Toro Rapids, Louisiana..

[stoneman]

I am not close to your skill level on river kayaking..but I have found my own private Idaho on the Toro....Saturday the water level was perfect for several of the rapids...I took my buddy Ken,,who has done class 4 and 5 ...I thought he would be bored...but we ended up surfing on more than one of the class II..and spending alot of time working them...His take was,,that these were good beginner rapids and perfect to learn from...and only hour and a half from the house..So we spent all day working the waters...Had a blast...and am def going back soon..We did take pics ..so coming soon,,,

[CSH]

Stoneman,

I'm over in East Texas, I am a novice as well and might be interested. What was the level last saturday?

Chris

[RomanLA]

I'm over in East Texas, I am a novice as well and might be interested. What was the level last saturday?

It looks like it was somewhere between 5 and 5.5. I've seen it at 6 and the rapids were washed out. I'm anxious to see the pictures.
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=08025500" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[stoneman]

It was really good...alot better than when i was there at 4ft......so i think 5ft is the best..

[Ryan Viser]

Any pics?

[michelle Ashford]

That's awesome! Can't wait to see pics! thought louisiana didn't have any water!? lol,
And how close are you to the gators? lol
Can you map the location so I can see how close I am to it? And is it similar to rockport or what? Sorry for so many questions!

[RomanLA]

That's awesome! Can't wait to see pics! thought louisiana didn't have any water!? lol,
And how close are you to the gators? lol
Can you map the location so I can see how close I am to it? And is it similar to rockport or what? Sorry for so many questions!

Toro is a pretty small bayou with about a half dozen rapids. The water is pretty cold and I didn't see any reptiles. The closest thing we have to a park and play is Kisatchie Falls. I have some pictures of Toro, Kisatchie, and Big Creek in this thread (all at low levels)...
http://www.arkansascanoeclub.com/mb/vie ... oro#p77603

Toro is near Anacoco and Section II runs between where Toro Bayou Rd. crosses it to 392 (about 4.5 miles on the water).
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UT ... 70038&z=13

[stoneman]

The toro run is pretty sweet for louisiana...water level has to be around 4 to 5.5...for really good surf...but a great place to start...I plan on going back this weekend....

[michelle Ashford]

Cool pics Roman. It looks beautiful! and it does look like at higher levels it would be a pretty cool surf. what's the drive like? how far from, oh say, hot springs? it's a two hour drive for me to get to hot springs. so, if i am planning a long trip how long should i expect to drive? won't be this weekend. but i definitely plan to check this out...as long as there are no gators. lol :roll:

[stoneman]

No gators...but i did see the largest alligator snapper in the wild..that i have ever seen....about 3 ft around...also a huge bald eagle that kept diving in front of me on every turn...and a wild sow,,,and some wild piglets,,,more than once,,,,lots of wildlife....

[RomanLA]

Cool pics Roman. It looks beautiful! and it does look like at higher levels it would be a pretty cool surf. what's the drive like? how far from, oh say, hot springs? it's a two hour drive for me to get to hot springs. so, if i am planning a long trip how long should i expect to drive? won't be this weekend. but i definitely plan to check this out...as long as there are no gators. lol :roll:

It's not really worth the drive Michelle. I've been having trouble justifying driving 100 miles for it (and that was before hearing about the monster turtle lol).

[michelle Ashford]

Gotcha! Thanks Roman. C you on the water.

[stoneman]

def.not worth the drive....your right,,100 miles is a long way to drive ...cant justify it ....however arkansas water is 3 hours away...so maybe ark is the choice....but the turtle made it worth it...never saw a turtle that big before national geographic....it was in the rapids catching food,,,i came within inches and got a good luck....it was frickin huge like a dang sea turtle...Had to be hundred years old...and it loooked like an alligator with spikes on its back....what a sight....the eagle was huge and so were the deer and pigs we saw,,,,something in the water that makes everything down there big...