Family Camping

[hdh]

A friend here in Shreveport wants to take his wife and kids camping for the first time. Somewhere in the Ouachita Mountains. Any recommendations on camp sites?? Non boater, tent camping, near river

[Renee H]

Tell them to go to Horseshoe Bend at Dierks - right on the Saline River and not too far from Shreveport. You have the river and the lake right there. Another suggestion is Albert Pike campground. There's nice facilities (which might be a big deal for first time campers ) at both places.

[Clif]

Wuz gonna say A Pike... she took that one.

Might consider one of the state parks, maybe on a lake. Lots to do at those. They get full but you can email reservations I think.

[Louiscov]

Harlan:

I second Albert Pike.

It's close, beautiful, with hot showers, flush toilets, electricity, and a store nearby. Several hikes to choose from, great swimming area, easy drive (30 min) up to Little Missouri Falls.

louis c

[jackatspa]

both of those places are great to camp. and In hot springs lake catherine state park is also nice with a great waterfall, Great hiking and some good flatwater in the lake.

[CampingDad]

I'm gonna put in a third recommendation for Albert Pike. Spent Memorial Day weekend up there. Kids had a blast swimming, fishing, and riding bikes. The falls are nice but the Winding Stair area is even prettier, in my opinion.

Marc

[Zakkt]

I too will agree to Albert Pike. The only thing that was half as cool as camping at Albert pike as a kid was camping at the Cossatot falls, but for some first timers you really just can't beat AP. Just my .02

-Zakk

[RomanLA]

The only thing that was half as cool as camping at Albert pike as a kid was camping at the Cossatot falls, but for some first timers you really just can't beat AP. Just my .02

Yeah...and they can always take a day trip over to the Cossatot!

[ouachita hiker]

Well I guess I will chime in! They don't call me ouachita hiker for nothing! We would love to have them at horshoebend but along with Albert Pike I would like to mention Shady Lake. Near Albert Pike, very near the Caney Creek Wilderness area. If they are up to a great day hike they could hike in from the E. trail head to Katy Falls. This is a great 35ft. water fall on Katy Creek that feeds Caney Creek. The W. Trail head is right on the Tot. Plenty of water to cool off on a hot summer day!

Tom

[Jim Krueger]

Tom,

I also think Shady Lake is a nice place. I have enjoyed just paddling my kayak around the lake checking out the wonderful views of Tall Peak as well as a water-level view of the old W.P.A. bridges.
For some of the best mountain views in the Ouachitas, I like going up to the historic fire tower on top of Tall Peak. I have always driven up to Tall Peak, or walked the road up if the gate was locked, but I know there is a trail up there from Shady Lake campground. Good recommendation!

Best Regards
Jim

[ouachita hiker]

Jim,

Shady Lake and this whole are some of the best places in this part of the state! As far as the trail up to tall peak I have been told that there is a lot of downed timber going up. The hike up is a killer on the road and the ATV's are bad! I wish you folks could have seen the old fire tower in the late 70's. It was complete, had windows, fire locating eqp., etc. Now it has spray painting all over it. By the way the gate is open quite a good bit now I think. There is a trail around Shady Lake also. One of my goals is to clear it. I work with the Mena Office of the FS doing trail clearing.

Tom

[Jim Krueger]

Tom,

Thanks for the information! My first trip, driving up the road to the fire tower was in 1978. As you said, the fire watching equipment was still intact.
In fact, that late afternoon we arrived, the lady fire watcher was just closing up shop for the day and heading home to Athens for the evening.
If I remember correctly, the stonework of the towers base was still it's natural color. I can only imagine the one-roomed base of the tower had once been used for the fire watchers quarters. At this time there were even
two old peach trees still clinging to life, several Irises, and the remnants of a small vegetable plot.
In the 1980s, I made several more trips back to enjoy a few minutes of the view from the top. The mountain is tall enough that on two occasions
we ran into clouds, freezing rain, and snow on the ground before we were 3/4 of the way up. Really neat!
I guess my last trip to tall peak was in the 90s sometime, they had just white-washed the whole structure and although I was sorry to see the rock work covered, the tower had a fresh appearance. I would like to carry my wife up there sometime again, do you know if the road is still passable for a 2WD pickup? In the 70s I actually drove my Ranchero carefully up there :) This conversation makes me want to dig out my old pictures sometime. I wasn't too happy when the view was infringed on by the addition of some metal communications tower(s) later, and certainly not presently in hearing of the spray painting of the old structure, too bad It's a structure worthy of the national historic preservation.

Best Regards
Jim

[ouachita hiker]

Jim,

Yes it is passable in a 2WD pickup. Your truck is smaller, we have a 2500 HD Chevy Diesel, it is a tight fit if we meet anyone else other than a ATV. The ATVers are a big problem in the area. Please no offense to any one that rides them in a sensible manner! They go were ever they want. They have gone into the wilderness area also. Because they have easy access to areas like Tall Peak mainly kids spray paint all manner of stuff up there. The view is still fantastic. Not to stop you but it will be a let down on your memories!

Tom

[Jim Krueger]

Thanks Tom!

I'll look forward to the mountain view still, it's the one thing that is probably the same... Thanks also for the road report, I just wanted to make sure there weren't any 3'deep ruts. The road has always been essentially one lane, in fact, I marveled at the fact the Butane truck driver had to get up there on occasion. The old Ranchero is long gone, and I too have a larger, F-250 Ford V-10 to navigate the Ouachitas these days. I remember the 1949 Willis Jeep we had on my Grandparents farm growing up,all of we kids learned the essentials of driving with it. The jeep was pretty small and narrow and had the standard military tires on it. Some of the 'Maxi' four-wheelers, for the overweight challenged, now-a-days seem almost as big if not more so. I have a small wheeler myself, but like the family jeep, it's much a matter of upbringing in how you use them, and I'm indebted to my older family members who were just the best at being role models... Thanks again! Come float the Caddo with us sometime when there's water.

Best Regards
Jim