Neches Colliers Ferry Beaumont A

There are several interesting paddles near Beaumont Texas, one of which, shown above, launches at Colliers Ferry Park off of Highway 96. There is also a TPWD trail from here that is an out and back to Lake Bayou. But there is more to do than that and the route shown above is a bit longer in that it goes farther down the Neches to first hit Tenmile Creek and several channels there, then back up to Lake Bayou. Tenmile Creek doesn’t really go anywhere but it’s there and nice to check it out. The yellow line in the map is a short portage over a hill that I thought I could paddle between but couldn’t. Note that Bunn’s Canal runs northwest-southeast and one might take it….at the very northern-most end of the canal, near the road, there are keep out signs. This is a nice paddle, Lake Bayou is a pretty destination, and usually there will be a few gators hanging around here and there. These Neches/Beaumont paddles are close to Village Creek State Park, a good place to camp just north in Lumberton. One of the showers (men’s room) in the park is worth the price of admission.