2 day 1 night kayak/camp near houston needed

[LCVFDyak]

Background: I and a group of friends started taking yak/camp trips two years ago ('08 5-days on Village Creek, '09 5-days on Buffalo river). This year we're taking on a 7-day trip down the 87 mile stretch of the Lower Canyons just downstream from Big Bend. Every year our group grows by 1-2 newbies. What I'd like to do is set up a weekend trip that requires paddling a partial day, setting up a primitive campsite, then another partial paddle to a waiting car. It'd be nice to get them a little experience before making the big trip but I also don't want to run them off by exposing them to a tough trip with bad/low/stagnant water conditions and lack-luster scenery.

What I'm looking for:
Close proximity - I'd like to stay within 120 miles of Houston
Remote camping - away from angry property owners or commercial areas
No more than 20 miles of paddling

We could always do a shorter portion of Village Creek again but I'd like to try something new.
Are there any public islands that you can camp on within paddling distance of Livingston State Park?

Any suggestions you could give would be appreciated!

[Rmartin]

I did one down the Colorado last year. We started at Beason Park in Columbus and floated to to 90.
Its an 18.5 mile trip and there a good sized island at about the 10 mile mark that made for a nice camp
site. We had someone pick up my truck at Beason park and pick us up at the boat launch the next day
so im not not sure about leaving a vehicle at either one.

[Randy]

There are several islands on Harmon Creek between the 980 bridge and the Trinity River. They are TRA land and remote all the way. You won't get the distance you mentioned though.

[CityByTheSeaCitizen]

One thing that I do pretty often is I paddle downriver camp, then paddle back up the next day. It makes transportation easier.

I mainly do this because I like to night fish in the spring time.

[ProfPlum]

Just the Colorado trip between Smithville and LaGrange with an overnight at Plum Park.... Woulod love to hear any advice on Village Creek... I was looking into putting a 3-4 day trip together on the Neches and would love any advice from Village.

[milret]

Village Creek is a nice Paddle. State park is a real bear to put in and take out, very steep banks. Lots of Private Property outside of the Park. Sand bars were numerous, may not be there at the moment since so much rain.