Update 2019-11-08: Donate through GA Gives, including if you wish for Brochures.

Update 2019-04-26: Price of metal signs at the water at boat ramps and landings.

Update 2018-04-27: Pictures of Lakeland Boat Ramp signs in the ground.

Update 2018-03-15: People want to know how much the signs cost:

• Road Signs
  • $150 one road sign
  • $300 pair of road signs for a landing or boat ramp
• Signs at the water near a boat ramp or landing: if you donate for a specific location, your logo can go on the signs there, and on the water trail brochures and web pages
  • $600 one park-style kiosk, or
  • $50 pair of metal signs with 4×4 post, bolts, and concrete.

Any amount of donation helps put up the road signs that let people know the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT) exists and directs them to the landings, as well as the kiosks that inform people about what to expect nearby, so we get more people paddling the Alapaha River who will take care of the river.

The pair of metal signs at the water also work for the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT). Here is an example pair of metal signs at the water for Troupville Boat Ramp:

Side by Side

The Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT) is a reality. We are ordering have bought the road signs from the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) which has planted them on roads leading to landings, and we need to pay for them. We have a small amount of money from one donor but need to raise nearly $3,000 for the remaining road signs. You can help!

We can’t put your name on a road sign, but if you donate, your name or your organization’s name and logo can go on a kiosk near the water and in the paper brochures and the online ARWT web pages.

We’re raising another $5,000 for those kiosks.

Thanks to the Atkinson County Commission for the new name Willacoochee Landing for their access at Georgia highway 135.

We thank GDOT for agreeing to make the signs and to place a pair of them on the road leading to each landing, with the directional arrow pointing left or right.

Access at the other side of the Alapaha River at GA 135 is called Nashville Landing; thanks to Berrien 911 for agreeing to that name long ago.

There’s no need for “GA 135” on these water trail signs, since highway number signs are already there. All the landings are listed in the ARWT Access page, with the road names next to the landing names.

Thanks to the Berrien County Commission for agreeing to rename two landings to be Sheboggy Boat Ramp at US 82 and Berrien Beach Boat Ramp at GA 136. Now all five Georgia landings that have concrete ramps will be called Boat Ramp on the road signs, kiosks, and on the ARWT maps on signs, in brochures, and online. On the road signs, the boat ramps will have the Boat Ramp icon, while the signs for the other landings will have just the canoe and kayak icons.

Lowndes County has agreed to make and place the signs on US 84 for the new Naylor Boat Ramp, and for that we are thankful. That’s one pair of signs we don’t have to pay for, but there are nine other pairs in Georgia on the Alapaha River Water Trail.

How to donate for water trail signs

In addition to the $3,000 for the road signs, we are hoping to raise another $5,000 so that we can install information kiosks at the landing areas. Your kiosk contribution could also be in-kind, such as lumber, concrete, or labor.

We can’t put your name on a road sign, but if you donate a substantial amount, your name or your organization’s name and logo can go on a kiosk and in the paper brochures and the online ARWT web pages.

You can make a one-time or recurring donation for this project at
https://www.gagives.org/story/Wwalswatertrailsigns.

Any funds over the amounts listed here will go towards other water trail tasks such as printing brochures, Florida road signs, updating the kiosks, planting mile markers, etc.

That and other ways to donate to or join WWALS are all linked into the Donations web page.

Georgia Water Trails Network

We’re almost finished with the ARWT! All that’s left to do is to plant these road signs and to put kiosks near the water for at least two access points. Then the ARWT can be listed as an Established Trail on the Georgia Water Trails Network:

Further thanks for street addresses for these landings, from the Southern Georgia Regional Commission (SGRC) for Lowndes and Echols Counties, and from Berrien and Atkinson 911. Thanks to Lanier County Emergency Management and the Lanier County Commission for agreeing to work up addresses for the Lanier landings.

Florida

We haven’t forgotten about Florida. Our rivers don’t stop just because somebody drew a state line on a map, and our water trails go from Georgia to the Suwannee River in Florida. The ARWT landings in Florida already have kiosks. Once we finish the Georgia part, we’ll see about Florida road signs saying Alapaha River Water Trail.

Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT)

We also haven’t forgotten about the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT). Work is in progress for signs for the WLRWT, too; more on that later.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

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