Wambaw Bridge to McConnells Landing (Santee River)
A good place to rendezvous when heading to paddling destinations near the Francis Marion Forest or Santee River is the Shell station in McClellanville. On June 5th, I met Ralph there at 8:30 and then we headed to the Wambaw Bridge launch.
We are planning a 35-mile, one-day, circumnavigation of James Island (Charleston Harbor area) later this month, so we are in training.
Following the signs to Hampton Plantation, we turned left off Highway 17. After a few miles, the pavement ends, the road narrows, tree limbs brush the car, and the potholes deepen. Going slow is for the experienced.
As usual, no one was at the landing. The one ramp landing is used mostly by kayakers. Nature Adventure Outfitters routinely runs guided trips from this landing. As a side note, on our 4-day expedition down the Santee last year we hired Kathie's crew for the shuttle. Great folks and I highly recommend Nature Adverture Outfitters if you're visiting the area and looking for a wilderness experience. (This has been an unpaid personal opinion.)
Speaking of wilderness, Wambaw Creek threads itself through Wambaw Creek Wilderness. As always, wilderness or not, if you pack it in, pack it out. Also, because it is a wilderness, limit the size of your group.
From Wambaw Bridge, I've paddled several trips including:
- Upstream to Still Landing and back. If the water is high enough, I've paddled upstream beyond Still.
- Downstream, through Chicken Creek to McConnells Landing. Or the reverse.
- Downstream to the Santee River and explore then back to Wambaw.
Some photos from Wambaw trips.
Today, we enjoy the creekbanks as the tide carries us to the South Santee River. There is no development, plenty of birds, and an occasional gator.
At the Santee, we hang a left, paddle upriver a few hundred yards, then turn left into Chicken Creek. Chicken Creek cuts between the Santee River and the South Santee River. It is a narrow, winding and scenic creek. If the water is low, I can usually find a slightly muddy sandbar for a break.
Where Chicken Creek enters the Santee, the river is very wide. We make another left and paddle up the Santee to McConnells Landing where we stop for lunch. Mid-lunch, a couple of college students arrive. They are looking for snakes as part of a school project. Beyond this, the landing is vacant on this Thursday afternoon.
The question of the day - if one end of Chicken Creek is on the Santee River and the other end is on the South Santee River, which end is the mouth?
After lunch, we launch downriver but paddle past Chicken Creek continuing until we find the turn into the South Santee. It's hard to explain without seeing it but whoever named these rivers/creeks may have been on the river too long. Where the Santee forks into the South and North, the North Santee is very wide - 50 yards or more - while the South Santee is about a kayak's length in width. Chicken Creek is wider.
Unable to rename or reroute the rivers/creeks, we paddle down the South Santee and then up Wambaw Creek.
My GPS reports a distance of 20.2 miles.
