Kayaking Lake Martin
The weekend of October 22nd - 23rd was our first taste of real fall weather in Louisiana, and I celebrated that by spending the entire weekend outside. I went to Lake Martin on Saturday to kayak through the cypress trees. This spot is only one hour from Baton Rouge and you can easily spend anywhere from an hour to half a day on the water.
This trip was a spur of the moment decision, so I just drove out there and rented a kayak from Champagne Swamp Tours. They have canoes and kayaks on site and it's pretty easy to just grab one and go. Their kayaks are the smaller, sit-in type with a smooth rounded bottom. This means they skim across the water pretty fast and easy, but they don't do a good job of sitting still when you want to take pictures. Be sure to bring cash, because they don't take cards and the ATM inside charges an outrageous $4 transaction fee!
If I know I'm going in advance or if I plan to spend a good bit of time on the lake, I prefer to call Cory Werk at Bayou Teche Experience and rent kayaks from him. He will deliver a kayak to you at the lake and come pick it up when you are done. This is really nice when you want to be out there before sunrise or after sunset. His kayaks are the sit on top kind, longer, and have a little more of a V on the bottom. Better tracking and better for sitting still, but not quite as easy to skim across the water.
I've made a couple of other blog posts about trips to Lake Martin over the past years. Check those out here: Lake Martin Kayaking.
