Tag Archives: Lakeland Boat Ramp

Good Alapaha River 2023-06-25

Update 2023-06-30: Clean Alapaha, Withlacoochee, Little Rivers 2023-06-29.

WWALS tester Kim Tanner, fresh from a long work conference, sampled the Alapaha River Sunday, at Lakeland Boat Ramp and Naylor Park Beach. Both tested very low for E. coli, which is good.

Lakeland Boat Ramp and Naylor Park Beach 2023-06-25
For context and the entire WWALS composite spreadsheet of water quality results, rainfall, and sewage spills, see:
https://wwals.net/issues/testing

I would be good with swimming, fishing, and boating on the Alapaha River.

Kind of difficult to put in right now at Lakeland Boat Ramp, which is closed until July for renovations, or at Naylor Park Beach, which as you can see is underwater.

Paddle at your own risk, as always.

But don’t try to go from Lakeland to Hotchkiss with small children: it’s too far, with too many deadfalls and rapids. That’s a fine paddle for experience adults with proper provisions.

For where else you can put in on the Alapaha River, see the WWALS Alapaha River Water Trail.

Here’s a live Swim Guide Map. Continue reading →

Work in progress at Lakeland Boat Ramp 2023-06-20

Update 2023-06-27: Good Alapaha River 2023-06-25.

Thanks to GA-DNR for silt fences and turbidity curtains during their upgrade of Lakeland Boat Ramp, and for that upgrade.

Also thanks to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GA-DNR) for officially adopting the name Lakeland Boat Ramp as decided back in 2018 by the Lakeland County Commission, as well as Berrien Beach Boat Ramp, also decided in 2018 by the Berrien County Commission, both for the WWALS Alapaha River Water Trail. This naming development is specifically thanks to WWALS tester Kimberly Tanner and GA-DNR Boating Access Coordinator Jeff E. Bishop.

At-water ARWT sign, silt fences and turbidity curtain, Lakeland Boat Ramp, 2023-06-20

When I took these pictures, Tuesday, June 20, 2023, the Statenville Gauge read about 7.17 feet (83.27′ NAVD88). Today, Saturday, June 24th, the Alapaha River is almost seven feet higher, at 14.01′ (90.11′ NAVD88), into Action Stage.

So don’t be surprised if GA-DNR’s plan to start work May 30 and end about July 26 gets extended a bit. Continue reading →

Pictures: WWALS on The Rocks between Lakeland and Hotchkiss, Alapaha River 2015-07-11

Update 2023-06-24: Work in progress at Lakeland Boat Ramp 2023-06-20.

A good trip for experienced adult paddlers: deadfalls to paddle around or climb over, the famous rapids, The Rocks, plenty of sandy beaches for lunching or swimming beside, a mysterious platform that may be the remains of a very narrow bridge, all in a fine summer day on the Alapaha River, July 11, 2015.

Collage, Lakeland to Naylor 08:30:00, 31.0458222, -83.0433889

It took us seven hours to paddle the fourteen river miles from Lakeland Boat Ramp, on GA 122 east of Lakeland, to Hotchkiss Road Landing. We were all experienced paddlers with plenty of supplies, especially water.

If you are a family with small children, please do not try this: it’s too far. There have been cases of such families calling 911 and having to be rescued.

A much more reasonable family paddle is Lakeland to Burnt Church Landing. That’s about two miles, and can be done in an hour. Or make it a leisurely paddle and still it should be doable.

FYI, Paffords Landing, just downstream from Lakeland Boat Ramp, is closed for the forseeable future. This is because too many people left trash and shot up things.

All these distances are in the WWALS web page for the Continue reading →

Lakeland Boat Ramp to close for eight weeks 2023-05-22 2023-05-30

Update 2023-06-24: Work in progress at Lakeland Boat Ramp 2023-06-20.

Update 2023-05-19: Closure date changed to May 30, so Lakeland Boat Ramp should reopen around July 26, 2023.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GA-DNR) is closing Lakeland Boat Ramp @ GA 122 to rebuild it, which will take about eight weeks. So it will be closed from May 22 30, 2023 through about July 20 26, 2023.

Berrien Beach Boat Ramp and Lakeland Boat Ramp

GA-DNR recommends going instead to Continue reading →

Willacoochee to Lakeland, Alapaha River, 2021-08-10, 2021-08-19

See the Alapaha River for yourself, in these 360-degree views, on Earthviews, taken in August 2021 by WWALS member Bobby McKenzie.

Willacoochee Landing, overhanging branches, GA & FL RR, mile marker, beach, Lakeland Boat Ramp; ARWT map

Willacoochee Landing @ GA 135 to Berrien Beach Boat Ramp @ GA 168

That’s 19.17 river miles, on August 10, 2021. Continue reading →

Good Little, Withlacoochee Rivers, bad Alapaha River 2021-10-14

Update 2021-10-22: All clean: Withlacoochee, Little, Alapaha Rivers 2021-10-21.

Something we’ve never seen: the only too-high result is on the Alapaha River for Thursday. We’ve never seen a reading at Lakeland Boat Ramp that high.

The Little and Withlacoochee Rivers tested good for Thursday, which is what we expected since there has been no rain for days.

So in the reverse of what we often say, avoid the Alapaha River and swim, fish, and paddle on the Little and Withlacoochee Rivers this weekend, according to the best data we have.

Still looking good for the WWALS Boomerang paddle race from Georgia into Florida and back, coming up in one week at State Line Boat Ramp.

Chart + Little + Alapaha River, Withlacoochee River, Swim Guide

You can also see in the charts that Valdosta’s upstream results for last Friday showed extremely high Fecal coliform for US 41 (upstream from Valdosta), GA 133, and US 84, and way-too-high E. coli for GA 133. That somewhat helps explain why our plates for that Thursday (October 7th) for Knights Ferry Boat Ramp showed high background Fecal coliform colonies.

No, we don’t know what it is. There have been no sewage spills reported this past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia. Most likely it is some sort of manure runoff, this time coming from far upstream on the Withlacoochee River. Continue reading →

Bad lower Suwannee, good Withlacoochee and Alapaha 2020-09-14

Update 2020-09-18: OK Withlacoochee River Quality, sewage spill Suwannee, FL, Suwannee River 2020-09-17

Sunday, Suzy Hall tested for WWALS at Sullivan Launch @ CR 15 on the Withlacoochee River, and got good results.

This despite a report of cows in a creek near the river just upstream in Hamilton County, Florida: that’s right, Florida, not Georgia.

Loretta Tennant’s WWALS results for the lower Suwannee were not so pretty.

And while Valdosta’s results for late last week corroborate those of WWALS and Madison Health, for Wedensday, September 2, Valdosta got bad results at State Line Boat Ramp.

Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers

Lower Suwannee River

Monday, September 14, 2020, Loretta Tennant tested again for WWALS at Continue reading →

Alapaha River good water quality at Berrien Beach and Lakeland Boat Ramp, also Withlacoochee 2020-09-12

Update 2020-09-16: Bad lower Suwannee, good Withlacoochee and Alapaha 2020-09-14.

Results look good from the Alapaha River Saturday, at Berrien Beach and Lakeland Boat Ramp. Florida Thursday Withlacoochee River results corroborate the WWALS State Line results of that same Thursday we reported last time, and extend them downstream into Florida, also good.

However, more than half an inch of rain fell on Okapilco Creek Thursday, 0.75″ at Spence Field east of Moultrie, and also 0.6″ at Dixie in the west of Brooks County. Is that enough to wash some manure into the creek? We shall see.

Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers

Berrien Beach

After the Berrien Beach Boat Ramp (and Beach) cleanup, I collected a sample at Continue reading →

Rivers Alive Cleanup, Lakeland and Pafford’s Landing, Alapaha River 2019-10-12

Rivers Alive clean up at Lakeland Boat Ramp and Pafford’s Landing on the Alapaha River near Lakeland, Georgia, on the Alapaha River Water Trail.

When: Gather 10:00 AM, Saturday, October 12, 2019

Put In: Lakeland Boat Ramp, head east from Lakeland on GA 122, turn right at the Lakeland Boat Ramp sign, immediately turn left along the side of the highway, to the boat ramp at the Alapaha River.

GPS: 31.045456, -83.047068

Take Out: Pafford’s Landing. Take GA 122 east from Lakeland, turn at the sign, go into the woods, to the west side (right bank) of the Alapaha River, in Lanier County, Georgia.

Bring: Cleanup materials will be provided, but if you’ve got a trash picker, bring it along.
No need for a boat, but you can bring one if you want to. It’s only a quarter mile from Lakeland Boat Ramp to Pafford’s Landing, but you may find some trash if you paddle that.

Free: This outing is free to everyone! We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!

Event: facebook, meetup

Continue reading →

Lakeland Boat Ramp road signs planted 2018-04-26

Thanks, GDOT, for planting the ARWT road signs!

Here are the signs for Lakeland Boat Ramp on GA 122 for the Alapaha River Water Trail, put in the ground by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) the other day, along with signs for eight other landings. You can help pay for these signs.

Turnoff in sight, Eastbound