Chikasawhay River Adventure

The Chickasawhay River is the reason this place exists. Wide enough to relax on, wild enough to feel like a real adventure, it runs right past Chickasawhay Hideaway and offers a different experience depending on how much effort you want to put in, and how many hours you’ve got.

Four Ways to Take on the River

If you just want to float, grab a tube and drift with the current for an easy, sun-soaked afternoon. No paddling required, no experience needed. Prefer a little more direction? Our 2-hour guided canoe tour takes you past the river’s hidden coves while a guide points out the wildlife and history along the way.

For a bigger day out, the 8-hour kayak or canoe trek covers serious mileage through untouched stretches of the Chickasawhay corridor. And if you want the full wilderness experience, the overnight river expedition has you paddling downstream, camping on a secluded sandbar, and finishing the trip the next day, canoe or kayak included.

One of the Last Truly Wild Rivers in the South

Unlike most rivers this size, the Chickasawhay has never been dammed. It runs freely for 210 miles from Clarke County down to where it joins the Pascagoula River and eventually the Gulf, which means it still bends, winds, and shifts sandbars the way a river naturally should. Long before Leakesville was a town, the Choctaw people knew this water well; their name for it, roughly translated, means “Chickasaw potato.” When settlers arrived in the 1800s, the river became the area’s main trade route, and the town grew up right along its bank.

What You’ll See Along the Way

Every bend looks different, clay bluffs one moment, cypress swamp the next. Keep an eye out for herons standing still in the shallows, deer at the waterline come evening, and turtles stacked on sun-warmed logs. Anglers should know the river holds a strong population of spotted bass and largemouth around the fallen logs and cypress knees. Paddlers with a geology streak will also want to look closely at the exposed clay banks; this whole area was once an ancient seafloor, and the fossils embedded in those cliffs go back over 35 million years.

Best Time to Go

Spring brings higher water and lush green banks, ideal for longer treks. Summer is prime tubing season, when the cool water is the whole point. Fall cools things down and lights up the foliage while bass fishing peaks. And winter offers a quieter river with better wildlife viewing for anyone willing to bundle up.

However you want to experience it, the river’s ready when you are. Book a trip and we’ll handle the gear and the guide.