Kayak Virginia Beach

Crowded Kayaking - Ashville Bridge Creek - Back Bay - Horn Point

Looked at the weather, and there was a potential for thunder storms after 1PM, so I got out sort of early. Launched the kayak at Lotus Pond Park to do a trip on Ashville Bridge Creek, when I arrived there was a load of people there on a day tour (more about that later), had to put the kayak in from the high bank by the bridge.

As usual I headed the kayak South with a goal to make Horn Point and back before noon. The first thing I came across was the lotus patch (I guess Thats what you call it), and saw that the lotus plants have already started growing, they had leaves about the size of a pancake, and it appears that they are covering more of the creek. All the trees and reeds are starting to green up nicely, and many of the birds have started to return, the red wing blackbirds seemed to be the predominant species, with very few waterfowl. The turtles were out sunning as best they could on a cloudy day, but I did notice a few turtle hatchlings in the reeds.

Made it onto Back Bay, the wind out of the South was causing a small wind swell, but not that bad. I got to Horn Point and the water was high enough to paddle up the channel behind the new Back Bay NWR facility, which I understand to be a facility to provide on the water access for kayak's and canoes to Back Bay. The facility looks like it could open at anytime. The channel appears to have been the launching facility for the old hunt club that once occupied the site, and burned to the water quite a few years back. There are some remnants of the old docks and what appears to be a hoist.

Usually on my kayak trips, I pick up whatever trash I see, and sometimes it seems weirder then normal, last week was the china bowl, and this week was a basketball, a shoe, a duck decoy, 3 beer cans and a soda can.

So now the rant...
Ashville Bridge creek is not that big of a creek, and I have become really attached to it, it is about the closest place to my house to put a kayak in the water. Today as I said above there were a lot of people at the launch site, and a lot of kayaks (18 to be exact) on the ground ready to launch, and at this point I wasn't sure if they had planned on launching all 18. I am not a kayak snob, tree hugger, or anything like that, but I think 18 kayaks and about 20 people is a little much for a waterway that small. Hey WROTC try and show little more respect to the waterways that provide your income, and maybe limit your tours to a reasonable number, like maybe 10.

By the way, save the $45, I'll show you around Asheville Bridge Creek for free....