As part of our family vacation this year we have selected several state parks to visit. After taking a look at the Arkansas State Parks calendar of events, the first on the list was Cossatot River State Park and Natural Area. They were hosting a “Kayak Snorkeling Adventure”. From the description, we knew that “because the river is so low, it’s not ideal for a full float. However, it is a good time to paddle in the larger pools of the river and learn the basics of kayaking. We will spend part of the day learning paddling skills and the other part of the day we will snorkel in the Cossatot’s clean, clear water to discover aquatic life”.

We packed our tiny, little red Nissan(see photo below). We had some doubts about being able to carry general supplies for traveling, camping, swimming, hiking and the three boats, but we soon came up with a system that works perfectly for our truck.

A layer of plastic containers that are the same height as the walls of the truck bed held everything we would need for several days travel. Once stacked in place, these formed a flat surface on which we strapped our three 10 foot kayaks. The two Pelicans were placed upside down and the Old Town was placed upright on top of the others. Across the bow and stern of the Old town, two ratchet straps secured everything so that we didn’t have to worry about anything shifting or falling out while driving at high speeds for over 5 hours.

The Cossatot River State Park is in Wickes, AR, which is around 5.5 hours from Jonesboro. We set out around 2pm with hopes of reaching the park by nightfall so that we could setup camp in one of the several primitive campsites at Cossatot Falls. We missed it by about half an hour though, both because of sight-seeing along the way and also because we didn’t anticipate how dark it would be in the river valley. The river bed itself was nicely lit by the bright moon overhead, but the campsites were pitch black underneath the thick trees that grow along the banks of the river.

Once camp was set up, we ventured down to the water’s edge to check out the scenery. We’d heard from friends how beautiful the area was and they were right. It really is breath-taking. The river curves in and out of the trees with small pools of water amongst the large rocks that form large rapids after a storm rolls through. The contrast of the grey stones against the tree-covered hillsides is gorgeous.

After a few photos and almost stepping on a Copperhead, we decided to crash for the night. It turns out camping at Cossatot Falls in July is not ideal if you are accustomed to air conditioned offices for the majority of the Summer months. It never dipped far below 90 degrees that night and the trees, while stunningly beautiful, block every ounce of breeze that might help with the heat. We were up very late just sitting in the tent…sweating. The heat eventually subsided and we all fell asleep. Morning arrived in a record amount of time, though. It was 6am before we knew it and it was time to get everything packed up so that we could head to the Visitor’s Center. We had a bit of time to spare so we walked down to the falls again to take some photos and soak in the scenery.

Once at the Visitor’s center we met our guide and Park Interpreter, Shelley Flanary. We also met Tim and Sybil. Tim helped with the kayak instruction and Sybil was our snorkeling guide. We also found out that not only would we be kayaking and snorkeling all day, we were also taking part in an American Canoe Association Level 1 Kayak Certification course. We hadn’t anticipated this, but it was a welcome surprise! Shelley explained that the certification we would receive would let kayak rental and shuttle service providers know what level of kayaking we were comfortable with, as well as qualify us for possible discounts with these providers and some outdoor outfitters.

After introductions to the twelve participants in the day’s activities, the first task of the day was to watch a couple of videos produced by the American Canoe Association. They contained your standard safety info for canoeing/kayaking. Shelley then quizzed us to make sure we were all paying attention. We passed with flying colors, of course.

Next up, we all loaded into a couple of trucks with a kayak trailer in tow and headed down to the river. The spot chosen for the training consisted of a small clubhouse which overlooked a set of falls with pools of shallow, clear water which was perfect for snorkeling and a large pool of water which was about 10 foot deep in which we would complete the kayak certification.

After some quick warm-up exercises and some paddling 101, we grabbed our kayaks and set off down the hill to hit the water. Eight of us would kayak while the other four snorkelled and we would then switch out after lunch.

The kayak certification consisted of several different tasks which Shelley and Tim demonstrated for us. As each task was demonstrated, a few of us would then give it a go with Shelley and Tim watching over us for possible corrections. Here’s the line-up of tasks, with descriptions:

• Forward Stroke
  • This is the main stroke you will use to propel your craft. The thing to remember is to use your torso. Using your arms is less efficient and more tiring. An easy way to remember this is to follow the stroke with your eyes. If you watch the stroke, your body will follow.
• Reverse Stroke
  • Forward stroke, but in reverse. Remember to use your upper body, not just your arms.
• Forward Sweep
  • Very similar to the forward stroke, but place your paddle out and away from the kayak and make a wide, round stroke. As if you are sweeping the water out and away from you. This stroke allows you to turn your kayak to the left of right with ease. Combine a forward seep with a reverse sweep to make a 360 degree turn without making a wide turn.
• Stern Rudder
  • If you need to turn to the left or right very quickly, “stick” your paddle toward the stern of the boat on the side you want to turn to. For example, if you need to quickly turn to the right, firmly place your paddle in the water next to your right rear and hold it in place. Your kayak’s bow will immediately pull to this side.
• Draw Stroke
  • Best described as pulling and slicing the water, this stroke allows you to “parallel park” your kayak. Once you find your sweet spot on your kayak, you can pull yourself in a straight line to the left or right. This is perfect for paddling up to a bank to exit the kayak.
• Sculling Draw
  • A bit more challenging than the draw stroke, the sculling stroke allows you to draw yourself to the left or right by scooping the top of the water. You achieve the same effect as a draw stroke, but with much more finesse.
• Solo Rescue
  • For the solo rescue, we learned how to recover our kayak after being tipped over . With paddle and kayak in hand, backstroke it to the nearest shore, drain the water from your boat and re-enter.
• Two-man Rescue
  • The two-man rescue allows you to re-enter your kayak in open water with the help of a friend. Once you have given the universal “I’m okay” sign (fist upon your head), hand your paddle to your partner. You can then work in tandem to pull your boat (while capsized) onto the bow of their kayak, drain it by rocking, flip the kayak back over and into the water and finally re-enter your kayak while it is stabilized against your partner’s kayak using the BBL (belly, then bottom, then legs) method.

The complete course took about two hours to complete and everyone did really well. The two-man rescues were probably the most challenging for everyone. At this point, we were really glad that we brought our own kayaks along with us. As well as learning how to rescue each other, we were able to rescue each other using our own equipment, which was slightly different than the Heritage Featherlite kayaks which the park supplied. Our boats were a bit heavier and a harder to pull up and over each other as they don’t have the flat bottoms like that of the Heritage kayaks.

We were also able to learn an alternate way of getting back into our kayaks if we are attempting a two-man rescue with Daniel. He’s doesn’t have the upper body strength to hold a boat while someone rolls over the side using the BBL method. While he stabilizes our kayak beside his own, we were able to straddle the bow of our boat and crawl up and into the cockpit.

After a quick lunch, we took to the falls with snorkel equipment in hand. We had never snorkeled before and we really enjoyed it. You get to see fish very up close. We even had a couple Red Darters and Leopard Darters that would come up and peck on the lenses of our goggles. As if they were just curious about what we were and why we were there. We will definitely continue snorkeling whenever possible.

We wrapped up the day by heading back to the Visitor’s Center, exchanging contact info with other participants, changing into dry clothes, packing the truck up for the drive to DeGray Lake Resort and picking up a few things at the gift shop. Cossatot River is an absolutely amazing & beautiful place and we’ll be back for sure.

More:

Photo gallery from our trip to the Cossatot River State Park
Cossatot River State Park Website
Cossatot Calendar of Events
View Larger Map

Daniel starts his certification course by demonstrating the forward stroke for Tim.

One of the dozen or so primitive camp sites available in the park. We chose to camp at Cossatot Falls, but there are several other locations available.

In front of the Visitor's Center before it opened Saturday morning. We had some doubts about being able to carry general supplies for traveling, camping, swimming, hiking and the three boats, but we soon came up with a system that works perfectly for our truck.

Shelley and Tim demonstrate forward sweeping for us.

Crystal and Daniel just down from our camp site at Cossatot Falls.

The Cossatot runs as clear as anything I have ever seen. Even at depths of five to six feet we could see fish swimming below. Once the waters settled during our lunch break, you could see even deeper.

Shelley waits for the second group to get started with the certification course, while our group hits the shallows for some snorkelling.