Nueces River in Texas

Trip Overview

Lower Nueces River

December 3rd I took another trip on the Nueces, this time from a spot just before the ship channel, going 7 miles up river to Labonte Park. It was a grey windy day with 43 mph gusts out of the SE and pretty good swells for the first two miles where the river is wide with no banks for shelter. I spent most of my time keeping my boat straight.

The river was barely moving -39 cfs theoretically the wind was to be behind me but that didn't happen for a mile and a half. It was too rough to get any pictures for the first few miles. Later the only pictures I took were of a beautiful bird resting on a bridge and a grey river.

This was not the prettiest stretch of the river but I have to say the swells and the wind made it challenging - it might have been boring otherwise.

Check the weather, this lower section of the Nueces is quite wide and on cold windy days you might want a spray skirt.

Accommodations:

No facilities at the put in area but at HazelBazemore Park there are picnic tables and rest rooms, no over night camping, Labonte Park would probably be the closest camping spot.

Fees:

None

Directions:

On IH 37 in Corpus Christi, take the Carbon Plant exit to the Joe Fulton Corridor, once you are over the overpass look immediately left for a dirt road/fishing spot (nearly always someone fishing there) Pick your put-in location, I drove a little further down the dirt road as there were quite a few fishermen.

Resources:

Google Earth and Live earth are really good resources for co-ordinates of unfamiliar places