Sam Houston Jones State Park: Longleaf Pine Trail (Blog Hike #780)

Trail: Longleaf Pine Trail

Hike Location: Sam Houston Jones State Park

Geographic Location: north of Lake Charles, LA (30.29871, -93.26779)

Length: 3.9 miles

Difficulty: 4/10 (Easy/Moderate)

Date Hiked: December 2019

Overview: A gently rolling loop partly along the banks of the Calcasieu River.

Park Information: https://www.lastateparks.com/parks-preserves/sam-houston-jones-state-park

Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=777135

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: Near Lake Charles, take I-10 to SR 378 (exit 27). Exit and go north on SR 378.  Drive SR 378 north 5 miles to SR 378-Spur and turn left on SR 378-Spur.  Drive SR 378-Spur west 0.9 miles to Sutherland Road and turn left on Sutherland Rd.  The park entrance is 0.4 miles ahead on the right.  Turn right to enter the park, pay the park entrance fee, and follow signs to the parking area for the Kids Trail, which is also the starting point for this hike.

The hike: Occupying 1087 acres on the east bank of the Calcasieu River, Sam Houston Jones State Park is widely regarded as the best state park in southwest Louisiana.  The park opened in 1944, and it was originally named after the Texas folk hero who traveled extensively in the area.  The park was renamed for Samuel Houston Jones, Louisiana’s governor from 1940 through 1944 who was instrumental in establishing the park.

            The park features many nice amenities, including a cozy 35-site developed campground, 8 cabins, a group lodge, some picnic areas, a disc golf course, and 5 hiking trails totaling nearly 8 miles.  Many good hikes can be had here, but this blog entry describes the park’s longest trail: the 3.9 mile Longleaf Pine Trail.  The Longleaf Pine Trail explores both the riverside and upland forest areas, and therefore it gives a nice sample of all the park has to offer.

Longleaf Pine Trail's trailhead

            To reach this park’s main trailhead, walk west on the paved park road past both signed ends of the Kids Trail.  Some wooden signs and a wooden stile mark the main trailhead, and some Christmas decorations were located here on the chilly mid-December afternoon of my visit.  The gravel trail embarks on a westward course that appears to be a continuation of the paved park road.  The Longleaf Pine Trail is wide and easy to follow, but it is also well-marked with plenty of blue rectangular paint blazes.  Lots of palmettos and ferns dominate the understory, and the forest is a mix of pine and deciduous trees that includes some nice beech trees.

            The yellow-blazed 0.75 mile Old Stagecoach Trail soon exits left, and at 0.3 miles the Longleaf Pine Trail splits at a signed intersection with all trails marked in blue.  The left option leads to the Old Stagecoach Trail and quickly returns to the trailhead, so you want to turn right to hike the full Longleaf Pine Trail.  As you hike around the loop, 5 primitive backpack camp sites are reached by spur trails.  These first-come first-served sites make nice places to spend the night for people wanting an easy walk-in camping experience.

Bridge in shallow ravine

            After winding through a shallow ravine, you cross a pipeline clearing and approach the Calcasieu River at 0.9 miles.  The Longleaf Pine Trail is divided into 5 numbered and signed “quads,” which are traversed in increasing order going in this direction.  The pipeline marks your exit from Quad 1 and entrance into Quad 2.  Also, distance markers appear every 0.5 miles.

Calcasieu River

            The next 1000 feet follow the east bank of the Calcasieu River.  Some nice cypress trees grow along the water’s edge, and only some houses on private property across the river mar the view.  After the trail curves away from the river, it winds east near the park’s north boundary through a low area with dense grassy groundcover.

            At 1.8 miles, you cross a dirt maintenance road and enter Quad 3.  Next you come to a spur trail marked as “Scenic Area” that exits left.  The short spur trail leads to a picnic table and benches that overlook a wetland area featuring a large number of palmettos.  Built in 2019 by Ethan Honeycutt as an Eagle Scout project, this area makes a nice place to sit and rest near the midpoint of this hike.

Scenic Area

            2.3 miles into the hike, the trail re-crosses the pipeline clearing and enters Quad 4.  Two options, marked Upper Blue and Lower Blue respectively, exit from here.  Unless it has rained recently, angle left to choose the Lower Blue option, which is the main trail.  As the names suggest, the Lower Blue Trail enters a low area that features numerous wooden boardwalks.  The bridges on the Longleaf Pine Trail are numbered from 1 to 19, and you cross them in increasing order while hiking in this direction.

            At 3.3 miles, the Longleaf Pine Extension exits left.  The Extension is also labeled as Quad 5, but it leads out to the park entrance station and therefore is not part of the main loop.  Continuing straight on the blue-blazed trail brings you out to the park loop road at 3.5 miles.  Turn right and walk 0.4 miles along the road to return to your car and complete the hike.  While you are here, consider a trip to the riverside picnic area or a hike along the park’s 1.6 mile Riverwalk Trail.  The area along the river provides the park’s best wildlife viewing, and I saw several deer and an egret when I visited that area after my hike.