This is the first of a series of four articles on four day trips I canoed with my family. Though I enjoy the non camping canoeing day tour, I saw these trips as stopgaps. I had hopes and plans for bigger and better things. One of those things was the Brazos and the other was the Trinity. After a very wet first half of 2024 I recognized the day tour would suffice.
As fall approached I recognized there was a cumulative effect from these trips. It pleased me to discover that continuity could flow from these segmented and disjointed half day excursions. This first article features a trip where certain awarenesses and appreciations were made that would become apparent to me on later trips. I hope you enjoy the process presented in this series.
Late in 2023 my canoeing focus shifted to training with my children. As such I found myself seeking new flat-waters.
For these trips I first sought waters rated "A," by the Texas Rivers Protection Association. I also needed single entry point accesses, preferably a class 1, or at least a short and easy class 2. The waters I discovered are well known by many. Some were new for me. Sharing them with my teenage son and daughter was a pleasure.
I'll conserve words where I can and let the pictures do the talking.
Lake Charlotte & Ancillary Waters
One new-to-me but well known to many Houston paddlers is the cypress tree rimmed, Lake Charlotte.
My friend Dave and I reconned this lake on December 2nd of 2023. We came
back a few weeks later, this time with two canoes. My son Leif and I powered my Journey 167. His help off-loading the canoe from the van was appreciated. Dave and his partner used a 16' Sawyer Mohawk.
There are a lot of neat things about Lake Charlotte. One is the Army Corps of Engineer's Cedar Hill Park with its unique access to the lake shore. This is a clean and well maintained facility.
Lake Charlotte is a natural lake. Naturally formed lakes are a somewhat uncommon feature in Texas. Besides the lake there is lot of history to be explored here. Here the stories of Native Americans mingle with the French and Spanish, with missionaries and pirates, and with veterans of the Texas Revolution.
Other intriguing things about Lake Charlotte are the ancillary waters of Mac Bayou, Sulfur Cut and Mac Lake. The Trinity River is accessible from Sulfur Cut. These are on the north end of the lake.
On the south end is Lake Pass, a channel that leads to Miller and Mud Lakes and also to the Trinity. I have not yet found Lake Pass or the connected waters with my canoe, but we will persevere...as soon as the alligator rumpus cools down in the fall.
For orientation of these waters refer to the map in the text below.
From Lake Charlotte we entered Mac Bayou. On the bayou we came across some possum grapes. Believe it or not, I was not familiar with that wild vine and fruit. I thought they were the smallest muscadine grapes I'd ever seen! Later I read about possum grapes in Richard Donovan's book about the Neches River. The dots connected for me later, on another day canoe trip.
Mac Bayou intersects and crosses Sulfur Cut.
Sulfur cut, I suspect is an "improved" channel. It might be altogether man made, to connect the Trinity River to the abandoned dock of a now defunct sulfur company. For the trip with my son, we jig jagged from Mac Bayou into Sulfur Cut and across back into Mac Bayou. Not far on the other side of Sulfur Cut, Mac Bayou opens to Mac Lake.
At the mouth of Sulfur Cut I expected to encounter a ripping Trinity current. Both my attempts on the Trinity were met with slack waters. The river here is big and expansive. It is easy to feel insignificant.
Early on in this trip it was evident that Dave had the faster canoe. Here I discovered a competitive streak in Leif. Amused and pleased by this, we learned that sustained extra effort could put us ahead of the Mohawk. Now and again when we found the Mohawk ahead of us Leif polished his form and doubled his efforts. Before long we closed the distance and a little later we passed the yellow canoe. At the end of the day we had traveled over seven miles. We were a little tired but wiser and satisfied.
So far we have canoed Lake Charlotte, Mac Bayou, Sulfur Cut, Mac Lake and the Trinity River. Finding Lake Pass was a secondary priority. We only looked for it towards the end of the first trip. I am sure I can locate it with some diligence.
Thanks for reading!
MSM
For further reading click on the links below.
Spring Creek Access & Water Details
Below are bonus pictures, and captions too!
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