Navasota River in Texas

Trip Overview

My son David and I took time for a quick morning adventure. Temperatures in the afternoon around here have been over 100° daily. We paddled upstream from the Highway 30 bridge located just outside of College Station and returned to the launch point with an easy float.

This was my first trip on the Navasota and it will not be my last. Within the first minutes of the trip we had two close encounters with two gators. Later we would see two more. That alone was quite a treat but the Navasota is loaded with lots more wildlife. There were Alligator and Longnose Gar, wildflowers, turtles, snakes, and lots of mysterious swirls of all sizes in the water. We saw all of those. Life on the Navasota is abundant.

The bank of the river ranged from flat gravel shoals to an upright soft sandstone wall. The water had a greenish tint with a little less than a foot of viability. The short trip had both deep and shallow water and I think it a great place for a beginner to learn to "read" water. On the other hand, it has quite a number of fallen trees that, at high water, could put that same newbie at risk. As always, be careful.

Anyway, the one small benefit of the drought here is an excellent experience on the Navasota. Get out there and have some fun!

Accommodations:

There is an ad hoc dirt boat launch.

Fees:

None

Directions:

Drive out of College Station east on Highway 30 eight miles. Launch on the west side of the river.