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Muddy Waters Wilderness: Canoe the Mighty Mississippi

Canoeing in Arkansas with Quapaw Canoe Company

Highlights

  • Wide variety of paddling possibilities from powerful boils, whirlpools & giant eddies
  • Paddle through and experience the largest floodplain in the continent
  • Richest biota in the mid-south, including black bear, bald eagles and more
  • Strongest inland fishery in North America with more than 200 fish & amphibian species

Full Description

Experience an unforgettable multi-day wilderness canoe trip through the heart of Delta Blues country.

The Muddy Waters Wilderness is a paddler's paradise—a hidden wilderness in the middle of the Deep South surrounded by rich blues culture and Southern cooking. Explore endless islands, forests and channels in big, powerful waters. We will take in some of the wildest and most remote paddling on the entire Lower Mississippi River, and enjoy live downhome delta blues while dining on mouth watering soul food and Bar-B-Q at landings.

This is a journey through some of the wildest and most remote islands and forests of the Lower Mississippi. Paddlers on this voyage will encounter incredible variety of terrain and river conditions—river levels fluctuates between 40 and 50 vertical feet, from below 500,000 to over 2 million CFS. Islands appear and disappear. Wide floodplain forests lay adjacent to the main channel and networks of braided channels appear alongside.

This trip features great swimming throughout, and opportunities for fossil finding and rock hunting at Knowlton Crevasse and Catfish Point. We'll also see abundant wildlife, exceptional birding, world class fisheries and the greatest concentration of white tailed deer in the country—plus the occasional Louisiana black bear. No towns or industry. The only evidence of civilization we'll see are the tugboats on the river. We'll pass by the mouth of DeSoto Lake, where Hernando DeSoto is thought to have discovered this "Rio Grande," as he called the Mississippi.

DeSoto and his men witnessed an armada of 200 Indian canoes on the river. Some of the canoes held 70 to 80 warriors. Opposite Smith Point (Camp II) is the mouth of the White River, through which commercial traffic can access the Arkansas River through the Arkansas Post Canal. This region saw the visit of explorers Jolliette & Marquette (1673), LaSalle (1681) and John James Audubon (1820). It was also the heart of the Quapaw Nation, the Siouan tribe who followed the rivers downstream out of the Ohio River Valley and settled within the forests of this dynamic confluence.

The Choctaw Island Wildlife Area is the southernmost public island in the Lower Mississippi Water Trail being developed by the American Land Conservancy and others. The route ends with passage through the notorious "Greenville Bends" whose collapsing forests and ruthless pirates & moonshiners caused much misery to steamboat pilots.

At the Arkansas/White River confluence we'll find big forests, big islands, and long, winding back-channels to explore. Home to large concentrations of Louisiana Black Bear, White Pelicans and Wild Boar, this is the largest contiguous forest of the Lower Mississippi, and offers some of the best star gazing in the mid-south.

This section of Lower Mississippi river flows alongside the Mississippi Delta closest to where the late great McKinley Morganfield—more famously known as blues great Muddy Waters—grew up and lived his first 25 years. The shuttle out includes a stop at his home at the Stovall Plantation, and passes through the landscape he played in, fished in, and worked in. Visitors interested in exploring the region's blues history will want to visit Clarksdale's Delta Blues Museum before or after the journey to learn more about the earth-shaking artistic tradition that evolved in this region: the Delta Blues. 

Although variations of this trip are available as a single-day, 2-day, 3-day or a 5-day, the best possible itinerary: arrive Friday before trip. Take in some live blues Friday and Saturday nights, visit museums and other cultural attractions Saturday and don't miss a full Gospel Church experience Sunday. Then get onto the river Monday through Friday. Repeat weekend stay for more authentic downhome Delta blues, or return home.

The closest airports are Memphis (2 hours) or Jackson or Little Rock (3 hours).

Put in near Helena Arkansas or Clarksdale, Mississippi. The full trip will take us 101 miles down the river, with an ultimate take-out at WarfieldPoint State Park near Greenville, Mississippi.

Includes:

  • Canoes, paddles, and Coast Guard-approved lifejackets
  • VHF Marine Radio and extra emergency gear
  • All food and refreshments
  • Camp tables and chairs 
  • Dry-bags for packing all personal gear
  • Summertime: Cold waterbottles and iced cooler 
  • Wintertime: thermoses filled with hot water for soups & teas & cowboy coffee

Excludes:

  • Tents and sleeping bags (available for rent $35 per person)
  • Transportation to and from launch point
  • Personal items (gear, sunscreen, toiletries)
  • Alcoholic beverages (BYOB)
  • See FAQ tab for "Eleven don't forget Items"

About The Operator:

Quapaw Canoe Company

Headquarters:

Clarksdale, Mississippi

Quapaw Canoe Company offers wilderness expeditions on the Lower Mississippi River. Tours can be arranged by the day or the week. Float trips available on any section between Cairo (Illinois) and the outlet of the river into the Gulf of Mexico. Also available on its tributaries are the White, the Arkansas, the Big Sunflower (subject to river level), and the Yazoo. Trips are by canoe or kayak only—no motor power used. Clients must be willing to paddle and to endure extremes of nature. Storms on the river can be furious at times and may temporarily stall a journey or change itinerary.

The Lower Mississippi River creates one of America's greatest and wildest wildernesses—a land subject to chaotic weather and the unpredictable character of Old Man River. It is a landscape of water and sky, broken only by a horizon of willow and mixed deciduous forests. Everything about it is big. Imagine floating a bend of the river that takes twenty miles of delta to complete; skirting around swirling eddies the size of several city blocks; camping on a sand bar that stretches to the horizon, and swimming in pristine blue holes. It is America's major waterfowl flyway, and central artery of barge shipping. Three-screw tugboats pushing tows a half-mile long are common. Deer, coyote, beaver and possom abound, and bears still inhabit the bottomlands. It is the flood plain of the second biggest river in the world, and water levels might fluctuate fifty feet from Spring high to Summer low. As such, each adventure is slightly different, and itinerary is dependent on river conditions and prevailing weather.

In its 10 years of operation Quapaw Canoe Company has demonstrated the viability of safe canoeing on the Lower Mississippi River with countless expeditions involving churches, schools, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, families, couples and individuals. Quapaw has successfully guided over 10,000 people on the river. Quapaw Canoe Company is underwritten by Lloyd's of London through Worldwide Outfitters & Guides Association. All expeditions are outfitted with first-aid kits, rescue ropes, life preservers, cellular communication, and VHF marine radio. Life Jackets are best quality US Coast Guard approved type III Life Jackets. Guides stringently practice safe canoeing and are knowledgeable in all aspects of wilderness survival and canoe rescue. Please remember that river travel is always somewhat dependent on river level and prevailing weather.

Frequently Asked Questions

Guests often ask what they should pack for a trip down the Mississippi. We can encounter a wide range of conditions, summer or winter. Here are Eleven "Don't Forget" Items


1) Foot Protection you don't mind getting muddy & wet. On the water, Neoprene Booties are the very best, if the water gets in your feet stay warm. We stock NRS 11mm neoprene knee high booties for rent ($35) or purchase ($85 + tax) - these are the best we've ever worn. Rubber or plastic Barn Boots work almost as well, but your foot will get cold if the water gets in! Easily found at your local hardware store. For the sandbar, it's nice to have an old pair of dry tennis shoes to change into, or equivalent. Bring extra pair of shoes & pack into drybag to change into at camp.

2) Head Protection for both cold & sun. Remember, you lose 90% of your body heat through your head. Best set-up: bring one hat for sun, and another to put on at night.

3) Water Protection even if it doesn't rain, you might get wet from splashing waves, paddle drips, early morning dew, etc. Start out with polypro layers, top that with fleece or wool, and in case it gets really bad, pack a pair of top-to-bottom rain gear. This combination will provide sufficient all-weather protection, whether it's a full rain or just cold & windy. Remember, it always feels colder on the river, especially in the winter!

4) Wetsuits required when water temperature falls below 60 degrees (generally November through April).

5) Head lamp for after-dark reading, eating, journaling, finding your way around camp, get one with a red-light option for reading your star chart.

6) Thermos filled with your favorite hot beverage. Nothing tastes better on a cold windy day than a sip of hot coffee, hot chai, hot chicken broth, hot miso soup. Refill at lunch time, refill every morning.

7) Sun Protection: Similar to snow sports, winter sunburns are common, especially facial sunburn. Sunglasses, sun screen, long sleeve clothing and a wide brim hat that doesn't blow off in the wind. Low-angle winter light has a sneaky way of getting underneath your hat brim (reflected off the surface of the river).

8) A knife. Useful for everything from cutting steaks to making tent stakes!

9) Notebook, journal, sketchbook, camera. You will want to record some of your experiences and the amazing sights & sounds of the Mississippi River. Always a surprise when you least expect it! You might have life-changing thoughts, ideas for a new business, or maybe just a sweet note to a loved-one.

10) Star-chart: at least one per group. The best sky-watching in the mid-south! Let the campfire burn low and enjoy an ever-changing rotation of the heavens over your sandbar camp, the stars & constellations reflected with mirror-like splendor in the middle of gentle boils & eddies. Watch falling stars seemingly sizzle into the cold dark water. Have you ever seen the entire Milky Way reflected on the face of the river?

11) A Towel. Towels are great for all kinds of things, not just washing your face in the morning, but wiping sand out of your tent, a makeshift pillow, etc.

ALSO: bring several changes of clothes, and dress in layers in cool evenings. A sweater, jacket, fleece pull over & rain jacket for cool mornings/evenings. Camping close to the river is similar to camping on a Pacific Ocean beach, the day might be warm, or even hot, but it always feels cool by the water's edge, and even cooler if there is a breeze blowing over it.