Cruisin' the River by Canoe

Cruisin' DFW by Canoe

Canoes offer an excellent family outing for families with older children. There is ample opportunity to play, converse, and work together to achieve a goal.

Canoes are quiet. Wild animals wait longer to flee from a canoe giving you a chance to see these animals or, occasionally, even observe wildlife closely.

Canoes also give you an opportunity to commune with nature, even camp along the riverbank for a night or a week. Almost any area of the US can offer a near-by canoeing opportunity.

While it can be boring to canoe a low-water river, it can also be dangerous to canoe a flooded river. Experienced canoers can navigate a river that is swollen with rains and running rapidly. It is a good idea for the rest of us to wait for the water to subside somewhat.

Unless you canoe often and/or own your own outfit, you will probably find it advantageous to contact a canoe outfitter to organize your trip and equipment.

Three rivers offer excellent canoeing within a two hour drive of DFW: the Trinity River, the Red River, and the Brazos River.

The Brazos River and the Red River offer a chance to commune with nature, and yes, even overnight camping.

One Brazos River canoe trip puts in at Highway 180 just west of Mineral Wells and takes canoes out at Highway 281 south of Mineral Wells.

On the Red River, put your canoes in at Carpenter's Bluff east of Denison and take canoes out at Highway 78.

The Trinity River offers canoeing close to home. When flowing through Tarrant County, the West Fork of the Trinity River offers canoeing through wooded areas and the quiet of nature. When flowing through Dallas County, the river presents canoers a view of the Dallas skyline, then enters a heavily forested area in south Dallas County.

If the thought of the Trinity River makes you turn up your nose in disgust, remember that it has been been cleaned up in recent years. It's not perfect yet but it's close and has some beautiful nature areas for canoeing.

Two of many possible Trinity River canoe trips:

1. West Fork Trip: Put canoes in on Collins (Highway 157) in Arlington and take out on Belt Line just north of Highway 30.

2. Elm Fork Trip: Put in at Highway 121 south of Lake Lewisville; take your canoes out at Sandy Lake Road west of I-35.

Contact the Down River Club or the Sierra Club (817 588-1167 or 214 369-5543) for organized canoe trips in the DFW area.

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