Preparation
What to bring, and what to leave in the truck
The list is short. Two things on it decide whether you have a good day: your shoes, and how much you brought to drink.
For canoeing
FOR CANOEING
- sunscreen
- bug spray
- towels
- dry clothes
- old tennis shoes
- life vest (two are provided with rental of each canoe)
- plenty to eat and drink
That is our list and it has not changed in years, because it does not need to. What follows is why each line is on it.
Old tennis shoes
This is the single most useful line on the list and the one most people ignore.
You will be out of the boat. Not maybe — you will be, at a shoal, at a gravel bar, at a lunch stop, or because somebody dropped a paddle. The bottom of this creek is sand, gravel and sandstone ledge, and the ledges grow algae and are slick as glass under running water.
Flip-flops are worse than bare feet, because the current takes them off and keeps them, and then you are barefoot anyway with one shoe. Water shoes are fine. Old tennis shoes you do not mind soaking are better and cheaper. Whatever you wear, it needs a heel strap and it needs to stay on when you put your foot down in moving water.
Plenty to eat and drink
Bring more water than you think. South Mississippi in July takes it out of you sitting still, and you will not be sitting still. On the seven-mile run plan for three to four hours; on the thirteen-mile run plan for six, not four, and pack accordingly.
Freeze half your water the night before. It thaws through the day and it keeps the food cold in the meantime.
Sunscreen and bug spray
The canopy over this creek is generous but it is not a roof — you get long sunny stretches, and water reflects everything back up at you from underneath. Put sunscreen on before you get on the water, not when you start to feel it, and take it with you. Reapply after every swim.
Bug spray matters more on the bank than on the creek. Moving water and a breeze keep most things off you; a shady lunch stop on a sandbar does not.
Towels and dry clothes
Leave these in the car. You are floating back to your vehicle, so they will be there waiting for you, and we have superb changing facilities and a shower facility in our store for when you get off the water.
The life vest
Two life vests are provided with rental of each canoe, and with a single kayak you are provided with one double blade paddle and life vest. Mississippi law requires anyone 12 years and under to wear a life vest at all times. State law also requires one life vest per person in each boat. We suggest that everyone wears their life vest.
What you can pick up at the store
We have an old tyme store with souvenirs, old fashioned candy, cold drinks and snacks. We pride ourselves on clean and spacious restrooms with hot showers, and changing area.
If there is something specific your party is counting on, call 601-722-4297 and check we have it before you plan around it.
What not to bring
What not to bring?
- NO GLASS CONTAINERS
- NO STYROFOAM COOLERS
- NO FIRE ARMS ALLOWED ON PREMISES OR IN CANOES
- LAW PROHIBITS ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
Do NOT take valuables down the river. Bring a plastic bag for your garbage. You may dispose of it here at the Outdoor Post. Please do NOT leave it on the river. You may check your car keys in for safe keeping inside our store.
Two of those deserve a word, because people think they are house fussiness and they are not.
Glass. A bottle that goes over the side of a boat in moving water does not stay whole and does not stay where it fell. It breaks on a ledge, the pieces spread across the gravel, and the next person to stand up barefoot at that shoal finds them. There is no way to clean it up. That is the whole reason the rule is in capitals.
Styrofoam. A styrofoam cooler does not survive being dragged over a sandstone ledge, and when it goes it goes into a thousand white beads that float, spread for miles and never leave. A hard cooler with a lid that latches is what you want anyway — it stays shut when the boat goes over a drop.
While we are on it: whatever you carry in, carry out. Do not throw trash or cans into the river, or leave anything on the gravel bars. Place all litter in a litter bag and keep in canoe until the end of the trip.
Three things that are not on the list but should be in your boat
None of these are required. All three come up every season.
A dry bag, or a good zip bag
Phone, keys you did not check in, and anything paper. A cheap roll-top dry bag costs less than a phone screen. Failing that, a zip bag inside a second zip bag, sitting inside the cooler. Assume everything in the boat is going to get wet at some point, because at some point it is.
A hat and something with sleeves
Three to six hours on open water is longer in the sun than most people plan for. A brimmed hat and a light long-sleeved shirt do more than a second coat of sunscreen, and they do not wash off at the first swim hole.
A length of rope
Ten or fifteen feet of it. Handy for tying a cooler in, hauling a boat off a bar, or holding two boats together at a lunch stop. Costs nothing and stays in the bottom of the canoe until the day it saves you a swim.
If you are staying over
FOR CAMPING
- camping equipment, mess kit, etc.
- cooking equipment
- flashlight
- sleeping bag
- a water safe camera (to record your adventures)
Campfires are allowed in fire pits ONLY and must be attended to at all times. You may bring your own firewood, but it must not be over 24" in length. No chainsaws may be used.
Primitive camping is $5.00 per person per night — the full rules, the quiet hours and what the bathhouses give you are on the camping page.
Packing questions
Can I take a cooler in the canoe?
Yes — but NO STYROFOAM COOLERS and NO GLASS CONTAINERS. A hard cooler with a latching lid rides better and stays shut over a drop. Tie it in.
What shoes should I wear?
Old tennis shoes. The ledges are wet sandstone and they are slick. Flip-flops come off in the current and do not come back.
Where do I put my phone and my keys?
You may check your car keys in for safe keeping inside our store. For a phone, a roll-top dry bag or a doubled zip bag inside the cooler. And do NOT take valuables down the river.
Do I have to bring a life vest?
No. Two life vests are provided with rental of each canoe, and with a single kayak you are provided with one double blade paddle and life vest. Mississippi law requires anyone 12 years and under to wear a life vest at all times, and state law requires one life vest per person in each boat.
Is there somewhere to change and shower afterwards?
Yes — superb changing facilities, and clean and spacious restrooms with hot showers at the store. Leave your towel and dry clothes in the car; you float back to it.
Packed and ready
Book the boat, then check the creek.
601-722-4297 or 1-888-OKATOMA. Open 8 AM – 6 PM, March 1 – October 31.