User Rating: 5 / 5

Star ActiveStar ActiveStar ActiveStar ActiveStar Active
 

Cathedral Paddling Trail

Description

Paddlers of the Cathedral Trail on Caddo Lake discover the mystery of the cypress swamps the area is famous for. The 3.8 mile turn-around trail begins and ends at Shady Glade Resort, which has a marina and café and is the boarding dock for the Graceful Ghost Steamboat. Paddlers along Boat Road U pass residences and B&Bs to marvel at some of the older trees standing alone in the water. The Cathedral Trail began as a shortcut to great fishing holes and grew into a short but exhilarating stretch of towering bald cypress trees and inviting sandy rest stops. Visitors look at the forest floor for a variety of ferns, jack-in-the-pulpits, and lizard’s tail and into the treetops for wood storks and prothonotary warblers.

Location: Put-in and Take-out: Shady Glade Resort boat launch, 449 Cypress Drive, Uncertain, TX 75661, 903-789-3295  (launch fee applies).

Directions: From Hwy 43, take FM 2198 about 5 miles to its end and turn left at the stop sign onto Cypress Drive. Shady Glade Resort is in approx. 5 miles; the launch site is on the right.
Cathedral Paddling Trail Google Maps

Float time: Approximately 2 hours

Cathedral Paddling Trail Info - TPWD

 

Outfitters:
This list may not comprehensive; inclusion in this list does not constitute an endorsement.

* East Texas Sonar, 3200 N. Eastman Road, Longview, TX 75605, 903-663-4648     

* Johnson's Ranch Marina On Caddo Lake, 5131 East Cypress Drive, Uncertain, TX 75661, 903-789-3213 jrmarina.com

* Riverbend Outfitters, LLC,  2019 FM 726, Jefferson, Texas, 75657 903-625-9100 riverbendoutfittersllc.com

Important note: Many paddling trails flow through private property. When the land along a trail is private, paddlers may take out on sandbars within the riverbed, but exiting a canoe or kayak above the riverbed is trespassing.

Care must be taken when paddling to provide for the safety of all passengers.  State and federal laws require operators of paddlecraft to have a personal flotation device for each person on, an efficient sound-signaling device, and, if paddling after sunset, a light source visible from 360 degrees.  Texas Parks and Wildlife Department offers safety tips for paddlers and, with its Texas River Guide River/Stream Flow Application, utilizes data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to provide real-time flow levels for rivers and streams.

 

 

 

 

 

 

© 2023 East Texas Outdoors. All Rights Reserved.