Paddling near Olive Branch, MS

Set in DeSoto County at the northern edge of Mississippi, Olive Branch puts paddlers within a half-hour of the Coldwater Canoe and Kayak Trail — a formally designated DeSoto County Blueway on the Coldwater River — and roughly 30 minutes from Arkabutla Lake, a 50,000-acre Army Corps reservoir. Cypress-tupelo swamp floats on the Wolf and Hatchie rivers lie within about 45 minutes, making this corner of north Mississippi mostly flatwater Class I country.