Our rivers are different every time. Especially summer mid-day and winter sunset.

Summer, Winter

This is the Little River, at the end of Little River Road, where Lowndes County owns an acre.

That acre is 17.24 river miles downstream from Folsom Bridge @ GA 122. That’s long but doable if the river is high.

It’s 7.7 more miles downstream to Troupville Boat Ramp @ GA 133. That’s a normal day’s paddling.

So this acre is about 2/3 of the 25 river miles between Folsom Bridge and Troupville Boat Ramp. 25 miles is too long or almost anybody to paddle in a day. So public access at the Little River Road acre would be a good thing.

Map: Folsom Bridge, Little River Road acre, Troupville Boat Ramp,
in the WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail.

With the Little River water level at 5.22′ (138.02′ NAVD88) on July 22, 2020, on the Hahira Gauge @ GA 122, it was an easy walk down to the river. It was a gorgeous tannic acid yellow, and not very wide or deep. Boating would be interesting with it that low, due to deadfalls and sandbars.

Easy access at the corner, 16:31:23, 30.8904085, -83.4080092

More than nine feet higher and six months later, at 14.5′ (147.3′) on February 2, 2021, that spot is only visible in the distance across the mostly-flooded acre. Boating would be very fast at that depth: watch out for overhanging branches.

The low road underwater, 17:46:35, 30.8908273, -83.4077815

WWALS president Tom H. Johnson Jr. wanted to see for himself, and the first time available was shortly before sunset in the dead of winter between rainstorms.

WWALS president Tom H. Johnson Jr., 17:48:21, 30.8907119, -83.4073221

There was a path mostly dry through the northern part of the acre.

Diagonal path through, 17:47:10, 30.8908678, -83.4077642

Well, except for where the river was across it.

River up in top middle of the acre, 17:48:16, 30.8907119, -83.4073221

Looking back through.

Looking NW through the acre, 17:52:20, 30.8905638, -83.4071377

Even back at the entrance, at the end of the county-maintained dirt road, a tongue of the river was right there.

Little River licking up to road, 17:39:18, 30.8933948, -83.4088149

And it was across the woods road just down from there, too.

River across entrance road, 17:41:31, 30.8930984, -83.4079422

But this is what you can see on a lazy summer’s day:

Shallow and blue, 15:49:44, 30.8901014, -83.4071072

So, how can Lowndes County turn this acre into usable public access? Well, road-building is their strong suit.

There are more pictures on the WWALS website:

• at Summer Mid-day
• at Winter Sunset

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

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