage ditch to a small sandbar by the bayou. This is another long walk to the water no matter how you cut it – and a walkway across the water so you can hardly miss the takeout. Tom and Carolyn compare their notes on the trip.
Dunlavy/Lost Lake access point. Not on the formal Paddle Trail, but another way to access the water. Like several of the others, good parking area but again a long carry down to the water, circuitous stairways with railings. New landscaping and bank improvement. The Lost Lake visitor center was closed when we looked at it, a pandemic casualty. Its restrooms were likewise unavailable. I’ve used this access point in the past to look at the Waugh Drive bat colony and their night flight – taking out at Sabine Street downstream but it was quite a challenge getting up those steps at Sabine Street.
We ran out of time to complete the survey although we feel Access Point #8 is unchanged from our previous knowledge. This is at Eleanor Tinsley Park. Nice parking area, if you can find a space, but a VERY long walk to the water. The put-in is downstream from the parking area. From here on the bayou you pass under Interstate 45, and a whole host of major road crossings including Sabine Street until you reach the Allen’s Landing Park. We will likely do more reconnaissance on these access points at a later time.
Tom Douglas is compiling a much more complete description of all these sites including bayou mileages between them and a lot of other details, so look forward to that sometime in the future.