Come help us remove some deadfalls that are impeding canoe and kayak paddling.
Bring a chainsaw if you really know how to use it.
But you do not have to use a saw to join us.
When: Gather 9 AM, launch 9:30 AM, end 1 PM, Saturday, September 9, 2023
Put In: Langdale Park Boat Ramp, 3781 N. Valdosta Rd., Valdosta, GA 31602,
GPS: 30.88747, -83.32395
![[Easy and hard deadfalls 2021-05-15]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-09-09--langdale-troupville-chainsaw-cleanup-withlacoochee-river/many.jpg)
Easy and hard deadfalls,
2021-05-15
Many people have asked, “Have you seen the land clearing near the entrance to Langdale Park? Wonder what that is about?”
![[Langdale Park entrance and maps]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-08-05--n-vld-rd-partners/many.jpg)
Langdale Park entrance and maps
Yesterday I actually missed my turn into Langdale Park because I didn’t recognize it, with all the trees cut down. Continue reading
Update 2022-05-14: Mayor, Council, volunteers, helped WWALS clean up Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River 2022-05-07.
We’re changing this Saturday’s paddle to an on-land cleanup below the Salty Snapper parking lot, walking down Sugar Creek to the Withlacoochee River and the railroad bridge.
Because it’s now completely a cleanup, this outing is free! Also, no boat required. Bring mud boots, sturdy clothes, gloves, and any trash pickers you may have. We will supply trash bags. And for the Mayor, a Sawzall.
This reroute is because Continue reading
This morning, Valdosta Mayor Scott James and Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman talked trash and river paddling on 92.1 FM talk radio.
![[Movie: BIG Little River Paddle Race, Reed Bingham State Park 2022-04-30]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-04-29--videos-scott-james-radio/MVI_0287-28-32-big-little-river-paddle-race-reed-bingham-state-park-2022-04-30.jpg)
Movie: BIG Little River Paddle Race, Reed Bingham State Park 2022-04-30
Get your tickets today to join us tomorrow (Saturday) morning for the annual 3-mile WWALS BIG Little River Paddle Race down the idyllic blackwater Little River from Red Roberts Landing into Reed Bingham State Park Lake.
And another paddle next Saturday, May 7, 2022, on the Withlacoochee River from Langdale Park Boat Ramp to Sugar Creek. The Mayor promised to bring nets for trash. I’ll bring sawzalls for any deadfalls.
We mostly talked about the trash situation, in which the Mayor of Valdosta promised to get trash cans set out on the city’s own parking lots, starting with the ones across from City Hall. We discussed the cleanup award from GA-DNR I picked up in Atlanta Wednesday. Cleanups are great, but not enough. We also need trash traps to stop the stuff from getting out of the creeks into the rivers. And we need parking lot owners to keep trash from getting of their lots and to set out and clean out trash cans. Continue reading
2022-05-05: Reroute: Langdale Park becomes Withlacoochee River and Sugar Creek Cleanup 2022-05-07.
Leisurely paddle promoting ecotourism on the Withlacoochee River, from Langdale Park to Troupville Boat Ramp, stopping halfway for lunch at the Salty Snapper. Each participant will be responsible for purchasing their own lunch.
Water levels may change rapidly. We will keep you updated.
We will gather at Langdale Park at 9am and perform a team shuttle at 9:30 returning to Langdale and launching at 10:00 am. We will arrive at the Salty Snapper (3 miles) for lunch/beverages around 11:30 shortly after they open. Lunch should wrap up around 12:30 and paddle on down to Troupville Boat Ramp (4 miles) arriving and finishing up around 2:30pm.
Along the way, we will see where the Mayor of Valdosta proposes building a boardwalk along the last thousand feet of cypress knees on a strip of land Lowndes County owns from Gornto Road down to the river, just downstream from Sugar Creek, the railroad, and the YMCA.
If we’re lucky, Valdosta will have cleaned up its trash problem by then.
And we will bring saws in case we encounter more deadfalls (trees across the river) than usual. There may be a few brief portages over deadfalls, but don’t worry: everyone will help.
When: Gather 9 AM, launch 10 AM, end 3 PM, Saturday, May 7, 2022
Put In: Langdale Park Boat Ramp, 3781 N. Valdosta Rd., Valdosta, GA 31602. I-75 Exit 22, east on North Valdosta Road, cross the Withlacoochee River, turn right on Hyta Mederer Drive, continue to the boat ramp.
GPS: 30.88747, -83.32395
Lunch: The Salty Snapper, 1405 Gornto Road, Valdosta, GA 31602.
Take Out: Troupville Boat Ramp, 19664 Valdosta Hwy, Valdosta, GA 31602. I-75 exit 18, west on GA 133 (St. Augustine Road) away from the Valdosta Mall, at the traffic light for Val Tech Road, turn left down to the boat ramp.
Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat, paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup. Mosquitoes can be bad at dusk so come prepared.
Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members.
You can pay the $10 at the outing, or online:
https://wwals.net/outings
We recommend you support the work of WWALS by
becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/#join
![[Around the bend, 10:26:40, 30.8867740, -83.3239680]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-05-15--langdale-park-sugar-creek-salty-snapper/20210515_102640.jpg)
Around the bend, 10:26:40, 30.8867740, -83.3239680, 2021-05-15.
WWALS Member Bobby McKenzie saw the Lowndes County Little Control truck in the wild, at Nankin Boat Ramp on the Withlacoochee River.
Gotta give mad props to Lowndes County, GA for the Litter Control crew!
The boat ramps in Lowndes have been surprisingly clean lately! I ran across these folks today while out testing water. If you’ve been paying attention to the trash we’ve been cleaning up out of the rivers and trashed local spots in other counties…this is a much appreciated sight!
These boat ramps have been notoriously trashed in the past. Glad to see Lowndes stepping up!
![[Lowndes County Litter Control]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-06-10--lowndes-county-litter-control/litter-control-crop.jpg)
Lowndes County Litter Control at Nankin Boat Ramp. Photo: Bobby McKenzie, who was an intern for WWALS at the time.
You can help, too, at the big river and creek cleanup this Saturday, October 9, 2021, with WWALS sites downstream from Troupville Boat Ramp on the Little River and on Sugar Creek at the Salty Snapper just upstream from the Withlacoochee River. Continue reading
Update 2021-05-22: All clear, Withlacoochee River 2021-05-20.
There’s good water quality news upstream for tomorrow’s Withlacoochee River paddle
from Langdale Park Boat Ramp to Sugar Creek and the Salty Snapper.
https://wwals.net/?p=55532
Yesterday (Thursday) Bobby McKenzie sampled Langdale Park Boat Ramp and GA 133 on the Withlacoochee River, and Troupville Boat Ramp on the Little River. His results today for all three were well within the single-sample limit for E. coli.
Eyeballing the Withlacoochee at GA 133, he decided the level was too low for that stretch of the paddle. However, Bobby paddled from Langdale Park Boat Ramp to Sugar Creek and up it, and except for a couple of portages as you get to Sugar Creek, there’s plenty of water. Bring mud boots and you can stand up in the river there and drag your boat across. And 10% off lunch for each paddler at the Salty Snapper!
![[Results, Plates, River, Swim Guide]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-05-13--wq/many.jpg)
Results, Plates, River, Swim Guide
Also for Thursday, there’s bad news from Knights Ferry Boat Ramp downstream to the state line, and by now that contamination has probably washed farther down the river. WWALS testers Michael and Jacob Bachrach got horrendous results at Knights Ferry Boat Ramp, and above the single-sample limit at State Line Boat Ramp. Nankin Boat Ramp was barely within that limit. If I were you, I would stay off the Withlacoochee River below US 84 for a few days. Continue reading
The Salty Snapper pop-up paddle
this Saturday may be a bit truncated, due to water levels getting low.
We may paddle only from Langdale Park Boat Ramp to the Salty Snapper,
because the second leg on to Troupville Boat Ramp is getting too low.
Expedition leader Bobby McKenzie will post updates on the
facebook event
and the meetup,
and we’ll blog final status before the paddle.
Bobby’s out paddling the route right now.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1136633426809951/
https://www.meetup.com/Withlacoochee-Alapaha-Suwannee-RIvers-WWALS-Outings/events/278008951/
Follow this link for other details on this outing:
https://wwals.net/?p=55532
Looks like you can shuttle by scheduling with the new
Valdosta on-demand minibus transit service
for a $2 ride back from the Salty Snapper to Langdale Park Boat Ramp.
https://www.valdostacity.com/public-works/valdosta-demand
![[Movie: Pop-up paddle, no fee, at Langdale Park, Saturday, 2021-05-15]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-05-11--scott-james-radio-videos/MVI_0231-24-45-pop-up-paddle-no-fee-at-langdale-park-saturday-2021-05-15.jpg)
Tuesday morning, Suwannee Riverkeeper was talking about this paddle with Scott James on his 92.1 FM radio show.
Here’s a WWALS video playlist:
Continue readingValdosta, May 12, 2021 — WWALS offers a pop-up paddle along the amazingly wild west edge of the most populous city in the Suwannee River Basin. Join us at Langdale Park Boat Ramp at 9AM this Saturday, May 15, 2021, to paddle three miles to Sugar Creek and the Salty Snapper for lunch. Then we’ll paddle another four miles to the future home of Troupville River Camp at the Little River Confluence, and a few thousand feet up the Little River to Troupville Boat Ramp, where someday will be facilities for Troupville River Park.
“What better way to enjoy a Saturday, than combining a wilderness paddle and one of Valdosta’s local restaurants,” said Bobby McKenzie, whose idea it was. “Come see what you’re missing!”
Garrison Wood, manager of the Salty Snapper Seafood & Oyster Bar, said, “We’ll give each paddler 10% off their meal and have a spot inside ready to serve.”
“I’ll paddle to the Salty Snapper!” said Valdosta Mayor Scott James, on the air on his radio show Tuesday.
“A sprinkle of rain mid-week is keeping the water level up, yet still below last week’s flooding, so we’re taking this opportunity to paddle this stretch,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman. “You can meet us at the Salty Snapper for lunch at 11:30 AM, but you only get the lunch discount if you paddle.”
When: Gather 9 AM, launch 10 AM, end 3 PM, Saturday, May 15, 2021
Put In: Langdale Park Boat Ramp, 3781 N. Valdosta Rd., Valdosta, GA 31602, in Lowndes County.
GPS: 30.88747, -83.32395
Take Out: Troupville Boat Ramp, 19664 Valdosta Hwy, Valdosta, GA 31602: on GA 133 off I-75 exit 18.
Free: As a one-time experiment, we are waiving the outing fee for this one pop-up outing. The fee has never seemed to be a deterrent to anybody paddling, but we’ll see if anybody says they came because this one was free. Everyone will still have to sign in so everyone will be covered by WWALS insurance.
All WWALS outings are free to WWALS members.
We recommend you support the work of WWALS by
becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/#join
Shuttle: 7.5 miles, 30 min.
If you can, please organize your own shuttle.
This outing includes the traditional WWALS team shuttle.
Everybody takes their boats to the put-in,
most people drive to the take-out,
and the drivers pile into one or two vehicles
and go back to the put-in.
We will require masks and open windows.
![[Troupville Boat Ramp, Salty Snapper, Troupville River Camp]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-05-15--salty-snapper-pop-up-paddle/m2.jpg)
Troupville Boat Ramp, Salty Snapper, Troupville River Camp
In time for the
Salty Snapper Pop Up Paddle and Lunch this coming Saturday, April May 15, 2021,
Bobby McKenzie planted the WWALS water trail signs next to the put in, Langdale Boat Ramp.
Thanks to Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA) for re-opening Langdale Park after the recent high water.
These WWALS signs are for the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT), and here they are next to the boat ramp, which is on the Withlacoochee River. Thanks to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GA-DNR) for the grant that funded making these signs. Continue reading
![[Trash and log jams]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-05-07--langdale-park-sugar-creek-reroute/many.jpg)
![[Signs, Camera]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-05-06--wlrwt-signs-langdale-park-boat-ramp/many.jpg)