Today, I paddled the 7-mile roundtrip Collier's Ferry to Lake Bayou Paddling Trail in Beaumont, Texas. This route is on the Neches River, which snakes through Big Thicket National Preserve, with a launch point at the boat ramps in Collier's Ferry Park. This park is now a spacious parking lot and popular fishing spot for locals. While there are working bathrooms at this stop, be warned that the stalls do not have doors.
The launch point gets its name for its historical use as a ferry crossing for the now gone Old Jasper Road, along with the more famous Opelousas Trail. This trail began in San Antonio, Texas and ended in New Orleans. The Spanish were the first to use the trail for driving cattle beginning in the mid 18th century. Anglo-Americans also used the trail through the mid to late 19th century, when the railroad eliminated the need to drive cattle. The Neches River crossing near Beaumont was considered the most dangerous part of the journey, as many cattle drowned while trying to swim to the opposite shore. You can learn more about the Opelousas Trail in this article out of the Center for Regional Heritage Research at Stephen F. Austin University.
Back to the present day, the trip took about three and a half hours traveling at a leisurely pace. Despite being on the river a day after a Category 1 hurricane had passed by, the river and tributaries did not have strong currents. Even with some light rain and wind towards the end of the trip, it was an easy paddle.
This is also a good opportunity to see animals in the Big Thicket. I saw multiple large bird species near Lake Bayou, including egrets and herons. Other paddlers in the group saw large fish. A small yellow-bellied water snake watched us from a hole in a tree. Overall, this is a good trip for visitors to the Big Thicket, including families who have done some paddling previously.
