Trip Report:  Turtle and White’s bayous  March 9, 2025

Participants:  Christy Long, Fran Wilcox, Ellen Shipman, Natalie Wiest

The four of us met at White’s Park and put our boats in the water by about 10 a.m.  This trip was originally scheduled as an Oyster Creek trip but high winds and open exposure on that creek changed our plans.  The high winds were certainly in evidence but thankfully for us, only on the treetops and on our drive to the putin.


It was a cool day with temperatures starting in the mid 50s and not quite getting to 60 degrees.

 

Lots of pickups with empty boat trailers were in the parking lot but there was very little motor boat traffic on White’s Bayou.  We were surprised at how high the water was and it gave us the opportunity to explore a side bayou and tributary of White’s Bayou.  Our pace was leisurely and as a warmup to bigger trash pickups we indulged in quite a lot of cleanup as we paddled along.

 

The high water and more than usual number of downed trees blocked our path as we did only about a mile of Turtle Bayou before we turned around. 













When we got back to White’s Park we decided to try our luck at evading the wind by sticking to the west side of Turtle Bayou itself and paddled downstream and back to the Turtle Bayou Nature Preserve.  Total mileage for the day, 4.2 miles. A very pleasant day on the water was had by all.

Natalie Wiest

Trip Coordinator