Kayaking on Lake Amistad
In my zone on the Pecos River arm of Lake Amistad.
First of all, I’d like to express thanks to
Pecos Jack for the trail descriptions. Pecos Jack is
unquestionably the foremost expert of every rugged foot of
Lake Amistad’s 850 miles of
shoreline.
I’d also like to express thanks to
Alan Cox, the Superintendent of the
Amistad National Recreation Area of the National Parks
Service located here. Alan generously and eagerly opened his
doors to working with us “kayakers” to expose Lake Amistad to
environmentally friendly paddle sports. He in turn gave the
green light to
Dave Hays, who is the GIS
Coordinator for the Amistad National Recreation Area, to produce
these super fine “kayaker-friendly” maps.
(Other Amistad maps:
www.nps.gov/amis/pphtml/maps.html)
On the trail map for an enlarged map of the area.
Kayak Trail
#1. Spur 454. This area is an excellent trip for one
day. Depart water’s edge at Spur 454. Head east. There are
numerous coves to explore, picnic at and swim in. The are also
some high vertical cliff’s to explore. Be sure to take a picnic
lunch and plenty of beverage. If you have never paddled on Lake
Amistad before and are lodging in Del Rio, this would be a good
day trip to start with.
Kayak Trail
#2. Spur 406. This area is an excellent day
trip. Drive across the lake heading west on Hwy. 90 West. Spur
406 will be on your right. This area offers excellent birding
and is much like Spur 454. If you care to cross the lake, these
two trips (Spur 406 and Spur 454) combined can make for a great
all day trip. Bring more food and beverage!
Kayak Trail
#3. Box Canyon/Cow Creek.
This is an nice day trip and an excellent overnight
camping trip. Take Hwy 90 West to the Box Canyon Road. It will
be on the south side of the highway. In Box Canyon, launch at
the Box Canyon Ramp and head upstream. It’s about 2.5 miles to
Cow Creek. This area offers unique scenery with vertical cliffs.
You can enjoy excellent
fishing. There are great spots for
primitive camping. This trip can be a long day trip but is best
enjoyed as an overnight camping experience.
Kayak Trail
#4. Indian Springs.
This is definitely best enjoyed as an overnight trip although
you can also do it in one day. But we encourage you to not miss
out on the exquisite camping. Take Hwy 277 to the Park road to
Rough Canyon. At the Rough Canyon boat ramp, you are on the
Devils River arm of Lake Amistad. From the boat ramp proceed
upstream 8 miles to Indian Springs. There are excellent camping
sites on the east side before you get to the springs and also on
the west side of the river under the trees. The springs come
right out of the mountain just beyond the Indian Springs Creek.
The water is clear and cold and millions of gallons cascade down
the rocky cliffs into pools before they reach the lake. Folks
love to go up there and play in the cascades and even dive off
into the river.
Caution!! The rocks are not only slippery
but they’re extremely jagged. Fall and you won’t be able
to paddle back! It really is best to spend the night on this
trip as it is 16 miles roundtrip, and there are frequently
strong head winds during the day.
Indian Springs. This is
definitely best enjoyed as an overnight trip although you can
also do it in one day. We encourage you to not miss out on the
exquisite camping. Take Hwy 277 to the Park road to Rough
Canyon. At the Rough Canyon boat ramp, you are on the Devils
River arm of Lake Amistad. From the boat ramp proceed upstream 8
miles to Indian Springs. There are excellent camping sites on
the east side before you get to the springs and also on the west
side of the river under the trees. The springs come right out of
the rock just beyond the Indian Springs Creek. The water is
clear and cold and millions of gallons cascade down the rocky
cliffs into pools before they reach the lake. Folks love to go
up there and play in the cascades. Caution!! The rocks are not
only slippery but they’re extremely jagged. Fall and you won’t
be able to paddle back! It really is best to spend the night on
this trip as it is 16 miles roundtrip, and there are frequently
strong head winds during the day.
Click this map for a larger view. Click on the
trails for a larger view of each trail.
Paddle
trail # 5
Parida Cave This trail is short but it certainly
packs a lot of adventure! It's a real fun day trip that can be
done in 3 hours or less, and is best described in our
photographic kayak tour to Parida Cave.
Paddle
trail # 6
Panther Cave is quite a bit farther down river
than Parida and would make for a long day, but can be done in
one day by very enthusiastic paddlers. There may not be any good
camping places along the Rio Grande at this time due to the
water level being near conservation pool, but there are many
side canyons that could prove to be hospitable. Panther Cave is
one of the best preserved Lower Pecos River style rock art sites
boasting a large panel of pictographs which include the 9
foot-long panther that gives this site its name.
Paddle trail
# 7
Pecos Railroad Bridge. Also called the "High Bridge"
is located about 6 miles up river from the Pecos launch ramp. An
excellent day trip, the Pecos river is a very scenic one with
colorful, high cliffs riddled with side canyons to explore. It
is rich in lush vegetation and lots of wildlife to observe.
Birding is especially good year round.
Hanging out below the high bridge waiting for
trains to go by is also one of the highlights of this trip. A
short way up river from the bridge, and on the right, are the
remnants of an old pump house that pumped water from the river
up to the water tank for use in the old steam engines of days
gone by. The concrete pilings of the rickety, old, steel bridge
of the 1890s can still be seen on both sides of the river near
the pump house.
If you want to make the trip longer and camp
out, the Pecos offers more breathtaking scenery up river to Dead
Mans Canyon and ultimately to Shumla Bend at the end of the park
boundary 14 miles from the confluence of the Rio Grande. It can
be done in one day, but is best enjoyed when you have several
days to explore the beauty that the Pecos River offers.
The
fishing is good too.
A general note: For all of
these trips, be sure to bring plenty of drinking water, a large
brimmed hat for shade, sunglasses, a long sleeved shirt and
pants. Do not forget to cover up as the sun can really burn you
out on the lake. Please be environmentally conscientious and
pack out all of your trash. Do not use glass containers. And
remember that all things living and nonliving are protected
under federal law. Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but
footprints.
Guided tours: Any of
these trips as well as longer trips up to a week can be guided
and catered.
