Twelve Mile Bayou, Soda Lake WMA, below Caddo, LA
Kayak trail route map along Twelve (12) Mile Bayou in northwest Lousiana. Twelve Mile is the downstream output of Caddo Lake and Big Cypress Bayou; it starts from the spillway and empties into the Red River in Shreveport. The launch is off of Dixie Mooringsport Road. The land near the launch and along the banks at the north end of the bayou is part of the Soda Lake WMA. The bayou is fairly wide and involves flatwater paddling down and back. The gage for this trip read about 9.5 cfs which is really no current here at all. On the way back there was nice sized alligator on the bank, as well as a bunch of black vultures eating a dead pig. The trip went down to the Interstate 49 bridge and back, along with a short section upstream to check out the spillway. While it’s interesting to see this side of Caddo Lake, it’s really a water control corridor and not a cypress swamp.
32.69989,-93.90908
Launch Site Google Maps Link
Above: The boat launch off of Dixie Mooringsport Road.
Above: Disaster.
Above: The Caddo Lake Spillway.
Above: Break time along Twelve Mile Bayou.
Above: Bunch of black vultures eating a dead pig that was in the water.
Above: The sky can make flatwater paddling more interesting.
Above: There is an alligator there, in the center, on the bank, behind some sticks.