Kayaking the Bon Secour River

Our son was going to be married in Old Pensacola. Family members were going to be driving and flying in from as far west as Colorado and as far south as Orlando for the wedding on May 30th. My wife and I wanted to do some fun things on the coast before the reunion got in full gear,

One of those fun things on our list was kayaking on the Bon Secour River. Until I became friends on Twitter with one of the owners of Beach'n'River, I had no idea that canoes and kayaks could be rented directly on the river. There are several places to rent kayaks in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, but that is "big water" and though you can get to the creeks and rivers from there, launching a kayak on the river gets you quickly to a part of the Alabama Gulf Coast that very few visitors have an opportunity to see.

Upon our arrival at Beach'n'River we were greeted by the owners, Jerry and Shelly. We had a nice conversation about the how they got into the business and why they enjoy it so much. Shelly showed us her herb garden and Jerry showed us his roosters. Jerry and Shelly both told us the story behind their vacation rental home, while pointing to it across the creek.

We did not have time on this vacation to stay at the river home rental, but after spending some time on the river neither of us would mind spending a few busy days and quiet nights there.

Jerry helped me drag our kayaks a short distance to the tributary that leads to the Bon Secour River. They told us about several things that we might see on different routes. Then we took our shoes off and launched the kayaks.

Almost anyone can enjoy kayaking. It only takes seconds to learn the basics, and on the Bon Secour River all you need to know is the basics. We immediately began seeing beautiful scenery, and after a few minutes I was taking photos. The water was shallow and crystal clear, so we could easily see the white sandy river bottom. Soon we entered the deeper waters of the river and stopped for a few minutes to watch some kids who were climbing trees to swing into the water from dangling ropes.

We turned left on the river and almost immediate noticed a pleasant smell. The bank was lined with blooming gardenias. Most likely they were remnants of homes from an earlier time.

We paddled for close to thirty minutes down the river, and then we decided to turn around and paddle in the opposite direction towards Bon Secour Bay. I spotted a squirrel jumping from limb to limb to cross the creek and watched several turtles slide into the water. We could not look in any direction without seeing beautiful scenery. Flowers, ferns, Southern magnolias, saw palmetto palms, wax myrtles, elephant ears, and yaupon hollies all under a canopy of live oaks was a common scene.

Much of the trip was through wilderness, but in other areas both mansions and rustic retreats were on the waterfront. A Southern mansion set high and probably dry during major hurricanes. Kudzu covers the steep banks of the river and Spanish moss hangs from the trees on the mansion property.

I was usually several hundred feet in front of Kathy, but occasionally I would slow up and let her catch up with me so that we could float side-by-side for a while. The closer to Bon Secour Bay, the more saltwater fish species mixed with freshwater fish. It would be possible to catch a largemouth bass on one cast and a redfish on the next. Other freshwater species in the river include bass, bream, and alligator gar. Other saltwater species include flounder, speckled trout, white trout, and bluefish.

Great blue herons, huge wading birds, are almost always on the river. Blue herons nest together, but away from the nest they are usually solitary birds.

As we got closer to the bay, the boats got bigger. It is possible to dock your boat and have lunch or dinner while kayaking. The Galley is located here and serves that purpose well.

We paddled for about thirty minutes longer. The skies were getting darker, and I knew Kathy was not going to paddle into the bay under dark skies and light rain. We turned around and the trip back was as enjoyable as the trip out. If we had have paddled into the bay, we may have seen dolphins swimming close to us. As close as we were to the water in our kayaks, that would have been a lot of fun.

Upon arriving at Beach'n'River, I pulled the kayaks out of the water. Soon Jerry and Shelly were at the creek bank, asking us if we had a good time.

We had a great time!