Canal Island floating camping platform (Bartram Canoe Trail, Upper Mobile-Tensaw Delta)

public land records

Researched — The record is detailed and internally consistent, and the coordinates land where the managing agency says this site is.

NOT FREE -- $26.75 PER NIGHT. Alabama State Lands Division floating camping platform on the Bartram Canoe Trail, Mobile-Tensaw Delta. PRICE SOURCE: alabamainteractive.org/campsite read 2026-08-16 -- 'Rental of camping platforms and shelters is 26.75 per night'; 'Canal Island' is on that page's Upper Delta list. Reservation REQUIRED, canoeists and kayakers only, one night per reservation, noon to noon, group size 8. State Lands publishes overnight routes 'Canal Island: 2 Days / 1 Night' and 'Canal/Dead Lake Island: 3 Days / 2 Nights'. PLATFORM RULES: no pets; no open fire on the platform, camp stove on the supplied metal sheet only; compass, map, flashlight and portable toilet with disposable bags required; no alcohol; damage billed to the user. Phone 251-625-0814. COORDINATE: ADCNR's own GIS, 'Camping' layer of conservationgis.alabama.gov/adcnrweb/rest/services/Activities/MapServer/0, Name attribute 'Canal Island Platform'. ALABAMA STATE LANDS CANOE TRAILS RULES, alabamacanoetrails.com/rules-for-use read 2026-08-16: "Because hunting is allowed on the WMA properties, camping is permitted in designated camping locations only. Floating platforms and camping shelters must be reserved through this website. Primitive camping is allowed only in designated areas and is available on a first come, first served basis." Fires are allowed in designated areas only; cutting trees or brush for firewood is prohibited. No alcohol at any campsite, platform or shelter. "Each party is required to have a compass, map, flashlight, and portable toilet with disposable bags" -- State Lands runs a leave-no-trace policy and you pack your waste out. Swimming "is discouraged in the Delta due to local alligator populations." Access is by canoe or kayak; this is not a drive-up site. Nearest town: Mount Vernon ~7.2 mi -- STRAIGHT-LINE distance to the nearest OpenStreetMap place=city/town/village, NOT a driving distance; in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta and on the Cumberland Plateau the way in is far longer. Ingest 2026-08-16. --- REVIEW 2026-08-20 (nightshift-verified) --- BOTH SOURCES RE-FETCHED TODAY. https://www.alabamacanoetrails.com/bartram still reads, word for word, "Currently, the State Lands Division maintains six day-use trails and six overnight trails. There are two land-based campsites and four floating platform campsites available for the overnight routes. The land based camping areas are open to anyone on a first-come first-served basis. The floating platform campsites are limited to groups no larger than eight and are available by reservation only." https://www.alabamacanoetrails.com/rules-for-use still carries every rule this row quotes, unchanged: camping in designated locations only because hunting is allowed on the WMA properties; platforms and shelters by reservation; primitive camping first-come in designated areas only; fires in designated areas only and no cutting of trees or brush for firewood; no alcohol at any campsite, platform or shelter; "Each party is required to have a compass, map, flashlight, and portable toilet with disposable bags"; and "Swimming is allowed at the visitor's own risk, and is discouraged in the Delta due to local alligator populations." https://www.alabamainteractive.org/campsite/ still prints "State Lands Campsite Reservation Fee $25.00 / Total Reservation Fee through Alabama.gov $26.75" and "Rental of camping platforms and shelters is $26.75 per night.", and its selectable list is still exactly: Upper Delta -- Canal Island, Dead Lake Island #1, Dead Lake Island #2, Jug Lake; Lower Delta -- Yancey Branch, Mudhole Creek, Justin's Bay Sunset, Justin's Bay Sunrise; Perdido Trail -- Nelson Ditch #1 and #2, Peaden Lake, Loggerhead Creek #1 and #2, Swamp Field. PRIMARY SOURCE RE-FETCHED TODAY: ADCNR's public ArcGIS 'Camping' layer, https://conservationgis.alabama.gov/adcnrweb/rest/services/Activities/MapServer/0 -- still live, still returns exactly 13 points statewide, with the same five named Bartram points and the same eight unnamed ones recorded at discovery. This row is NOT FREE: $26.75 per night, reservation required, and 'Canal Island' is still on the Upper Delta list above. Its coordinate is still ADCNR GIS OBJECTID 12, Name attribute 'Canal Island Platform', at 31.089832 / -87.891230 -- identical to the stored value. VERDICT: HOLDS UP -> approved as a FEE site.

US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.

On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.