Haggerty Creek Paddling Trail
Description
The sounds are frogs croaking, owls calling, fish splashing; the view is towering cypress trees and floodplain forest up a feeder stream of Big Cypress Bayou. The Haggerty Creek Paddling Trail heads down Big Cypress Bayou, then turns upstream into the bottomland forest and bald cypress thickets of Haggerty Creek. The creek slowly twists and turns until it narrows into a secluded oasis. Paddlers enjoy the infinite shades of green in the spring and summer and rusts and golds of autumn on this 5-mile turn-around trail.
Location: Put-in and take-out at Backwater Jack’s R.V. Park, 621 Longs Camp Rd. Karnack,TX 75661, 903-679-3427. Note: Five paddling trails begin at this site. Inquire locally which trail best suits your paddling adventure.
Directions: From Marshall, take Hwy 43 north for 14.7 miles. Turn left onto FM 134 West for 3.5 miles; then right on Longs Camp Rd (CR 2403) for less than a mile to the end of the road.
Float time: 2 to 3 hours
Haggerty Creek Paddling Trail - Info
Outfitters:
This list may not comprehensive; inclusion in this list does not constitute an endorsement.
* Backwater Jack’s R.V. Park. 621 Longs Camp Rd., Karnack, TX 75661; 903-679-3427 www.backwaterjacksrv.com/
* 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
903-746-7068 or 903-926-0203 https://riverbendoutfitters.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.