Caddo, James Bayou Louisiana

The border between Texas and Louisiana runs through Caddo Lake and so there is a Louisiana side to paddle and explore that is different from the 805 WMA launch routes. The access point is a private launch where you can pay a few bucks to put into James Bayou along Highway 2. To the south the bayou opens up and meets the lake, and to the north it’s a narrow cypress swamp. The route in the map above goes both ways, first up then down. The swamp is interesting because its isolated and silent, except that every so often you hear the squeaking and grind of the pumpjacks hidden in the woods. The mechanical grinding of machinery in the swamp gives a very post-apocalyptic feel–the humans are gone but the machines are still running. I think it would be possible to go further up but I reached a duck blind and didn’t want to interfere with that. About midway up there is a turn or two that was a bit tricky. The lake side is very pretty as well, and I saw a lot of beaver dams, more than usual.