Neches River, Highway 94 Launch, up
Kayak route trail map on the Neches River, starting at the Highway 94 bridge just to the west of Lufkin, TX. The launch is a dirt slope under the bridge. Highway 94 going west has quite a few bars and bottle shops, a picture of one is below. This section of river had the classic Neches River scenery, high orange-brown banks and tall pines and is one of the nicer sections of the upstream Neches. In the middle of the route, at the purple dot, the river splits west. A guy fishing on the river said you could also go north at that point and see a manmade spillway. The river here is the eastern boundary of the Davy Crockett National Forest as well as the TTL Temple conservation area, and so the scenery is pretty nice. Saw couple big bucks, couple pigs, an otter, and an alligator (tail only). The upstream Neches River gage at Hwy 7 gage was 380 cfs, and the downstream Neches River at Diboll gage was 430 cfs. About 21 miles round trip, took about five and a half hours.
31.2886,-94.88491
Launch Site Google Maps Link
Above: Neches River look in winter, with a bit of current.
Above: Huge pine across the river. At this level the boat could go under.
Above: Turnaround spot.
Above: Bar along Highway 94, this one with a warning. There is also a newspaper clipping posted, I will have to read it next time.
