It could use some markers to keep people on it and off private property, and maybe some loaner kayak wheels, but there is public access to the Withlacoochee River off of Gornto Road in Valdosta.
Tea-colored water, 16:22:37,, Withlacoochee River 30.8623900, -83.3224600
And a very nice blackwater river it is. Continue reading
It probably didn’t hurt that Lace Futch was Mayor of Willacoochee before he became Chairman of Atkinson County. During a brief discussion, I pointed out that the resolution includes this clause, to fix the last landing name before we update and reprint the Alapaha River Water Trail brochures:
Section 3: The public access to the Alapaha River at GA 135 south of the city of Willacoochee is hereby named Willacoochee Landing;
The Commissioners passed it unanimously.
WWALS board member Shirley Kokidko, who lives in Atkinson County and who had asked for this resolution to be on the agenda, thanked the Commissioners afterwards, and invited them to come on the Hike to the Dead River Sink, noon Saturday, January 27, 2018, explaining that this first outing on the Alapaha Quest was originally scheduled to start at Sheboggy Landing at US 82 and to end up at Willacoochee Landing, but was rescheduled due to low water. Shirley is near the center of each of the pictures below, each taken at Willacoochee Landing on different WWALS outings.
See also the resolution in support of the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT) passed by Lanier County 2018-01-08.
Photo: Gretchen Quarterman for WWALS
at Willacoochee Landing 2016-02-20.
Update 2020-10-01: Signed and executed copy.
Thanks, City of Adel, for passing this resolution last Tuesday! The next BIG Little River Paddle Race at Reed Bingham State Park will be April 28, 2018, pending final approval by GA DNR. Meanwhile, come paddle with WWALS from Hagan Bridge (GA 122) to Franklinville on the Withlacoochee River, February 11, 2018.
![[Under the cypress]](/pictures/2017-04-29--blrpr-hubbard/PWHX8661.jpg)
Photo: Phil Hubbard, Under Reed Bingham State Park cypress at the 2017 BIG Little River Paddle Race.
Update 2018-11-21: Pictures.
Rescheduled due to low water, this time moved and mutated into a hike to the Dead River Sink, starting in the middle of the Alapaha Quest.
Practicing Geologist and WWALS member Dennis James Price will once again lead us through this impressive geological phenomenon. It is an eye opener that will perfectly illustrate the karst topography that is typical for quite a bit of the area where many of our rivers flow. When you see the exposed limestone along the river banks you see the porous rock. However when you see a hole that is capable of swallowing the entire Alapaha for most of the year…. it’s impressive.
When: High noon, Saturday, January 27, 2018
Put In: Meet at Jennings Bluff Launch. From Jennings, Hamilton County, FL, travel south on US 41 to NW 25 Lane; turn left; travel east to NW 82 Court and the entrance into the Suwannee River Water Management District’s Jennings Bluff tract; turn left and follow road to canoe launch.
GPS: 30.567172, -83.039189 (for the entrance to Jennings Bluff Tract)
Take Out: Same.
Bring: Cold weather gear, hiking shoes, and clothes resistant to thorny bushes. No boat needed. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup.
Join: This outing is Free to WWALS members. Non-members: $10/person. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
Picture by John S. Quarterman for WWALS,
Into the Dead River Sink, June 14, 2015.
Shuttle: None.
Once you get to Suwannee River Water management District (SRWMD)’s Jennings Bluff Tract, Continue reading
Received January 8, 2018. I think this is the last workshop, so if you haven’t been to one….
Good Afternoon Everyone,
This email is a quick reminder to attend the 4th Regional Plan Update Workshop in the City of Douglas, Georgia, on:
January 18th, 2018 10:00 a.m. to 12:30p
City of Douglas City Hall,
224 East Bryan Street, Douglas, GA 31533,
912-389-3401
Photo: Mjrmtg on Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0.This fourth workshop will cover the following topics: Continue reading
Unanimously, after reviewing the ARWT Brochure and a few words by Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman, the Lanier County Commission passed a Resolution to support the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT).
Commissioners Paul Brockington (District 1),
Susan Bowling (District 3),
Harold Simpson (District 2),
Dennis Fender (District 4),
and Alex Lee (Chairman).
Neil Ginty (County Administrator) in pink shirt.
I believe Commissioner Susan Bowling made the motion. Thanks to her and to Continue reading
The manatees come in from the cold in February, to Manatee Springs; we’ll paddle from there 8.3 miles down the very wide Suwannee River to Fowlers Bluff, where we plan a water quality testing demo and possibly an oyster roast.
When: 9 AM, Saturday, February 24, 2018
Put In: Manatee Springs State Park, 11650 NW 115 St, Chiefland, FL 32626
Directions: at the end of S.R. 320, off U.S. 98, six miles west of Chiefland.
Take Out: Fowlers Bluff Ramp, 15597 NW 46th Lane, Chiefland, FL 32626. 29.396410, -83.026030
Free: This outing is Free! And we recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
Photo: Scotti Jay
A leisurely five mile paddle in about two and a half hours through a surprisingly wild section of the Withlacoochee River, much of it actually inside Valdosta, the biggest city in the Suwannee River Basin, on the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT).
When: 9 AM, Saturday, March 3, 2018
Put In: Staten Road Landing, 4556 Staten Road, Valdosta, GA 31605, Lowndes County, GA. 7.1 miles north of downtown Valdosta. Beware: it’s a long rough dirt road access, then a scramble down the riverbank.
GPS: 30.9328, -83.28227
Take Out: Langdale Park Boat Ramp, 3781 N. Valdosta Rd., Valdosta, GA 31602, Lowndes County, GA.
Free: This outing is Free! And we recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
Map: VALORGIS.
White is Valdosta inside grey city limits, yellow is recharge zones for the Floridan Aquifer, green is Langdale Park.
We start in Lowndes County, cross over the county’s expanded sewer and water lines at Bay Branch (those lines head for Stafford-Wright Road). Then the City of Valdosta is on our left briefly before back to county both sides, and Sermons Branch (is that its real name?). Into a Floridan Aquifer recharge zone, passing on our right the Shadrick Sink, notorious for Continue reading
Update 2018-01-19: Rescheduled again, due to low water, to become a hike to the Dead River Sink, still on January 27, 2018.
Rescheduled to late January due to cold weather and low water: a long expert paddle to start the Alapaha Quest! Along the way we will pass Rowetown Church and the Willacoochee River Confluence as we paddle down the wild and exotic Alapaha River in the south Georgia winter. There will probably be many deadfalls, and unless the water is quite high, we probably will have to drag over or around them, so bring a rope for your boat.
When: 9AM Saturday, January 27, 2018
Put In: Sheboggy Landing at US 82, east of Alapaha, Berrien County, Georgia.
Take Out: GA 135 Atkinson near Willacoochee, GA in Atkinson County.
Price: This outing is free to all WWALS members, and $10 per vessel for non-members. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
Photo by Bret Wagenhorst 2017-06-03, of improved Sheboggy Landing.
Thanks to Berrien County Commission for funding the new concrete and road smoothing,
and thanks to Ben Warren, Berrien County Roads Superintendent, for doing the work.
Bring: a rope for dragging your boat over deadfalls, cold weather gear, including clothes that will stay warm if wet, and a change of dry clothes in a waterproof container. That’s in addition to the usual personal flotation device, boat paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup. The new outing date is after deer hunting season, so that’s a relief. Hunting will still be on for small game. That’s much less of a worry, but it wouldn’t hurt to wear hunting orange if you’ve got it.
Shuttle Distance: Continue reading
A fine fall day with diving and landowners at Arnold Springs, Old Clyattville Road Bridge, exotic invasive Japanese Climbing Fern, Horn Bridge, and Mozell Spells (State Line Ramp): on the Withlacoochee River with WWALS Watershed Coalition, Suwannee Riverkeeper. Thanks to all who came to paddle from as far as two hours from Gainesville, Florida and four hours from Pine Mountain, Georgia.
Blue-green Arnold Springs water meets tea-colored Withlacoochee River water.
The Quitman Gauge (US 84) read 2.17 feet (85.67 NAVD88), which was slightly above our recommended low level, and just fine for Arnold Springs. Here are some pictures and a Google Map. A few videos will follow.
This part of the outing was all in Georgia, but we paddled downstream from Florida to get there; see Continue reading
