Uncertain General Store & Paddlewheel Tours

We ate here twice this summer. Breakfast was your standard fare but something about eating it in the swamp makes it better. Dinner was fried whole catfish and boy was it good. Fresh clean taste and piping hot. The fries were fresh, not frozen I believe. They also sell all kinds of goodies like aprons, fishing supplies, candles, etc. It’s nice when a place takes pride in what they have. Sit in the back so you can watch the water.

The Swamp Thing Caddo Lake Tour knows what it is, and it accepts what it isn’t. That’s why this $ 18, 80-​minute tour of Caddo Lake deserves 4.5 stars.
What it is:
— A flat, wide paddlewheel boat powered by an electric golf cart motor.
— A slow, relaxing, blissfully quiet and breezily comfortable glide through the swampy, moss-​draped cypress forest of Caddo Lake.
— A great way to experience a remarkable place that gradually and dramatically reveals itself as you drift through waterways framed by silver-​green Spanish moss, where centuries-​old cypress rise from the water in an other-​worldly landscape, where snakes and alligator and beaver and water fowl make their homes.
— A tour led by a welcoming chap who knows the water, its wildlife and its flora, and isn’t afraid to share his appreciation of this place with others.
— A half-​hour drive from Jefferson, Texas, where we’ve been visiting on a short get-​away.
— The best reason to visit a place called Uncertain, Texas.
What it isn’t:
— Programmed, sanitary, the least bit swank.
We loved this tour. The Swamp Thing folks do a great job. It’s a simple affair, but having an electric-​powered boat meant very little noise and no noxious fumes. You buy your tickets at the Uncertain Gift Shop and Grill, where all manner of food is fried and then served. (Actual quote from the lake tour guide: «The frogs are gettin’ nice and big now. One of our cooks went out and caught two coolers full of big fat frogs, and they’ve been frying up legs ever since. So y’all be sure to stop in at our grill and join us for lunch.»)
I’ll say $ 18 sounded steep when they first quoted the price, but it’s more than fair. Caddo is a strange and beautiful lake and this tour does it justice.