Louisiana State Arboretum: Walker Branch/Backbone Ridge/Bald Cypress Loop (Blog Hike #1045)

Trails: Walker Branch, Wetland, Walker Terrace, Backbone Ridge, and Bald Cypress Trails
Hike Location: Louisiana State Arboretum
Geographic Location: north of Ville Platte, LA (30.80302, -92.28552)
Length: 3.7 miles
Difficulty: 4/10 (Moderate)
Date Hiked: February 2025
Overview: A double loop through the wetlands and ridgetops above Chicot Lake.
Arboretum Information: https://www.lastateparks.com/parks-preserves/louisiana-state-arboretum
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=979730
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming December 19)

Directions to the trailhead: From Ville Platte, take SR 3042 north 7.1 miles to the signed entrance for Chicot State Park on the right.  Turn right to enter the park, pay the small entrance fee, then turn left at the next 2 intersections to reach the parking lot for Louisiana State Arboretum's Nature Center.  Park in the lot in front of the Nature Center.

The hike: Weighing in at a sprawling 6400 acres, Chicot State Park is the largest state park in Louisiana.  The park is centered around 2000 acre Chicot Lake, a long and skinny lake created in 1943 by damming Chicot Bayou.  Both the dam and the park were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).  The park officially dates to 1939, making it the one of the oldest state parks in Louisiana.

            As you would expect, the lake takes centerstage, and the park is a major destination for fishing, boating, and canoeing.  The park also features a large 198-site developed campground, 15 cabins, 2 group lodges, and some picnic pavilions.  For hikers, the park's most famous trail is its 20 mile backpacking trail.  The backpacking trail circumnavigates Chicot Lake, and many people consider it to be the best backpacking trail in Louisiana.

            If you are not up for the backpacking trail, the area's best destination for short hikes is the Louisiana State Arboretum, which is contained within Chicot State Park.  The 600-acre Arboretum dates to 1961, and it is the oldest state-supported arboretum in the country.  The arboretum's land features more relief than you might expect for south-central Louisiana, and many trails take you over the arboretum's hills and through the arboretum's ravines.  The route described here uses all but one of those trails, and it explores all of the major habitats the arboretum has to offer.

Trailhead at back door of Nature Center

            Walk out the back door of the Nature Center and angle left to start the Walker Branch Trail, which embarks on a general westward course.  Trails in the Arboretum are mostly unmarked, but they are well-worn, well-maintained, and easy to follow.  The single-track dirt Walker Branch Trail descends slightly to reach a trail intersection at 0.15 miles, where a sign tells you that you need to turn left to stay on the Walker Branch Trail.

Hiking the Walker Branch Trail

            The trail rises slightly to cross a small ridge; ignore the Pawpaw Loop Trail that exits left.  Next you descend slightly to reach the longest boardwalk at the arboretum.  This boardwalk takes you over a seasonally wet area dominated by water tupelo and bald cypress trees.  This boardwalk is my favorite boardwalk on this hike, and numerous signs help you identify common plants in the wetland.

Boardwalk on Walker Branch Trail

            After crossing another low ridge, you reach another trail intersection at 0.7 miles where the Walker Branch and Wetland Trails part ways.  These 2 trails come back together later in this hike, so you could go either way here.  The Wetland Trail sounded more interesting to me, so I turned right to temporarily leave the Walker Branch Trail and begin the Wetland Trail.

Hiking the Wetland Trail

            Surprisingly considering its name, the Wetland Trail climbs slightly to enter a drier ridgetop environment.  Oak and hornbeam trees dominate the ridgetops in this arboretum.  Some scratch marks on the ground indicate where feral hogs had done some rooting, but I saw surprisingly little wildlife on this hike.  0.9 miles into the hike, you reach the trail intersection that forms this hike's main loop.  The Backbone Ridge Trail goes right, and that will be our return route.  Angle left to stay on the Wetland Trail.

Start of loop portion

            The trail descends slightly to pass a small pavilion/trail shelter and cross an older boardwalk.  The trail map calls this area a vernal pool.  The pool contained a couple inches of water when I came here in early February, and bald cypress knees make for a scenic area.

Vernal pool

            Past the vernal pool, the trail begins the hardest climb of this hike.  The difference between maximum and minimum elevations on this hike is only 75 feet, so the steep part of this climb is over pretty quickly.  At 1.3 miles, you reach the west end of the Wetland Trail where the Walker Branch Trail goes left and right.  This hike turns right to continue hiking west on the Walker Branch Trail; turning left would provide a shorter route back to the Nature Center.

Overlook platform on Walker Terrace

            A little more climbing brings you to the asphalt Walker Terrace, an ADA accessible trail, less than 500 feet later.  A wooden overlook platform overlooks nothing in particular, and you want to keep heading west on Walker Terrace.  1.5 miles into the hike, as the arboretum's Caroline Dormon Lodge comes into view, you reach another trail intersection and the western-most point on this hike.  Turn right to leave the asphalt and begin the dirt Backbone Ridge Trail.

Hiking the Backbone Ridge Trail

            The Backbone Ridge Trail is the arboretum's most strenuous trail, and you soon learn why: it drops steeply into a ravine only to cross a stream on a wooden footbridge and climb slightly less steeply out of the ravine.  The trail then curves right to begin a ridgetop course with more downs than ups.  You pass a couple more overlooks that overlook nothing in particular, but their benches make nice places to rest and rehydrate near the midpoint of this hike.

Overlook on Backbone Ridge Trail

            After some winding and some undulations, you reach the Backbone Ridge Trail's east end at 2.6 miles; this intersection closes this hike's main loop.  Turn left twice, once on the Wetland Trail and again on the Walker Branch Trail, to start heading back to the Nature Center.  At the last intersection before you get back to the trailhead, angle left to leave the Walker Branch Trail and begin the short Bald Cypress Trail.

Chicot Lake on Bald Cypress Trail

            Though only 0.2 miles long, the Bald Cypress Trail may be the arboretum's most scenic trail: it takes you past an inlet of Chicot Lake filled with bald cypress and water tupelo trees.  The dirt trail takes you down to the edge of the water for fantastic views.  Some stairs lift you up to a large overlook platform, and an ADA-accessible concrete trail returns you to the Nature Center to complete the hike.

Lake Fausse Pointe State Park: Trail C (Blog Hike #1044)

Trail: Trail C
Hike Location: Lake Fausse Pointe State Park
Geographic Location: east of St. Martinville, LA (30.06008, -91.60961)
Length: 3.4 miles
Difficulty: 3/10 (Easy/Moderate)
Date Hiked: February 2025
Overview: A flat loop hike with good wildlife viewing along several bayous and lakes.
Park Information: https://www.lastateparks.com/parks-preserves/lake-fausse-pointe-state-park
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=979662
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming January 16, 2026)

Directions to the trailhead: From St. Martinville, take SR 96 east 12 miles to SR 352 and turn right on SR 352.  Drive SR 352 south 13 miles to the signed state park entrance on the right.  Turn right to enter the park, pay the entrance fee, and park at the main trailhead parking area on the left 0.2 miles from the entrance.  A sign and restroom building on the right mark the trailhead.

The hike: The drive into Lake Fausse Pointe State Park is pure Louisiana.  Most visitors start by driving through Lafayette with its oil/natural gas industry, large regional public university, and heavy French influence.  Next you drive through St. Martinville, a small town with a large Black population and heavy Roman Catholic influence.  The final 13 miles run along a levee, and few places outside of southern Louisiana have levees as long or tall as this one.

            Once you finally get there, you find a real gem of a park.  Consisting of 6000 acres deep in the heart of southern Louisiana's Cajun Country, remote and rustic Lake Fausse Pointe State Park is a sportsman's and nature lover's paradise.  For such a remote park, it has surprisingly good amenities.  The park offers a 50-site developed campground, 18 cabins, several primitive campsites accessible only by trail or canoe, a boat launch, a playground, and several picnic areas.

            For hikers, the trail system at Lake Fausse Pointe State Park consists of 3 loops all of which start from a common trailhead.  The loops are simply labeled A, B, and C in order of increasing length.  This hike takes you around the C loop, which traces the perimeter of the park.  While I would not want to come here in the summer due to heat and bugs, I saw a lot of wildlife and had a great hike when I came here on a Friday morning in early February.

Trail entrance at trailhead

            The common entrance trail heads west across the park road from the parking lot.  Almost immediately you cross a wide wooden bridge over Old Bird Island Chute to reach an information kiosk where Trail A exits right.  As directed by a wooden sign, continue straight to begin Trail C.

Lake Fausse Pointe

            Less than 5 minutes into the hike, you reach a west-facing wooden overlook platform that provides a nice view across Lake Fausse Pointe.  The large, calm lake is dotted with islands near the shore, and I saw several lapwings enjoying the lake on the warm and humid morning that I came here.  Past the overlook, the trail heads south through a seasonally wet forest with some tupelo trees.  Some wet areas will need to be negotiated, but wooden boardwalks get you over the worst of the wetness.

Trails B and C split

            At 0.3 miles and at the end of one of the boardwalks, Trails B and C part ways at another signed trail intersection.  This hike turns left to stay on Trail C, which is marked with orange plastic diamonds.  Soon you pass the first of 7 signed primitive backpack campsites.  Each of these sites are reached via a short signed spur trail, and each site has a picnic table, a fire pit, and room for a couple of tents.  These primitive campsites allow you to turn this hike into a super short and super easy backpacking trail provided the heat and bugs are not too bad.

Backpack campsite

            For the next 1.1 miles the trail heads southeast on a level course through classic lowland scenery.  In some ways this hike is very boring: there is no noticeable elevation change, and the scenery never seems to change.  Yet the park's remote location and abundant wetlands ensure good bird and wildlife viewing.  I saw 2 roseate spoonbills, an egret, some herons, some cardinals, a chickadee, some robins, and some deer on this hike.

Spur trail to canoe campsite #5

            At 1.3 miles, you reach signed canoe campsite #5, which is my favorite of the primitive campsites at this park.  Not to be confused with backpack campsite #5, this site is accessible by canoe trail and by hiking trail.  The site occupies a small knoll on the edge of the channel, and I saw much wildlife including several alligators while sitting and resting at this site.

View from canoe campsite #5

            For the next 0.7 miles the trail parallels the water channel as you round the south end of the loop.  The deep muddy channel stays in sight through the trees to the right.  The hiking is easy but the scenery repetitive except for the wildlife.  Just past 2 miles, the trail curves left to leave the channel.

Crossing a boardwalk

            After crossing the longest boardwalk on this hike, you reach a trail intersection at 2.3 miles where both options are marked with orange diamonds.  The option going left is a short-cut that leads to the park's conference center, and it is the wettest trail in this park.  This hike continues straight to hike the longer and dryer version of Trail C.

Hiking along Borrow Pit Canal

            Very quickly the trail comes out at the park's cabin area.  Turn left to hike 0.3 miles on the park's cabin road, but look for the orange diamonds on the right at 2.6 miles where Trail C leaves the road and returns to single track dirt trail.  The rest of the hike stays in a narrow swath of woods between the park road on the left and the Borrow Pit Canal waterway on the right.  This area is slightly higher than most of the ground you have trodden so far, and large numbers of palmettos live in the understory.  Just shy of 3.4 miles, you reach the trail's end at the main park road.  The trailhead parking area with your car is only a couple hundred feet to the right.