Tag Archives: Langdale Park

Y, Scouts, Food, Photography at WWALS Boomerang paddle race 2018-11-03

Update 2018-10-28: Now at State Line Ramp! Yes, we’ve moved downstream, to plenty of water, no deadfalls, plus shoals, in two states (Georgia and Florida) and four counties (Lowndes, Brooks, Madison, and Hamilton).

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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

WWALS Boomerang
Langdale Park to Sugar Creek
and Back Again
Withlacoochee River
Valdosta, Georgia
11 AM, Saturday, November 3, 2018

Join us for a fun filled day of kayak and canoe racing and leisurely paddling on an idyllic blackwater river by the biggest Suwannee River Basin city.

New sponsors: the YMCA on Gornto Road, and the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia, with aerial drone photography by The Georgia Photography Fanatic, and food by Under Construction BBQ, plus at the turnaround walk up to The Salty Snapper.

Flyer, WWALS Boomerang
Follow this link for a printable PDF flyer.
Or this link for the same flyer 2 per page.

WWALS Boomerang, Logo

Event: facebook, meetup, but don’t forget to get tickets!

Tickets: $30 per boat.
We also recommend Continue reading →

Deadline extended for WWALS Boomerang early-bird tickets, through 2018-10-13

Update 2018-10-28: Now at State Line Ramp! Yes, we’ve moved downstream, to plenty of water, no deadfalls, plus shoals, in two states (Georgia and Florida) and four counties (Lowndes, Brooks, Madison, and Hamilton).

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hahira, GA, October 8, 2018 — By popular demand at the Hahira Honeybee Festival, WWALS has extended the deadline for early-bird $20 tickets through Saturday, October 13, for the WWALS Boomerang paddle race, coming up Saturday, November 3, 2018. This new event goes downstream and back again on the Withlacoochee River and the west edge of Valdosta, the largest city in the Suwannee River Basin, only a few miles from Valdosta State University. Someone from the Atlantic coast of Florida won our spring BIG Little River Paddle Race this spring, and kayaks or canoes from everywhere are welcome at the Boomerang as well. If you don’t have a boat, two outfitters so far have signed up to supply those. There will be food and drink and music at this WWALS fall paddling festival.

WWALS, Parade
WWALS Boomerang organizer Bobby McKenzie and family with fellow WWALS board member Dan Phillips in the parade at the Hahira Honeybee Festival.

Boomerang paddlers will race from Langdale Park Boat Ramp, just off of North Valdosta Road (US 41), down the Withlacoochee River to Sugar Creek Landing, and back upstream. If you don’t want to race, you can just paddle, and if you don’t want to paddle upstream, you can take out onto Gornto Road. Bobby’s four-year-old son finished our other paddle race, so paddlers of all ages are welcome.

For all the details and to get tickets, Continue reading →

Flyer and last discount ticket day for WWALS Boomerang Withlacoochee River paddle race by Valdosta

Update 2018-10-28: Now at State Line Ramp! Yes, we’ve moved downstream, to plenty of water, no deadfalls, plus shoals, in two states (Georgia and Florida) and four counties (Lowndes, Brooks, Madison, and Hamilton).

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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

Update 2018-10-08: Early-bird $20 ticket deadline extended through October 13th!

Today is the last day for the $20 early registration for WWALS Boomerang, Langdale Park to Sugar Creek and Back Again, Withlacoochee River, Valdosta, Georgia.

Here is a flyer and a two-per-sheet version, both in PDF ready for printing.

Flyer, WWALS Boomerang
PDF flyer.

Get your $20 early-bird tickets today before they go up to $30!

And if you come to the Hahira Honeybee Festival today, you can see Bobby and the McKenzie clan march in the parade.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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

WWALS Boomerang, Withlacoochee River, Langdale Park, 2018-11-03

Update 2018-10-28: Now at State Line Ramp! Yes, we’ve moved downstream, to plenty of water, no deadfalls, plus shoals, in two states (Georgia and Florida) and four counties (Lowndes, Brooks, Madison, and Hamilton).

Update 2018-10-25: See new blog post with PDF flyers including new sponsors the YMCA and Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia, plus food by Under Construction BBQ, and at the turnaround walk up to The Salty Snapper, with aerial drone photography by The Georgia Photography Fanatic.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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

Update 2018-10-08: Early-bird $20 ticket deadline extended through October 13th!

Downstream and up again: it’s the WWALS Boomerang, from Langdale Park Boat Ramp to Sugar Creek Landing on the Withlacoochee River. Join us for a fun filled day of kayak and canoe racing and leisurely paddling.

WWALS Boomerang, Logo New WWALS board member Bobby McKenzie, whose son Zavier was the youngest finisher at our spring BIG Little River Paddle Race, has volunteered to organize a fall race, with the enthusiastic support of the board and the Outings Committee.

We would also like to thank George Page, Executive Director of Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA), for his and VLPRA’s support. VLPRA renovated Langdale Park last year, so let’s go boat from there.

When: 11:00 AM, November 3, 2018

Put In: Langdale Park Boat Ramp, 3781 N. Valdosta Rd., Valdosta, GA 31602. This is just outside the Valdosta City limits in Lowndes County, off of North Valdosta Road (US 41 North). Only 5.5 miles from downtown and only 4 miles from Valdosta State University.

GPS: 30.88727, -83.32395

Tickets: $20 per boat through extended October 13, then $30.
We also recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!

Event: facebook, meetup

The very picture of a lazy river
Withlacoochee River, 2016-03-20.

Continue reading →

Langdale Park to Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River, 2018-06-23

A leisurely two-mile morning paddle from the recently reopened Langdale Park on the largest river through the biggest city in the Suwannee River Basin, arriving at the recently rediscovered Sugar Creek Landing, well in time for the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest in the afternoon.

When: 9AM, Saturday, June 23, 2018

Put In: Langdale Park Boat Ramp, 3781 N. Valdosta Rd., Valdosta, GA 31602.

GPS: 30.88747, -83.32395

Take Out: Sugar Creek Landing, 2410 Gornto Rd, Valdosta, GA 31602, recently rediscovered next to the YMCA, and just across the railroad tracks from The Salty Snapper, venue of the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.

Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat paddles, food, drinking water, clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup. If you don’t have a boat, let us know; we may able to loan you one.

Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!

Event: facebook, meetup

No sand bar, 11:13:35,, Boat Ramp
Langdale Park Boat Ramp, 1 November 2017, when the water was much lower.

Continue reading →

Resolution against state fee diversions discussed at Valdosta City Council 2018-01-11

For our waters, last Thursday, Valdosta City Council Tim Carroll recommended (Video) a resolution in support of a resolution in the Georgia state legislature to stop state fee diversions.

12. Council Comments - Tim Carroll
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE) at Valdosta City Council, Thursday, January 11, 2018.

Newly elected Mayor Pro Tem Sandra Tooley wanted to know whether Continue reading →

Langdale Park open 2017-11-01

Back open after many months with much improved internal roads, and no sandbar across the boat ramp! Thank you, Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA). Downstream five miles on the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail hang a right at the Little River Confluence and about a third of a mile upstream you’ll come to Troupville Landing.

No sand bar, 11:13:35,, Boat Ramp

There are still a few deadfalls. Next upstream Continue reading →

Gas pipeline leak near Withlacoochee River in Valdosta

If a small city gas pipeline leak shuts down major roads, imagine what the much larger Sabal Trail pipeline could do.

North Valdosta Road is US 41, and the section between Country Club Road and Val Del that was shut down is there it crosses the Withlacoochee River:

Music Funeral Services
Map from Lowndes County Property Appraiser.

I can’t find this notice anywhere on the city’s website or the Valdosta Police website, so here it is from the VDT:

Valdosta Daily Times, 27 April 2017, City issues gas leak caution, Continue reading →

Ray’s Mill Pond; was Withlacoochee River: Langdale Park to Little River Boat Ramp 2016-04-03

Update 2016-03-31: Rescheduled for Ray’s Mill Pond, due to flood stage on the Withlacoochee River.

Back on the Withlacoochee River in Valdosta, by popular demand from last weekend’s outing! Shuttle: 10 miles or 15 minutes each way We’ll continue next weekend on the next leg down the Withlacoochee River on the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail.

Event: facebook or meetup.

When: 9AM Sunday April 3rd 2016

Put in: Continue reading →

Pictures: Staten Road to Langdale Park, Withlacoochee River 2016-03-20

20 people in 17 boats on an astoundingly beautiful rural blackwater river into the biggest city in the entire Suwannee River Basin: Boat parade! 30.9315739, -83.2905044 here are pictures from the WWALS outing from Staten Road Bridge in Lowndes County to Langdale Park on the edge of Valdosta, both in south Georgia, Spring Equinox, Sunday 20 March 2016. Thanks to everyone who came, especially to WWALS Outings Chair Chris Mericle for leading the expedition, and to Georgia Page, Steve, and Travis of the Valdosta-Lowndes Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA) for letting us into Langdale Park even though it was closed for renovations. Gretchen Quarterman went on Charlie Walker’s 99.5 KIX Country radio show the next morning to tell everybody about it. Continue reading →