Blakeley State Park has resumed its guided nature tours of the Tensaw-Mobile Delta aboard its 50-passenger pontoon vessel, Delta Explorer, now that severe cold weather has ended and days are longer and warmer.

Saturday marks the first “walk-on” public tour from the Blakeley Park dock on the Tensaw River north of Spanish Fort. The two-hour tour departs at 1:30 p.m. Seating costs are $22 for adults, $12 for children ages 6-12 and free to children 4 to 6.

Another highly popular tour of the Delta, the Alabama State Docks and Port of Mobile, is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 27 beginning at 1 p.m. This three-hour tour includes the Delta and the active port and docks facilities on the Mobile River.

The Docks tour goes north into the Delta, back south down the Mobile River, loops back under the Mobile Bayway and returns to Blakeley Park on the Tensaw River. Tours hours are 1:00 p.m. to 4 p.m. Seating is $30 for adults, $15 for children 6-12 free for kids 4 to 6.

Seating for both tours is on a first-come, first-served basis but reservations can be guaranteed with payment in advance using a major credit card. Group charter trips with a minimum number of passengers can be booked for any day or time on the Delta Explorer the chartering group wishes. To make individual reservations call (251) 626-5581. To book charter tours call (251) 626-0798.

“Although we have had a number of inquiries about the popular tour of the Indian Mounds at Bottle Creek, we are advised by experts that the water level this time of the year is too high to make trip safe and pleasant for passengers,” said Jo Ann Flirt, director of Blakeley Park. “We will schedule one or more of those archaeological tours later.”

Blakeley Park is located on State Highway 225 about 4.5 miles north of Spanish Fort where 225 intersects with U.S. 31. It is about an hour’s drive from the Gulf Shores-Orange Beach area. The Blakeley Park boat and its captains are licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard.