SPANISH FORT — The popular boat tours of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta by Blakeley State Park will continue this summer.

See boat tour gallery at http://www.gulfcoastnewstoday.com/the_baldwin_times/collection_9f4de4f4-b428-11e2-b593-001a4bcf887a.html

“There is a lot of interest but we have only set dates for ones through the month of May,” said park director Jo Ann Flirt. “We’re still looking at June and the rest of the summer.”

On May 11, the 55-passenger Delta Explorer will leave the park’s pier at 9:30 a.m. and head out on a two-hour narrated tour of the Delta. On the fourth Saturday of the month, May 25, the park will offer a three-hour that includes the state docks in Mobile.

Last Saturday’s excursion took passengers beside the doomed cruise ship Carnival Triumph and the remains of the gas barges that exploded April 24.

All trips are aboard Blakeley Park’s 50-passenger tour boat leaving from the park dock on the Tensaw River. Tours begin at 9:30 a.m.  Since the dock is on the far side of the park, people need to arrive early.

“We recommend that people get to the park gates by 9 that morning,” said Flirt. “Folks don’t realize how long it takes to get from the park gates to the dock.”

Tickets for the Delta cruises are $25 for adults, $15 for children 6-12 and free to kids under 6. Docks tour tickets are $35 for adults, $17 for children 6-12.

Tickets are on a first come-first serve basis but seating can be reserved by calling 251-626-5581 and paying advance using major credit cards. All proceeds go toward operation of Blakeley State Park.

Boat trips are also available by charter. For more information on charters call 251-626-0798.

Blakeley State Park is located on State Highway 225, about 4.5 miles north of its intersection with U.S. 31 at Spanish Fort. The park is open daily and holidays for day use, RV and tent camping, biking and horseback riding. Sites and facilities inside the park are available for group events ranging from weddings to family reunions. For more information about the park, go to www.blakeleypark.com or e-mail blakeleypark@aol.com.