What guests may not be aware of is that the river has very distinct personalities and scenery between the "North" and what has been loosely called by locals --- "Bon Secour South." The scenery varies as much by land, as by water.
In Foley, (North) where we launch folks to paddle, the river is cool, with Artesian-fed springs feeding the cool temps. Live Oak canopies shade and color the water an intensely dark green and the river is shallow, narrow and winding. Private property lines the banks and the river is dotted with Century-old Homesteads, a Quaint Historic Bed and Breakfast, a Southern Gothic "Mansion" --- to ramshackle shacks and dozens of vacation rental cottages peering over their pilings.
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PHOTO BY BEACHNRIVER KAYAK RENTALS --- You most likely kayak by this home when paddling from BeachnRiver Kayak Rentals. The house is simply called "The White House" at Cooper's Landing Circa 1874. According to a sign in the yard, the home was originally part of a 54-acre home site awarded by a Spanish Land Grant in the 1700's.
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Observing Nature is a sensory delight during this Northern stretch of the river. As you paddle, you may come across a log with dozens of turtles sunbathing. Bream and mullet visibly swim under you in the clear water. Herons and the occasional Brown Pelican may glide overhead casting Dinosaur-sized shadows.
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| PHOTO BY BEACHNRIVER KAYAK RENTALS (Foley) --- If you are a quiet and stealthy kayaker, you may come across a scene like this of at least a dozen turtles sunbathing on a log. Turtles are very "in-tuned" to sounds however, and will splash into the water at the slightest bit of noise. |
Paddling this stretch of the river intimates an era where homes had blousey gardens speckled with native and exotic plants like Pinecone Gingers, Gardenias, Bananas, Jasmine, Hydrangeas, Nerine, Cahaba, Spider and other Lillies. Their perfumes permeate the air. Lawns aren't "manicured" --- they have "developed" and "matured" through the years.
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| PHOTO BY BEACHNRIVER KAYAK RENTALS (Foley) --- It is a challenge to take photos during some portions of the kayaking experience. The tree overhang is dense, light can peer down streaks through cracks in the canopy. It is difficult to see, but if you look to the right in the photo you will see white flowers. They are gardenias that hang lazily into the water. Someone, some time ago must have loved flowers to plant this shrub on the water for us to enjoy. |
Kayaks, Canoes, Jon boats and wooden boats line banks. Docks may be pieced together from old telephone poles and metal scraps. Rope swings sway and almost reverberate with the sounds of happy children jumping into the depths below. This Northern part of the river suggests a smidgen of simpler times.
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| PHOTO BY PROFESSIONAL PHOTOG MICHELLE CARROLL STANCIL (Foley) --- Scenes like this are plentiful along the back rivers of Gulf Shores, AL. Although ropes along the river are intended only for use by their private property owners, the mere sight of them evoke a "feeling" of a simpler time in life. |
Within a couple of miles of traveling down-river from our BeachnRiver Kayak Rentals location, you enter into the Gulf Shores portion of the river. By car you'd travel West off Hwy 59 South onto Cty Rd 8.
The water warms, widens and smells brackish. You are likely to see dolphin and leaping mullet. Draping Live Oak tree canopies give way to Sentry-like Pines. Wax myrtle shrubs securely grab the banks and provide cover for the many varieties of birds from Red-Winged Blackbirds to several species of shorebirds. Cormorants and Herons heavily populate nests high in hurricane-stripped Pines along this stretch.
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| PHOTO FOR SALE BY PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER MICHELLE CARROLL STANCIL (Bon Secour) --- This photo was taken while on a kayaking excursion with BeachnRiver Kayak Rentals on the Bon Secour River. The water is brackish, warm and one is likely to hear the sounds of Red-Winged Blackbirds call out "O-ka_LEEEE!" |
Homes lining these banks are most likely professionally landscaped with stately Palms, hedged Azaleas and ball-shaped Hawthorns. Lawns are fertilized and mowed to the water. Docks announce football affiliations and banks are shored up by metal or wood.
The wild and "wooley-ness" of the Northern, Upper River lends itself to a more civilized "community" of River-front homes ranging from the mid $500K County Rd 6 Home on the Bon Secour River For Sale to $3 Million "Stardance" Home On Bon Secour River For Sale. These homeowners own motorboats and enjoy toasting sunsets on colorful benches or Adirondack chairs. If you paddle by these homes during summer months, you will see homeowners grilling on their docks. Kiddos surround fire-pits toasting marshmallows and crab baskets filled with chicken parts are inconspicuously dangling in the water.
But make a turn off the main river and you find an entirely different river life ---one where Shrimp Boats are parallel parked in protected canals. If you are lucky to catch a shrimper just returning from his stint in the Gulf, you may be able to purchase flash-frozen or freshly-caught shrimp right off the boat. You keep your eyes peeled to the grasses. Gators inhabit this area. You think you can "feel" them lurking. If you're feeling lucky you'll never see one. We haven't --- and we've paddled the river for the past 16 years.
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PHOTO FOR SALE BY DIANE DAVIS PHOTOGRAPHY --- The Bon Secour River bustles with activity.
How often have you ever paddled from a shaded spring-fed river and ended up where you can purchase freshly caught shrimp right off the boat in about a three hour paddle?
This type of diversity is the lure of the Bon Secour River.
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| PHOTO CREDIT JAMES RIXE, a BEACHNRIVER KAYAK RENTALS GUEST (Bon Secour) --- This is as far "South" from BeachnRiver Kayak Rentals as our strongest paddlers explore. By vehicle you would travel nearly to the end of Cty Rd 10 in the tiny town of Bon Secour. This is still considered "Bon Secour North." Across the river is "Bon Secour South." Although you are still paddling in the river which gives protection from strong winds, the water is now "big" and you will feel more of the current --- but a trip to (and return from) this location can be accomplished in three to four hours with little rest. |
We've paddled all the way to Oyster Bay --- located at the intersections of Cty Rd 4 and Cty Rd 6 in Gulf Shores where Happy Harbor Pizza once sold some of the best Pizza, Calzones and Hoagies around. Fond memories still linger of the now defunct Fish Camp Restaurant (located on Cty Rd. 6 near the former Happy Harbors Restaurants) and of paddling and eating Smoked Mullet at the former "The Galley Restaurant" located near the bridge on Cty Rd. 10 (Foley).
With all these words I just expended, and all the images you've conjured in your head, nothing I've written fully paints a picture of the scope of the river. "Land of the Beautiful River" by author Cos Davis promises to fill-in-the blanks of the history and story of the Bon Secour River "South."
"Land of the Beautiful River"
“'Land of the Beautiful River,' by Cos Davis, tells the tale of Bon Secour, the first people here, history, interviews with locals and more," writesAccording to Woodham, "Davis will begin writing monthly columns in June for "The Foley Onlooker," a local newspaper. They will be about the book itself and also informing people about the progress of the work to identify the area properly."
I will look forward to reading more from the author.
