Angelina, Rayburn, 529 Shawnee Bottom Launch

The kayak trail route map above explores the Angelina River starting at a launch site along Co Rd 529 Shawnee Bottom Road. The area is just south of Nacogdoches, Texas. This put-in was actually the turnaround point for a previous trip that launched at Co Rd 539, further downstream. Getting to the 529 put-in does take a while, its a bit out of the way. The route itself is an out and back that goes west, picking its way along the Angelina up to Highway 59, which was the turnaround point. This route was fairly challenging–there were quite a few portages, go-arounds, and up-and-overs due to the many logjams, as the pictures below show. Part of that might have been due to low water level. The route also takes a few side channel detours with turnarounds marked as yellow dots on the map. Around one turn of the river I encountered a camouflaged bowhunter. I said, “Hi”, he said “Hi”. Its interesting to see this section of the Angelina River; farther downstream it widens and flows into the Sam Rayburn Reservoir. I wonder if going further upstream would be worth a try. There does seem to be a launch on Hwy 59 according to the satellite map.