Red River in Tennessee

Trip Overview

My family of five and two dogs put in at Red River Canoe on the Red River. We floated down stream for 7.5 MI and took out at Port Royal park. It took exactly 4 hrs with 5 stops for bathrooms eating/drinking and swimming. Port Royal park has a sunset curfew and will tow all vehicles left in the park after sundown. It looked as though beer is allowed in the Red River Canoe site but it is not allowed at Port Royal. I always say "KNOW" which rules I am breaking so as to break them smartly. Hopefully you don't drink down too many brews prior to take out and then driving!

The boys had no problems in the 9 ft Little Otter kayaks. The wife and I were in an Old Town 16 foot canoe with around 500 lbs of people, dogs and gear. That is a little light for that canoe as it rides better with around 700 lbs but never the less the water was low enough in some places that we still scraped bottom. This stretch of river has just enough ripples to keep it interesting while maintaining a relaxing ride.

Today was just a scouting mission mixed with some fun (swimming) as I plan on returning for some of the small mouth that live in these waters. There is a small cave to explore if your in to that kind of stuff. It got pretty dark real fast so I am sure exploring would require a light source. The area is also known for the BELL WITCH thing; but I really don't get into all that stuff.

Red River Canoe outfitters seems like a nice place to come back in the future to use many times over. They said they work 24/7 but also said it is a good idea to call prior to coming out. It appears as though they have two trips; a 10 mile and the 7.5 which we did today. They have the standard shuttle of equipment and persons. I did not use their shuttle service. We only used their location as a put-in, which cost $5.

I only live about 30 minutes from here and I will be back many times over I am sure. My goal is to canoe every mile of navigatable water the red river has.

Accommodations:

Red River Canoe has it all. Bathrooms, general store, and camp sites (RV and Tent).

Fees:

I paid $5 for use of Red River Canoe's boat ramp.

Directions:

From Clarksville head north on HWY 76 to Adams, TN. Follow the many numerous signs to Red River Canoe. Also look them up on the internet.

Resources:

I used a GPS to make sure that I did not go past Port Royal.