Atchafalaya, Doiron’s Landing

Kayak paddle trail route map in the Atchafalaya basin, launching from Doiron’s Landing, above Morgan City, Louisiana. This is more or less on the southern side of the Basin. The launch is about an hour from Lake Fausse Pointe State Park where I stayed and, as usual in the huge Atchafalaya area this means back and forth gas money $$. The launch requires a 5 buck dashboard permit that is purchased at Doiron’s gas station across the street. The permit allows launching at three nearby spots, this one faced west towards the waterway. This was a great route, first crossing the Little Tensas Bayou (as labeled by Google maps, labeled by DeLorme as something else, so I’m not so sure) with its tugs and barges, then entering the real swamp. The route is a big loop but also tries some out and backs on some side channels just to see. One of these, the north-south out and back that is within the loop route itself is interesting…the channel eventually narrows to the point of impassability at the yellow turnaround dot, and the water becomes very clear. Dozens of alligators were observed throughout the trip but it was very hard to get close enough for a picture before they slid or crashed into the water. Depending on how far one can paddle in a day there are a variety of additional route alternatives here. I think this was one of the nicer Atchafalaya paddles, I saw nobody in the swamp during the trip and the scenery was better than usual. If you’re not from this area, good luck pronouncing ‘doiron’.