Helena Community Canoe, Saturday March 7th
FREE! LMRF Springtime Gift to our Community: Free in March and April 2026!
First Community Canoe of the Year coming up Saturday, March 7, 1-6pm from the Helena Harbor round trip to Buck Island. Special opportunity for youth, families, educators -- and anyone who has never paddled on the Mississippi River! ~~~ In partnership with the Mississippi River State Park ~~~
A Gift to the Community: No Charge! From sponsor, the LMRF: starting this month, for the next two months, we are offering a special gift to our community members (anyone who lives in the counties and states along the Lower Mississippi River Valley) -- no charge for Community Canoe in March and April 2026! Special offer -- especially for anyone who has never enjoyed the pleasure of paddling on the Mississippi River. This is our way of saying "thank you" for allowing us to serve you! Free for Youth of All Ages. Free for Families. Free for Educators. Free for All Others. LMRF = Lower Mississippi River Foundation. Dedicated to fostering long-term stewardship of the big river through youth, families, communities. Canoe trip is $110 value. Help us keep alive these kinds of opportunities by making a tax-deductible donation! Our focus is youth, families, teachers and community members. More information about what we do: www.lowermsfoundation.org Reservations required! Even though it's free, signup required. 18 maximum, first come, first served. Respond to this email with name, email, phone, and mailing address. Or call: Quapaw Canoe Company, 662-627-4070, and leave all info in message. For each participant, we need: 1) name 2) age 3) phone# 4) email 5) mailing address 6) approx weight 7) First time in canoe on Mississippi River? (Yes or No) *Weather dependent: rain in forecast! Dress appropriately. Other than rain, it will a beautiful early spring day, high of 78 degrees. Variable winds. If too stormy or rainy or windy, we will notify you of postponement.
Buck Island Roundtrip Helena Community Canoe: The Buck Island Helena Community Canoe Adventure is a roundtrip voyageur canoe paddle on the biggest river in North America, the Mighty Mississippi, involving a tour of an archipelago of Mississippi River Islands with big beaches, swim holes, birds, turtles, and other Afternoon wildlife. This round trip paddle affords an incredible variety of giant sandbars, wetlands, gravel/fossil bars, deep willow forests, and miles of beaches to swim from or walk along. So — a little bit of everything! Meet at 1pm at the big boat ramp in the Helena Harbor, in downtown Helena. Round-trip paddle. Pack your own snacks and water. Dress for weather. Don’t forget sun protection. No previous experience necessary, all paddle together in our big canoes with guides. But must be willing to paddle — sometimes hard paddling necessary. Return to land between 5 and 6pm. Reservations required! Meet place: Big Ramp in the Helena Harbor GPS: 34.52196250015302, -90.58215559939534. Itinerary: Meet: 1pm Big Boat Ramp in the Helena Harbor Park your car near Boardwalk (In the Helena River Park, over the levee from downtown Helena) 1pm: Helena Harbor Intro Talk, Safety Talk 2pm: Arrive Buck Island 3-5pm: Explore sandbar 5pm: board canoe to return to Helena 6pm: arrive back in Helena Harbor Quapaw Canoe Company Provides: Voyageur Canoe, paddles, lifejackets and all necessary river gear, first aid kits, VHF Marine Radio, running lights, and all necessary emergency gear. We’ll pack group water in 5 gallon jugs Pack in Daypack or Drybag: -waterbottles -snacks -sun protection -bug protection -shoes that can get muddy and wet (or go barefoot) Optional: -cell phone -camera -bird book -binoculars -swim gear -towel Note: Pack any electronics in dry bag, dry box, or zip lock bags Water Bottle Refill: We’ll pack a 5-gal jug of water to refill your personal water bottles. Wear: Dress for possible rainy weather. Wear shoes that can get muddy and wet (or go barefoot). Contact: John Ruskey at (662) 902-7841 or Ceili Hale, (601) 918-6810 Community Canoe is made possible by the Lower Mississippi River Foundation. Dedicated to fostering long-term stewardship of the big river through its youth.
~~~Lower Mississippi River Dispatch No. 1021~~~ Since 1995 ~ “Voice of the Lower Mississippi River” ~Quapaw Canoe Company, Clarksdale, Mississippi~
More about Buck Island (Prairie Point Towhead):
Buck Island is a 1,498 acre island located 1 mile upstream of the mouth of the Helena Harbor. It is one of the big islands of the Lower Mississippi. At low water its sandbars stretch 5 miles north to south and 1 ½ miles east to west. The forested high ground of the island is approximately 2 miles tall and a mile wide, in kind of a half moon shape, with a smaller forested “splinter island” found to the east. (During low water this splinter island becomes joined to the main island by a wide valley of sand & muddy pools).
Buck Island is historically known as Prairie Point Towhead. Like all the big islands of the Lower Mississippi a wide variety of micro-ecosystems are found on and around Buck Island, including a bottomland hardwood forest, younger willow/cottonwood forests, small grassy fields, sandbars, gravel bars, blue holes, and muddy flood pools (left behind in the flats after high water), each with its own particular inhabitants and characteristics. It should be noted that the Lower Mississippi fluctuates 45-50 vertical feet in an average year -- as such much of the island and most of its habitats become covered with flowing river water at some point during a normal year. For instance, at high water the only portion of the island found above water is the mature floodplain forest and its isolated grassy areas.
For the paddler Buck Island is an ideal location for a picnic, an overnight camp, a base camp, or a voyageur’s camp (if you’re traveling long distance down the river). It can be approached easily from Helena via the boat ramp at the Helena Harbor (upstream paddling), or from above by putting in at the mouth of the St. Francis River. You can paddle to the sandbars, or into the forest. At low water there are huge sandbars to hike with limitless possibilities for tracking birds & animals, and an enormous gravel bar at the head of the island with great fossil-finding, rock hounding and beach combing. At med water you can sneak through hidden channels that bisect the island. At high water you can paddle into the forest and wander through the woods in your canoe or kayak. Infrequently, at the very highest of flood stages, the entire island goes underwater.
You can make landings in deserted alcoves, and swim in blue holes. You can paddle all the way around the island (circumnavigation) or make a simple approach, a quick landing, and then keep going.
Above the Island on the West bank (Arkansas shore) is a series of small islands to explore, as well as East bank (so called “Helena Islands” – Mississippi shore). You can enter a mature willow forest following old river at Trotter’s (East shore), at higher waters it is possible to work your way through the woods all the way up to Tunica Lake.
Thanks for your good spirit brother! Who-whooop!
Woohoo, paddles-up, sounds like a wonderful community paddle, wishing you all a magical time - I'll be there in spirit 🤎💜💚