Byrnes Lake Landing to Gravine Island

I met up with a group of people from Gulf Coast Kayakers for a day trip down Byrnes Lake, up the Tensaw, to the northwest shore of Gravine Island. I've mapped out the entire trip so you can easily make the trek, too.

First thing to know: Byrnes Lake is actually a river (creek?) that flows into the Tensaw. The landing is easy to find with GPS, though there is no numerical address that I am aware of. Just plug in Byrnes Lake Road, Bay Minette, AL 36507 and drive all the way to the end of Byrnes Lake Road.

The put-in is nice, shaded, wooded, and very remote. Fishermen were peacefully enjoying the dock.

Byrnes Lake is a slow, meandering river.  Aside from a speed boat or two, there are no people and no people noises; no car sounds traveling over the water. It's very peaceful.

The view of the Tensaw from the mouth of Byrnes Lake is a beautiful and awesome sight to behold.  It's a little intimidating at first, but once you make it across the Tensaw and round the bend at the northern most point of the island, a sandy beach beckons.

Second thing to note is that nature provides the restrooms on this trip.

A quick, funny-not-so-funny story:

Once we arrived at Gravine Island, I really had to go. Some ladies from the group told me to follow their footprints along a sandy path and into the woods for privacy. I trekked up the hill and began following footprints in the sand. I was halfway to the woods when I realized that I wasn't following human footprints, I was following cloven footprints. Cloven footprints! Images of wild boar I had seen, from the safety of my car, off Battleship Parkway near 5 Rivers Delta flashed in my head as I turned heal and headed back toward the beach where I quickly squatted behind a sand dune before making a sprint to my kayak.

So just make a note that there quite possibly could be wild boar in the woods on Gravine Island.

A very talented photographer, Tracy Lannie, of Mobile Bay Canoe and Kayak Club, was among our group and she snapped this photo of me on my Hobie as we made our way back across Byrnes Lake.

Below is a map, just for perspective, of where Gravine Island sits in the Delta above Mobile Bay.

All-in-all it was a fun adventure, and I got to meet some wonderful folks. I'd definitely enjoy paddling Byrnes Lake again.