By Tom Douglas

The weather in the week before our trip had been harsh at times, but February 7 turned out to be a sunny, delightful day outdoors. The venue was the Champion Lake Unit of the Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge, which is located about 9.5 miles south of Liberty, TX: the closest national refuge to Houston. 

1-Ready to Launch by Constantin Platon

We met up at the Champion Lake Boat Ramp and began our paddle at 10:00, right on schedule. We began by paddling northeast along the Champion Lake Levee, which stretches all of the way out to the Trinity River, a distance of around a mile and three quarters (see the map, below). A little ways before we reached the levee’s spillway, we passed by a culvert that controls the lake level much of the time. But, because there had been little rain recently, we could see right through the empty culvert, out onto Picketts Bayou. Shortly beyond that point, the channel ends in an area that our trip leader, Joe Coker, let us know is a seasonal gathering spot for male alligators. 

2-Getting Underway by Greg Fan

3-Culvert's Eye View of Picketts Bayou by Tom Douglas

Then, it was back past the launch site and westward into Big Caney Creek. Specific locations in Champion Lake are often described relative to the designated sites where duck hunting is allowed, by permit, during the annual season. Even though we had learned from the gauge at the fishing pier that the water level was only about 5 feet, we decided to find out whether we could reach Site #5, which is especially scenic. 

4-Starting Up Big Caney Creek by Tom Douglas

We turned up into an abandoned channel of Big Caney Creek toward Site #5, but found that the entrance to that hunting site was not quite deep enough to get through. It was time to take a short juice break before heading back toward Big Caney Creek. 

5-Low Water Near Site #5 by Joe Coker

Retracing our path for about a quarter mile, we made a right turn back into Big Caney Creek. After a little over a half mile, we reached a shallow spot in the creek that would have taken a group of 19 boats some time to negotiate. This seemed like a good spot to take a break for a snack, which would still allow us enough time to return to the boat ramp by 1:30, as planned. 

6-Paddling Farther Up Big Caney Creek by Tom Douglas

7-Time to Turn Around by Tom Douglas

8-Snack Time by Tom Douglas

Part way back down Big Caney Creek, we varied our route by paddling south through the forest, past Sites #13 and #14. This led us to the clear channel that follows along the south side of the lake, and back to the boat ramp. There, everyone pitched in to help with loading up boats and equipment for the trip home. 

9-Through the Forest by Joe Coker

10-Entering the South Channel by Joe Coker

11-End of a Fine Paddle by Tom Douglas

12-Where We Went by Tom Douglas

About Champion Lake: 

For more detail about how flood waters from the Trinity River provide most of the water for Champion Lake, see “Over-Bank Flows on the West Side of the Lower Trinity River.” The Champion Lake Levee, that was originally constructed to provide access for oil and gas exploration, serves to maintain the lake level by limiting the return of water to the Trinity River’s main channel.  More about the forces that have shaped today’s Lower Trinity River, such as those that created the clear channel along the south side of Champion Lake, can be found in “A River Ran Past It: How Lake Charlotte Got to be the Way It Is.”

Acknowledgements: 

Thanks to Joe Coker, who organized the 15-boat group through the Houston Canoe Club, and to Constantin Platon, whose 4-boat group joined us for the Champion Lake paddle. Thanks, also, to Stuart Marcus, founding Refuge Director of the Trinty River National Wildlife Refuge from 1994 to 2019, for background information about the refuge.