Canoeing Pickett's Bayou

The morning of March 22nd 2025 found Dave and me in the Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge, at the Pickett's Bayou Boat Ramp. We were behind a conglomerated group of paddlers consisting of the Houston Canoe Club and the Houston Association of Sea Kayakers. The group graciously allowed us to launch ahead of them. On the water by 10:00 am, we headed downstream.

Bayous are an interesting classification of waters. I understand them as streams that are neither rivers nor creeks that lie in low, flat coastal regions. To me, bayous pour into bays, have tidal flows and brackish waters.

Pickett's bayou doesn't empty into a bay. It doesn't have brackish water and its flow and height are set by the Trinity River. I think of Pickett's Bayou as a satellite of the Trinity.

So, Pickett's Bayou doesn't fit my definition, but bayous are ambiguous and regional in concept, dialect and geography. After canoeing it, I confer Pickett's is not a river or a creek. Nor is it a pond or lake. The day we were on it there was some current, but I noticed it in only two places.

A nice confirmation of the trip was of the sandbar. Post from the Houston Canoe Club indicated the feature existed, but Google Earth images made it appear it had washed out or grown over.

Sandbars are mildly confounding and amusing to me. They wash in and out with floods and I never know why. Are sandbars geological features the stream cuts through, or are they something the river leaves behind? And, a sandbar on a bayou this close to the coast? That's a treat! Sandbars make me happy. They are nice places for on shore breaks.

There was a gentle swift at the head of this sandbar. This was the first sign of noticeable current.

Past the sandbar, we paddled into Linda's Narrows. There were a couple alligators there, but they weren't large.

The sign that marks Linda's Narrows.

Further downstream the channel choked more. Here some fallen trees posed a mild impediment. This day, the current was moving through the choke. This was the second place I noticed the current. It was swifter here.

I wanted to canoe past the choke through the The Cutoff and to the Trinity River, or the Lost River and the Old River. Who wouldn't want to canoe rivers with names like that?

Beyond this choke is a little current and a lot of water to explore.

Those waters and their haunted names still wait for my exploration. This was an easy day for us though. We headed back up to the sandbar for lunch.

The sandbar has lots of visitors.

While we were on the sandbar some celebrities of the Houston Canoe Club passed by. They tarried and chatted with us about the Trinity.

After a while we headed back to the launch. This 5-1/2 mile day left much to explore. It's a good excuse to come back.

This satellite image hints at the potential for remoteness and waters to explore.

For other articles on nearby waters see the links below. Also see the link for The Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge.

Thanks for reading!

https://www.theurbanfrontier.net/post/seize-the-day-~-first-in-a-series-of-four

https://www.theurbanfrontier.net/post/exploring-the-lower-trinity-river-~-two-day-tours

https://www.fws.gov/refuge/trinity-river

See ya later alligator!