BIG CREEK
(NEAR LEAKESVILLE, MS.)
Karma learned about Big Creek from reading about "The Man in the Dugout Canoe". There is more than one "Big Creek" in Mississippi; this is the one near Leakesville, MS. (I know, with a name as imaginative as "Big Creek", how could there possibly be more than one?) Big Creek has its headwaters near the community of Piave, MS and flows into the Turkey Fork Reservoir. From the Turkey Fork spillway, it continues until it empties into the Chickasawhay River northwest of Vernal, MS. There are several potential landings on this creek. So far, we have only paddled the one below.
LANDINGS
HWY. 63 TO OLD HWY. 24
BIG CREEK (NEAR LEAKESVILLE, MS)
HWY. 63 TO OLD HWY. 24
Launch – Hwy. 63 bridge (primitive)
Landing - Hwy. 15 (Gravel drive to parking area and primitive landing)
Distance - 4.75 miles
Time - 2 - 2 hours
Features (in order)-
ranch - @ mile 9.85 On Left
Little Creek - @ mile 12.Long Branch - @ mile .94 On Left
Deep Branch - @ mile 2.42 On Left
Take Out on Left
Drive from Hattiesburg Train Station to Hwy. 63 Launch - 47 miles (55 minutes)
Drive from Hwy. 63 Launch to Old Hwy. 24 Landing - 5.9 miles (7 minutes)
Drive from Old Hwy. 24 Landing to Hattiesburg Train Station - 48 miles (53 minutes)
On this section of Big Creek, we decided to put in at the bridge on Hwy. 63 about 6 miles Northwest of Leakesville and take out at the bridge on Old Hwy. 24. The driving distance between the put in and the take out is about 6 miles. We decided to take our bicycles on this one, so that we did not have to take 2 vehicles. We rode our bikes the 6 miles from the take out to the put in.
We paddled about 4.75 miles, and it took us almost 2 hours. It was a beautiful stretch of river. Check out to photos and videos below.
