Upper Ouachita NWR C

Upper Ouachita NWR C Kayak Paddle Trip

This kayak trail in the Upper Ouachita NWR starts at the Finch Bayou Rec Area launch, aka Alabama Landing, goes north on the Ouachita River, then explores the east side. This area is complicated. Because the water was a bit low, some of the attempted routes ended fairly quickly. However it is possible to paddle up an east side channel that runs parallel to the river and, at the top most point, cross back over into the Ouachita. There was a spot (yellow, labeled ‘pull over levee’) along this channel where there is a breach in a levee barrier that one might paddle through. But the water there rushes onto a big pipe and it looked to me like one could make a really big mistake there. Like really big. So I pulled the boat up and over the barrier. The huge expanse of land on the northeast side of the map is a portion of the refuge called the Mollicy Unit. There are special annual access rules for this area, it’s not open all year. The take home message from this paddle is that there is a lot to do on the east side here, and in higher water it will be possible to go way back into the refuge. Very good.