02/13/2011 - Perdido and Styx Rivers Confluence

Launch Site: Seminole Boat Launch near Seminole, AL
Launch Cost: FREE
Destination: Perdido River and Styx River confluence. (Not part of the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta)
Distance: About 17 miles (round trip)
Paddle time: 5-1/4 Hrs
Weather: Sunny, winds calm to 10 mph. Air temp 50-60 degrees. Current on both the Perdido River and Styx River were running less than 1 mph. Water temp: too cold to swim.
GPS Track: To view or download the GPS track of this trip, Click Here.

Header Image

1) Heading north after launching. Concern about current was put at ease after seeing paddling conditions at the launch site. Check the river gauges before paddling these rivers.

2) Duh, almost all rivers lead to a dead end. It would be wise to plan your trip out and put it on a GPS before you leave, although if you follow the current on these two rivers, it would be hard to get lost. The objective of this trip was to check out 5 launch sites near the confluence of the Perdido River and Styx River and add that info to the Mobile Bay Area Kayak Launch Sites map which identifies launch sites within about a 60 mile radius (1 hours drive) of downtown Mobile. This map now has 126 launch site locations, 68 percent of which are free.

3) The Highway 90 bridge over Styx River. Nice paddling conditions.

4) I bees thinking that being a bridge inspector has its dangers.

5) The dull grays and browns along the shoreline are brightening up.

6) In the center of this photo is a tiny flower, about the size of a pin head.

7) The waters in this area had a visibility to about 4-5 feet deep. There are plenty places along the shore to get out to stretch the legs and have a bit to eat.

8) Near the Nature Conservancy Lane Landing site, someone has attempted to attenuate the boat wakes to stop erosion using old Christmas trees. Sure smelled good along this shoreline.

9) he information Kiosk at the Nature Conservancy (Not open to the public yet), had a unique design. It has a bird house entrance on each side and the bird's home is vented.

10) Sunset on Perdido River.

Both the Perdido and Styx Rivers are long rivers which make them suitable for shuttle type paddles and overnight trips. I was surprised how trash free these two rivers were, even in the developed areas. Either one of these rivers will make a great destination for a paddle.