Red River, Arkansas, Hwy 160 I-49 Launch

Kayak paddle trail route map, Red River,, Arkansas, Hwy 160 Ramp www.SawdustRiver.com

Kayak paddle route trail map on the Red River in Arkansas, south of Texarkana. The launch is along Highway 160 which itself doesn’t intersect I-49 but can be accessed by taking an I-49 exit to the north or south. The location of the ramp is at the confluence of the Sulphur and Red Rivers, and an earlier trip on the Sulphur reached this point and then went back upstream. But the confluence looked interesting so this time the route explores the Red River itself, going upstream in an out and back route, reaching a turnaround point at the Miller County Road 8 bridge. The river was low and there were lots of sandbars, but even with a flow of only 4500 cfs (Red River at Spring Bank) it was some work paddling upstream. At the launch I chatted with an Arkansas Game and Fish Officer who said the chance of seeing alligators was 100%. But unfortunately not for me on this trip. Later in the day the clouds and sky started to develop nicely. It is interesting to paddle these large rivers when they are not too crazy high, the scenery is open and you can see such a long ways. But they are flatwater paddles and involve a bit of grinding to make progress. A few powerboats were on the river; one mudboat got stuck in a shallow sandbar, so everybody got out to push.