dock

JEANERETTE- Jeanerette is the latest recipient of a floating dock for kayaking enthusiasts, thanks to the local non-profit TECHE Project. 

The dock is already installed, and is located T.J. Memorial Park in Jeanerette. An opening ceremony was scheduled to celebrate the installation, but has been postponed until further notice. 

According to a prepared statement, the dock installation was implemented via a grant from the Federal Highway Administration’s Recreational Trails Program administered through the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.

Similar docks have been set up in municipalities all through the Bayou Teche, including St. Martinville, Loreauville and Charenton. 

The TECHE Project tasks itself with the mission of promoting and maintaining the Bayou Teche, Louisiana’s only nationally designated water trail, as well as developing low-impact recreation that will hopefully attract more people to the historic site. 

As planned, the Bayou Teche Paddle trail will have a total of 15 official access points for paddle trips, as short as seven miles and as long as 130 miles. Information kiosks with maps and community stories are also part of the infrastructure at each site, funded in part by a $46,000 grant from the Atchafalaya Trace Commission. The Iberia Parish Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Gravois family sponsored the Jeanerette information kiosk.

“The addition of Jeanerette really helps move us toward our objective of having a paddle trail dock in all of the Bayou Teche trail towns,” TECHE Project council member Patti Holland said. “We thank Jeanerette Mayor Carol Bourgeois Jr. and Iberia Parish President M. Larry Richard for all of their support and assistance in providing access for Jeanerette.

“We would also like to thank the Iberia Parish Convention “and Visitors Bureau and the family of Jimmy Gravois for their financial sponsorship ofthe information kiosk.”