Registration for Neches River Rendezvous Opens March 18th

Registration for the 24^th Annual Neches River Rendezvous will open on Monday, March 18^th.  The Neches River Rendezvous is a fun and family-friendly 10-mile paddling adventure down the Neches River and will be held on May 18, 2024. 

This is the first year that the Angelina & Neches River Authority will host the event.  It was previously hosted by the Lufkin/Angelina County Chamber of Commerce beginning in 1997, and it quickly became a popular annual event, with up to 300 people participating, however, due to Covid-19, weather conditions, and supply chain issues, the event has not been held the past five years.

The Rendezvous will be limited to 100 paddlers for the first year that the Authority hosts the event in 2024, but depending on the available supply of vans, trailers, kayaks, and canoe rentals needed for the event to be successful, the Authority hopes to increase the number of participants back to 300 paddlers within the next few years.

On the day of the event, paddlers will park at International Paper’s North Boggy Slough Conservation Area and will then be shuttled upriver, where volunteers will assist them in launching their kayaks and canoes in the river.  There will be four staggered launch times to avoid overcrowding. 

After a leisurely 3-4 hours paddling the river, paddlers will end their journey at the Highway 7 bridge, next to Hackberry Bunkhouse & Kayak Rentals, where they will be assisted out of the river and then shuttled back to North Boggy Slough, where they can purchase a meal from one of several food trucks that will be on-site. 

No experience is needed to participate in the event, however, anyone under the age of 18, must have a legal guardian present.  Since safety is the top priority of the event, life jackets must be worn by all paddlers.  Paddlers must provide their own life jackets.   A multitude of local organizations will assist with logistics and safety during the event, including the Deep East Texas Amateur Radio Club, Hudson Search & Rescue, Houston County EMS, Boy Scouts of America, and Trail Life USA.

The Authority is still seeking volunteers and sponsors for the event.  A volunteer guide and a sponsor information packet can both be found on the Authority’s website.

Early bird registration begins Monday, March 18^th and ends Friday, April 19^th.  Late registration begins on Saturday, April 19 and ends on Friday, May 3^rd.  Registration is based on a first-come, first-served basis.  Paddlers are highly encouraged to register online, but paper registration forms can be downloaded from ANRA’s website or picked up at ANRA’s office at 2901 N John Redditt Drive, in Lufkin, Texas.  Forms and registration fees can be submitted via mail or at ANRA’s office.

For more information, call the Authority’s Central Office Facility at (936) 632-7795, email recreation@anra.org, visit https://www.anra.org/conservation-recreation/neches-river-rendezvous/ , or find both the Authority and the Rendezvous’ event pages on Facebook.