Travel

Day-trip to Big Thicket National Preserve – Texas Go-To During a Pandemic

July 16, 2020 / Comments Off on Day-trip to Big Thicket National Preserve – Texas Go-To During a Pandemic

Big Thicket National Preserve – Where to go when there’s nowhere to go.

What do you do when you are amidst a pandemic and have a four-day weekend for Memorial Day and all reservations are sold out in every state/national park in Texas you can think of? Answer: You go where no one would think to go. After plenty of of research, we’d decided on making a day-trip to Big Thicket National Preserve from Austin, Texas.

Now, I know what you’re thinking – no one would think of going there because it wouldn’t be a place worth going. At least, that’s what I thought – at first. While Big Thicket National Preserve may not be on the radar for your Texas Hiking/Kayaking Bucket List, it was a definite pleasant surprise – and well worth the trip – for us for our Memorial Day weekend.

Heading out on a cloudy day, this was not too far from the Saltwater Barrier

What You Need to Know:

  • The closest city/town is Kountze (honestly, it really isn’t that far from civilization)
  • Three and a half hours from Austin, Texas
  • The paddling trails cover up to 28 miles of the Neches River
  • The preserve is very large and spread out – it covers 113,114 acres of land and water in Southeast Texas
  • Extends over nine different ecosystems
  • No entrance fee (free is always an extra plus!)
  • Alternative activities available:
    • Fishing, hunting, back-country camping, hiking
  • Be sure to always check current conditions (water, weather, COVID restrictions, etc.)
  • There are several boat launches
    • We used the boat launch by the LNVA Saltwater Barrier to get to Cook Paddle Trail
  • If you are going to camp, you need a reservation
  • There are three paddle trails:
    • Cooks Lake to Scatterman Paddling Trail (the one we did)
      • Length: 4.8 mile loop
      • Time: 2 – 5 hours (for us it took about 2.5 hours, but we didn’t do very much exploring beyond the trail)
      • There are signs along the paddle trail which are pretty helpful, but somewhat hard to see as they are relatively small
      • The current was strong by the Saltwater Barrier but the farther upstream the more the current weakened and was very pleasant – surprisingly, going back towards the Saltwater barrier boat ramp was even harder than getting away from it
    • Collier’s Ferry to Lake Bayou Paddling Trail
      • 7 miles roud-trip
    • Village Creek Paddling Trail
      • 2.1 miles to 21 miles
      • Camping is allowed on sandbars
Sunglasses and a hat helped – even though it was cloudy, there is little shade until you get to the slough part of the trail

What You Should Bring:

Entering the slough – in other words, the best part!

What We Did: Cooks Lake to Scatterman Paddling Trail

We had planned on waking up at 7 am, but it being a holiday – I took advantage of sleeping in. Thanks for my deep love for them Zzzz’s, we ended up leaving around 9:30 am. On the way, we made a lunch-stop for some tasty BBQ sandwiches and chips at Bucky’s. As I was driving, Adam (my husband), a little apprehensive about the durability of our inflatable kayaks in what we were envisioning as swamp water with low visibility, called a local kayak place, of which they didn’t answer. A few hours later, they called back and left a message, pretty much saying they were overwhelmed for the day. But for those in the future who are interested in renting a kayak, there are two main ones in the area: Big Thicket Outfitters and Eastex Canoes (not currently providing shuttle service), the latter costing around $35 for a solo Kayak and you can make an online reservation whereas the former you have to call for more info on rates. We arrived around 2:00 pm. As we were kayaking the Cooks Lake to Scatterman Paddling Trail, a 4.8 mile trail beginning and endings at the LNVA Saltwater Barrier boat ramp. It was a breezy day with mild temperatures. The forecast had predicted rain, but besides some drizzling, it was pretty clear. After parking my Honda Civic in a parking lot full of pick-ups/trucks, and spending about thirty or so minutes filling up our kayaks and getting ready, we launched ourselves into the water. The sun was intermittently bright (thanks to the cloud-cover) so I was glad I brought my hat. The current was surprisingly strong and after about twenty minutes of fighting it, I was already tired (haha). You don’t see the signs immediately but just keep to the left side of the riverbank and eventually you’ll see some small signs every fifteen minutes or so on the trees.

As you can see, there are tiny signs on the trees directing you where to go.

The trail itself is pleasant, comparable to Ladybird Lake (if you’ve kayaked Ladybird Lake), but with trees of greater substance and age and more overgrowth along the riverbanks. There were few other paddlers (we some boats here and there, of whose passengers were very friendly). We witnessed a couple of alligator gar, which was somewhat alarming.

Making our way through the slough…

Once we made our way to the entrance of the slough, I was pretty excited. The current was almost nonexistent and the shady cypress transported us into a bygone time. All you can hear are the sounds of the forest, the bugs, frogs, and chirping of cicadas. I felt like any second “Just around the river bend” would start playing in the background. Navigation among the tree nubs peeking through the water was a little complex but fun (like trying to escape a maze). It seemed like every turn we made, something jumped into the water, away from our sight (we were assuming turtles). The arrows/signs were more frequent in here and we only got turned around a couple of times. Once you find yourself out there, there wasn’t as much signage and we had to reference our maps/GPS. As mentioned in other articles, there are some random debris along the route (barrels, etc.), so just something to watch out for. However, we never felt too out of our element with inflatable kayaks. I only wished that the slough part of the trail had lasted longer. Overall, I would consider the paddling conditions easy, and the adventure fun!

If I could do it again, I would’ve…

  • Gone Earlier in the Day
    • Austin is about four hours away from Big Thicket. We got there around 2pm. After about thirty minutes of filling up our kayaks and getting ready, we were on the water closer to 3pm. I was surprised at how short of a trail it actually ended up being (despite the 5 hours recommendation, we leisurely breezed through the trail in about 2.5 hours without even pushing ourselves).
  • Stayed Overnight – Lodging
    • Considering how far away it was, I had toyed with the idea of staying overnight in a cabin. There were quite a few options after doing some research but as it was Memorial Day Weekend and I since hadn’t planned on going to this part of Texas beforehand, everything was already reserved/sold-out. Besides, we’re on a budget. But if you’re looking for some nice places to stay, you can look into the following:
      • Etheridge Farm Bed and Breakfast  (https://www.ethridgefarm.com/directions/) – $149 per night
        • Three cabins to suit your needs/group. They include a hot tub under the stars for an additional $20 charge and free home-made breakfast from farm-grown food (as well as a home-made country dinner if you want for an additional charge).
  • Explored more of the trails (kayaking and hiking)
    • According to Alltrails.com, the Kirby Nature Trail, Sundew Trail and Pitcher Plant Trail are the highest rated and had I more time and planned a weekend rather than a day, I would’ve wanted delver further into the variety of ecosystems claimed

Overall, I was very surprised. Although it may not look like much (even from my pictures as I didn’t bring my good camera for obvious reasons), it was a great deal of fun and a unique experience totally worth doing. #IfICouldDoItAgain, I would do it again.

You May Also Like

How to Travel When You’re Broke!

September 3, 2020

Camping in Autumn in Garner State Park (during COVID-19)

December 24, 2020

Hiking The Narrows (During COVID-19)

July 13, 2020