Leaf River
The Leaf River is one of two major tributaries to the Pascagoula River. It has its origins near Forrest Mississippi and runs 185 miles until it joins the Chickasawhey to form the Pascagoula River just north of Salem Road near Merrill, George County, MS.
We have paddled the Leaf as far north as Oakahay Creek north of Hwy. 84 just east of Collins, MS.
The Leaf is a beautiful river with plenty of sandbars and small tributaries that form many small waterfalls as they empty into the larger river. Although the river is dotted with a number of public and private boat ramps, it is never crowded with boats and feels pristine as it winds through mostly rural countryside. Even where the Leaf passes through heavily populated Hattiesburg, it is buffered by thick forests and, except for some highway noise and occasional highway overpasses, it has the feel of wilderness.
Officials have recognized the Leaf's suitability for paddlers and recently designated two sections of the river as Pinebelt Blueways. The Upper Leaf River Blueway runs from the public boat ramp at Church Rd. near Eastabuchie to the public boat ramp at the Hwy 11 bypass in Hattiesburg, near Chain Park. The Middle Leaf River Blueway runs from the bypass to Sims Rd. The Lower Leaf River Blueway runs from Sims Rd. to Buck Creek Rd. in New Augusta, Perry County.
If you are interested in contributing to the effort to increase access and promote visibility of paddle friendly rivers and creeks in the Hattiesburg area, please consider the Piney Woods Conservation Group which is doing outstanding work in this area.
Click Below for NOAA Leaf River Water Level at Hattiesburg, MS
ELEVEN LANDINGS - NINE TRIPS
HOT COFFEE, MS
TO HWY. 84
This section of the Leaf River actually requires a launch on Oakahay Creek at the town of Hot Coffee, MS. Four of us paddled this section in a canoe and a tandem kayak on June 26, 2021. The water was pretty high from all the recent rains we had, which ended up being a good thing, because of all of the snags we encountered on Oakahay Creek. This creek is virtually unknown to paddlers. We discovered it as a possible entry into the upper Leaf by searching the maps for possible landings. While the next logical landing above the Hwy. 84 boat ramp is Taylorsville, we had difficulty finding a spot to put in that is accessible to the public. We haven't given up on Taylorsville, but, in the meantime, we found the absolutely beautiful Oakahay Creek that took us a little closer to the source of the Leaf River.
We launched on Oakahay Creek at Hot Coffee, MS at the Hwy. 37 bridge. There is a dirt drive on the south/east side of the highway that leads over a steep bank down to a sandbar. There are a couple of sandy launch spots along the creek. The scenery along the river was spectacular with thick, lush vegetation all along the way through a rural, wooded countryside. As mentioned, we encountered about 3 log jams that hindered our progress to different degrees. Two were passable without fording but required squeezing under low logs at narrow points. The third was a double log that required us to drag the boats over.
Despite the snags, the creek was well worth the journey. There are numerous beautiful sandbars to play on, and we even found a good rope swing some locals had left for us to enjoy.
Approximately 3 miles down the Oakahay, we reached the its confluence with the Leaf River. We stopped here to swim and enjoy the contrasting waters of the two rivers. The Leaf was markedly warmer and of a lighter, muddy tint than the Oakahay. And, of course it was much deeper with a stronger current. Be careful swimming into the Leaf from the Oakahay, because the combined currents are too much to swim against and may force you to drift across the river and find the best way back to your boats.
The Leaf River at this point is still very deep and wide. In fact, it was wide and clear of snags all the way to Hwy. 84. There were, however, a few sandbars and shallows along the way. Also keep in mind that this trip was made in pretty high water. The Leaf was measuring over 5 feet at the Hattiesburg, MS water gauge.
We measured the distance on our Paddle Logger app as 6.1 miles. It took us nearly 3.5 hours with a lot of stopping and playing.
Hwy. 84 to Hwy. 588
The northernmost public boat ramp on the leaf is at the Hwy. 84 overpass East of Collins, MS in Covington County. The Leaf is wide, although still shallow in places this far north. The trip from Hwy. 84 to Hwy. 588 is a bit long (approximately 13 miles) with a wide variety of terrain, from long white sand bars to steep clay bank and lots of woods.
Most likely because I was by myself on this trip, I spotted a few deer wading across a shallow portion of the river. (See video below).
Click Below for NOAA Leaf River Water Level Near Collins, MS
Hwy. 588 to Hwy. 590
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This section of the Leaf River offers a gentle paddle of about 7.15 miles. It took us approximately 2.5 hours float time, but could take considerably longer when the river is low and if you make more stops. The river winds through rural woods and some pasture land.
Hwy. 590/Moselle to Eastabuchie/Church St.
This section of the Leaf River is one of the longest day trips we've taken. It is approximately 13 miles from start to finish. The put in is at a public cement boat ramp at the Hwy. 590 bridge north of Moselle, MS, and the take out is at a public cement boat ramp at the Church Street bridge in Eastabuchie, MS. The take out at Eastabuchie has signage for the beginning of the Leaf's first designated Blue Way which runs from Eastabuchie to Chain Park on the Highway 42 bypass in Hattiesburg, MS.
This stretch of the Leaf also has more interesting features than any other section we have paddled. There are several streams forming waterfalls as they flow into the Leaf, and there is one nice set of rapids.
Estabuchie/Church St. to Chain Park/Hattiesburg
(Upper Leaf Blue Way)
This section of the Leaf River is the first official designated Blue Way in the Hattiesburg, MS area. It flows for approximately 11.3 miles from a public boat ramp off of Church St. in Eastabuchie to the public boat ramp at the Hwy. 42 bypass near Chain Park in Hattiesburg. This section of river has numerous white sandbars.
It was designated a Blue Way in 2019 and outfitted with signage at the put in and take out with mile marker signage along the way.
Hwy. 42 Bypass/Hattiesburg to Sims Road
(Middle Leaf Blue Way)
The stretch of the Leaf River from the public boat ramp at the Hwy. 42 bypass/Chain Park in Hattiesburg to the public boat ramp at Sims Rd. is about 10.8 river miles. This section was also recently designated as another section of the Mississippi Blue Way. Plans are in the process for purchasing property surrounding the Sims Rd. public boat ramp for improvement and donation to the City of Hattiesburg to make improvements and promote recreational paddling.
I paddled this section alone in my canoe on May 17, 2019. It was a fairly long stretch with plenty of sand bars and open water. I had a difficult run because of strong head winds that made it extremely difficult to keep the canoe tracking right.
SIMS ROAD TO NEW AUGUSTA
(Future Lower Leaf Blue Way)
Karma & I paddled this section of the Leaf on June 7, 2017. We put in at the public boat ramp at the Sims Road bridge and took out at the public boat ramp in New Augusta, MS at Old Augusta Loop off of Buck Creek Road. It was a very long run with a distance of about 19 miles which took the better part of the day. The scenery consisted mostly of wide open river with numerous beautiful sand bars. This part of the river offered a wide variety of unique experiences.
For example, we paddled through a 10 or 15 minute hailstorm that you can view in one of the videos below. Immediately after the hailstorm, we observed a Bald Eagle flying directly over our heads heading upstream. Although I had heard there were bald eagles along the Leaf, this wad the first time I ever observed one myself.
Another highlight of this adventure was the beautiful confluence of Tallahala Creek which formed a couple of sand bars on either side as it emptied into the Leaf. The contrast between the two rivers was stark, with the Tallahala being shallow and rocky at this point and the Leaf being sandy and deep.
Upon completing the float, we stayed the night in our family Cottage on Fairhope Bluff in Beaumont. Driving out the next morning, I saw two Golden Eagles fly directly across the roadway in front of my pickup truck.
Although this is a beautiful section of the Leaf River, it was a bit long for one trip. We have looked for a potential take out closer to the mid point between Sims Road and New Augusta, but we have been unable to locate any public access to the river between these two points. You might consider camping on a sandbar along the way to break this trip up.
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NEW AUGUSTA TO BEAUMONT
The Leaf River from New Augusta, MS to Beaumont, MS is an approximate 14 mile run through rural areas roughly paralleling US Hwy. 98. Karma & I paddled this section on March 21, 2020. We put in at the public boat ramp on Old Augusta Loop off of Buck Creek Road which is just off of Hwy. 29. The trip took us almost 4.5 hours with some stops along the way.
Our family owns and operates the Cottage at Fairhope Bluff in Beaumont, so I actually dropped her off there and continued down river a short distance to take out at the public boat ramp on Hwy. 15.
