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From: <MJAkayaker_at_aol.com> subject: [Paddlewise] Liverpool to Amsterdam Trip (long) Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 17:12:13 EST · This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:10 PDT

The storms in the North Sea were raging furiously.  Days of high winds had 
generated huge waves which were sweeping down the English Channel.  It seemed 
like a perfect time for a trip from Liverpool to Amsterdam.  Death wish, 
insanity, or just plain stupidity you are probably thinking.  Why am I 
confident in making this trip?  Is it the years of kayaking experience, the 
hours of rescue practice, and the extensive physical training?  No, it’s 
actually the fact that I am going to be paddling from Liverpool, Texas to 
Amsterdam, Texas.  Ok, so this is not going to be a description of a heroic, 
danger-filled crossing of the English Channel.  It is about one of my 
favorite places to paddle and about enjoying  some of the more subtle 
pleasures that kayaking offers. 

Liverpool and Amsterdam are small Texas towns located on Chocolate Bayou , 
just 30 minutes drive south of Houston.  The fine silt, typical of the Texas 
coastal plains, colors the water a dark brown that certainly lives up to the 
bayou’s name.  Those in east Texas would describe it as "too thick to drink 
and too thin to plow".  It is, however,  wonderful for paddling.  The bayou 
starts some 20 miles inland and flows southwest into Chocolate Bay  which  
opens into West Galveston Bay which in turn finally connects with the Gulf of 
Mexico through San Louis Pass.  Although there are approximately 15 Nmi of 
bayou and 11 Nmi of bay to paddle, the 6 Nmi section from Liverpool to 
Amsterdam is my favorite.  It is protected water that I can paddle in all 
kinds of  weather and in all four seasons.  It is a place where I feel 
comfortable going solo or taking along first time paddlers.  

The put-in / take-out is located in a county park just outside Liverpool.  
The park provides good parking close to the water; easy launching  (via a 
canoe/kayak dock), and last, but not least, a restroom. At the park the bayou 
is barely 15 yards wide and very twisty.  In several places the huge oak 
trees form a canopy over the entire width of the bayou.  In the summer I hug 
the the shaded banks looking for some protection from the intense South Texas 
sun.  On cold winter days I wander back and forth across the bayou trying to 
catch even the smallest patch of warming sunlight.  Even though there are 
quite a few houses along the first mile, the heavily wooded banks make you 
feel as if you are in a much more remote setting.  Further down the bayou, 
the houses thin out and the landscape gradually changes from oak forest into 
coastal prairie.  Here the oaks are smaller and much less dense.  Around one 
bend there is a small group of isolated pine trees.  Each time I pass by, I 
wonder who brought these strangely out-of -place trees to this spot.  Perhaps 
they are the only remainder of some old homestead.  They now tower far above 
anything the original settlers would have built.  The bank where they are 
growing is slowing being eroded away and I know that some day they will just 
be hiding places for bass and catfish.  A little further downstream,  some 
small salt cedar trees and a few palmetto’s start to appear along the banks. 
The bayou gradually widens to some 50-75 yards and the trees thin out even 
more. The appearance of the Whiskey River, a gulf shrimping boat, signals 
that Amsterdam is nearby.  With its outriggers half-raised, it reminds me of 
some giant heron poised for takeoff.  At this point along the bayou, layers 
of ancient oyster shell begin to appear in the banks.    In places there are 
even some small shell beaches.  These are welcome landing sites compared to 
the shoe eating gumbo mud that makes up most of the banks of the bayou.  The 
town of Amsterdam is just few minutes paddling past the Whiskey River.  It 
sits along a sweeping "S" curve created as the bayou doubles back on itself.  
There are a few houses, a couple of fishing camps with boat launches, and a 
few marine related business along the south side of the bayou.  The north 
side is totally undeveloped and features a couple of those important shell 
beach landing sites.  Towards the end of the town the coastal prarie gives 
way to coastal marsh.  The trees disappear and are replaced by salt grass and 
marsh elder.  There are 3 more miles of bayou left before it enters Chocolate 
Bay, but I usually I usually stop at one of the shell beaches in Amsterdam 
and have a quick lunch.   Then I turn around  and head back up the bayou for 
Liverpool and a couple more hours of enjoyable paddling.  

So what is there to enjoy about this paddle?  There are no calving glaciers, 
no majestic mountain vistas, no sea lions, no killer whales, and no tropical 
coral atolls with crystal clear lagoons.  It is not a 100 mile endurance 
paddle.  There is no need to use all your bracing skills to stay upright and  
none of that adrenaline rush from surfing in and out of rock gardens.  There 
are, however, many things to enjoy if you take the time to look for them.  
Each trip provides something unique.  One day it is a fearless juvenile green 
heron which sits  just inches from your boat as you admire the beautiful 
striped breast and the just developing chestnut of the neck.  Another day it 
is the sense of isolation provided by a low hanging fog that sits just a 
couple of feet above the water and leaves you alone in a world that is only 
slightly larger than your boat.  It might be the colorful tapestry of  
blooming wildflowers and vines along the banks.   Sometimes the highlight of 
the trip will be encounters with "sleeping" long-nose gar.  These lie unseen 
just below the bayou’s surface.  As you paddle over them they will repeatedly 
bang against the bottom of your kayak in a frenzied attempt to get away.  No 
matter how many times it happens, your first thought is always  "ALLIGATOR 
!!!".  Other times the bayou fires off  its amazing version of fireworks.  
Feeding gar or redfish will drive small schools of bait to the surface.  A 
group of the small fish will suddenly leap out of the water.  Their scales 
flash in the sunlight as they fan out like just like exploding fireworks.   
As they land they create circular patterns that expand across the water.  As 
you watch, the surface of the bayou is repeatedly painted with these 
patterns.  Two or three groups leap at once on the left.  Then one group 
jumps on the right and then two groups in the middle.  A short pause and then 
eight to ten groups explode simultaneously across the entire bayou.  
Sometimes this will go on for 10 to 15 minutes.  If you paddle through the 
feeding area, you may even have the frightened fish land in your cockpit.   I 
enjoy these even more than 4th of July fireworks.  Still another time the 
best part of the trip may be a simple conversation with an old fisherman who 
has been up and down the bayou since before you were born.   One pleasure of 
every paddle is the absence of all those demanding sounds: phones, pagers, 
car horns, radios, TV’s, and irritated supervisors.  It is a wonderful 
silence that lets you hear your own thoughts.  This is probably the best 
reason for getting out and paddling.   

If you live in a place where you can paddle with whales and sea lions or  
enjoy  magnificent scenery on a daily basis I envy you. If you don't, I hope 
you can find a nearby place like Chocolate Bayou.  Paddle often and enjoy how 
the area changes with the seasons.  Look for and enjoy those simple little 
events and views.  Don’t pass up an opportunity to enjoy those larger than 
life encounters, but  don’t wait for one before you do any paddling.

MJAkayaker_at_aol.com
Mark J. Arnold
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