05/11/2008
Bonnet Carre Spillway in Norco, Louisiana
Paddle start time: approximately 2PM.
Directions from New Orleans:
I-10 West towards Baton Rouge
Exit 310 South to Highway 61 (Airline)
Take Airline North / West toward Norco about 10 miles.
Just after entering Norco keep an eye out for the levee road (gravel)
that leads to the Bonnet Carre Spillway parking area.
Rating: 2 gators out of 5
There is a graduated paved boat launch with wooden pier here that was
as easy place to put in.
If you continue along the gravel levee road, near the end on the right
you will find an alternate boat launch that is also graduated, but
appears to be sand or dirt based and appears to be very lovely. We will
try this one next time!
On this trip, we entered on the paved launch are that is closest to
Airline Highway (from the map it might be referred to as the ATV area).
We paddled the length of the spillway. The spillway is wide, with
raised banks (approximately 1-3 feet) on both sides. The scenery was
underwhelming, but we saw a surprising variety of wildlife. The was
only one or two very slight turns in the spillway (one a u-turn at the
end).
One thing to note - you share the spillway with motorboats and
jet-skis. At the time of day we went, there were three motorboats and a
two person jet-ski in the spillway with us. They were very courteous
and slowed to minimize the wake when they passed us, but it is worth
mentioning none-the-less. However, the spillway is very long and
narrow, so most of the time, we felt as though we were on the water
alone. As we left, four more paddlers (2 different parties) were
putting in. We found a beautiful spot to put in further down the levee
road, which we will try on a later date - stay tuned!
Though the spillway has a sort of post-apocalyptic industrial feel to
it, we saw a lot of wildlife - nutria, vultures, a swimming green
snake (not the official name), alligators, many birds etc.
The Map
Vulture observing us observing a nutria in the roots of this tree
It was Mother's Day, so it was apropos we would see mother and child
alligators on our return paddle, just after I got off the phone
wishing my mother a happy Mother's day.
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Questions, comments, experiences -- email me: johnkosta shift2 earthlink.net
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