Mississippi River Tour!
Join us as we ply the brown waters of America's River, the Mighty Mississippi! After spring rains and snow melt from the north have subsided, the Big Muddy becomes much more calm and user friendly. From June through October, water levels are relatively stable and taking a trip on the river is an absolute joy! For more information, read below!
The American Bar trip is approximately 36 miles in length. From Warfield Point we will travel 9 miles south, around the jetties opposite Vaucluse Bar, where the river is nearly 1.25 miles wide. The new Highway 82 bridge will be in full view at this point, and we will pass underneath it and head towards American Bar (Lake Port Towhead). At certain times of year, endangered interior least terns can be seen nesting on exposed sandbars on this section of the trip. These large, open bars are also excellent stopover places in late summer for southward migrating shorebirds such as the black tern, least sandpiper and western sandpiper. The next 8 miles of the trip will circumnavigate American Bar, around the western side of Bell Island near the mouth of Lake Lee and up American Cutoff. The trip then heads up river and back to Greenville. This trip will take about 3 hours to complete.
The Luna Chute trip is a shorter trip for those who only want to glimpse Ole Man River and experience a shorter version of the Woodstock Island trip. This trip is approximately 20 miles in length and will take approximately 2 hours to complete.
Customers on all trips may also see white-tailed deer, river otters, soft-shelled turtles, Mississippi kites, ring-billed gulls, American white pelicans, red-eared sliders, paddlefish, Asian carp and many other species!
Trip Options:
Woodstock Island and American Bar:
$250 for group of up to 4
Luna Chute:
$160 for group of up to 4
Book your trip on the Mighty Mississippi today!
For safety reasons, MS River tours might not be available during winter and spring months at high water levels. Call us to check availability. The Mississippi is not called "mighty" because it is kind to travelers year-round!
Call (662) 962-4868 or email info@yazoovalleywildlife.com
The Woodstock Island trip is approximately 44 miles in length and is our longest trip. From Warfield Point we will cross the river to the Arkansas side and enter Luna Chute. Luna Chute is a part of the old river channel that existed in the early 1800's, and much of the Arkansas-Mississippi boundary follows this channel. This portion of the trip is on slower moving water, between mature hardwood stands and hidden oxbow lakes along the banks. Many species of neo-tropical songbirds and forest-dwelling birds and mammals can be seen here. You might see prothonorary warblers, yellow-billed cuckoos, wood storks, and red-shouldered hawks on this portion of the trip. We will travel approximately 21 miles upstream in this smaller channel, past Luna Bar and around Woodstock Island. Continuing upstream, we will round Linwood Neck, pass Rowdy Bend Towhead, and re-enter the Mississippi between Lake Paradise and Georgetown Towhead. Upon re-entering the Mississippi, we will head downstream for another 12 miles, past Backbone Ridge and into Lake Ferguson. This trip will take about 3 hours to complete.
This is not your wine and dine, covered-canopy river boat tour! This tour is in an open air, flat-bottomed river boat. We will put the wind in your face, the sand on your feet and the cool river water at your fingertips. This is the type of river boat adventure that would make Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn proud!
Your journey will begin at the City Front in Greenville, MS, with a 5-mile ride down Lake Ferguson to Warfield Point. Lake Ferguson is an oxbow lake, formed by the river but abandoned by the main channel as the river shifted course. The Port of Greenville on Lake Ferguson is home to many companies that depend on the river for shipment of goods. We will pass by companies that ship and receive goods such as grain, limestone, scrap metal and fuel, as well as salvage yards that repair towboats and barges in dry docks along the bank of the lake. Much of the grain you eat, fuel you put in your vehicle, fertilizer that grows the nation's crops, and gravel in your drive may come from the Port of Greenville.
During this portion of the trip, you will likely see barges loading and off-loading products, towboats and barges in dry dock for repair, US Coast Guard vessels at work, and boats entering Lake Ferguson and/or exiting into the Mississippi.
River Terminology
Towboat: Squared bow boat designed for pushing barges
Tugboat: Pointed bow boat designed for pushing barges and helping larger vessels navigate
Bow: Front of the boat
Stern: Back of the boat
Port: Left side
Starboard: Right side
Line: Rope used on a vessel
Bar: Large mass of sand or earth
Towhead: Low alluvial island or shoal in a river: sandbar
Oxbow: U-shaped bend in a river, resembling a collar used to hold a yoke around an ox's neck
Cutoff: Short channel formed when a stream cuts through the neck of an oxbow
Jetty: Structure extending into a river to influence the current
Dike: Bank, usually of earth, constructed to control or confine water
Buoy: Floating object anchored in place to serve as a navigation aid
Can: Green, cylindrical-shaped buoy, on left side of channel as you head upstream
Nun: Red, cone-shaped buoy, on right side of channel as you head upstream
Snag: Tree or branch embedded in a stream bed that is hazardous to navigation
Deadhead: Partially submerged log
Sawyer: Tree protruding from a stream bed, branches projecting to the surface and bobbing with the current
Fathom: Unit of length equal to 6 feet; used to measure depth
Highway 82 Bridge
