Bayou Segnette, Westwego
Louisiana
Google Terrain Map
They call me Michelle and I came to Paddle.
Paddle Date
05-18-2008
Directions from New Orleans
Crescent City Connection to the Westbank. Stay on 90 west all the way. After you enter Westwego be on the lookout for Drake street where you will take a left. It is probably easier to see signs for Bayou Segnette State Park (I'll get a picture of the entrance the next time I go.)Launch area description
OK - so there was a little confusion on this paddle. First, the boat launch looked too busy and intimidating. Lots of giant sparkle motorboats with 250HP engines. So the ranger suggested we might want to try paddling around at the picnic area. That sounded nice, and looked nice. Gentle grassy slope that should be easy to maneuver. We thought the picnic area probably connected to the main bayou somewhere since we weren't 10 years old and paddling inflatable inner tubes. We even got to practice our sideways / paddle on the ground gripped with back hand / feet first entries. Nobody spilled. So far so good. We thought we might make it out of the picnic area and into the bayou. Not unless we could drill through about 20 feet of concrete. Maybe the other way? We saw a few alligators, floating serenely amongst the piles of garbage in the water. We headed up the canal ignoring the ever thickening soup we paddled through. Finally, it just got too gross and we turned back. But now we had the paddle itch.We threw the boats back up on top of the cars and drove around the corner to the main boat launch, weaving our way through pickups and boat trailers. This launch, on a Sunday when it wasn't too hot, was very. There are about 6 launch areas (graduated cement), with wooden piers in between. This made getting in and out easy - we just waited our turn with the other boats, then put in.
Price
$1 per personRating
Notable
odds of hearing a "hey, where's your motor" joke - 9 out of 10. Stay within the lane markers and the speed boats only make waves (not trouble.) One does have to cross through heavy speedboat lanes to progress through the bayou. Some of these boats can really move. The water is wide, so it seems they would have to try and hit you - but you never know. Most boaters slowed to a crawl and gave us a wave. Not all though, and the closer we got to Lake Salvador, the less likely the boaters were to slow.There are a few lovely secluded areas worth exploring. We saw some big gators in the larger area of the bayou. We saw turtles, huge blue herons, and many other birds. We saw an eagle or hawk of some variety in the spillway / picnic area.
If you are looking for a long paddle, this would work great for you as Bayou Segnette meets up with Lake Salvador, as well as the Barataria Preserve.
Fellow paddler Dusk reports that on weekdays, motorboat traffic is much less of a concern.
And worth noting one more time - unless you are a child, stay out of the picnic area.
There are bathrooms around the park.
