Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Nature Park in Shreveport, LA (Blog Hike #884)

Trail: Caddo Trail
Hike Location: Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Nature Park
Geographic Location: northwest of Shreveport, LA (32.56658, -93.93271)
Length: 1.8 miles
Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: December 2021
Overview: A loop hike through lowland and upland forest.
Park Information: http://www.caddo.org/Facilities/Facility/Details/Walter-B-Jacobs-Memorial-Nature-Park-6
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=896007
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: On the northwest side of Shreveport, take I-220 to SR 173 (exit 4).  Exit and go west on SR 173.  Drive SR 173 northwest 6.4 miles to Dougherty Avenue and turn left on Dougherty Ave.  Dougherty Ave. becomes Parish Road 4 after it leaves the town of Blanchard.  Drive a total of 2.9 miles from SR 173 to the signed entrance for Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Nature Park on the right.  Turn right to enter the park, and park in the parking lot in front of the Visitor Center.

The hike: Owned and maintained by Caddo Parish, the northwest-most parish in Louisiana, Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Nature Park protects 160 forested acres along Fordney and Shettleworth Bayous.  True to its name as a nature park, the park features limited amenities that include only a Visitor Center, an amphitheater, some live animal exhibits, and a rentable pavilion.  The Visitor Center is very nice and worth a visit before or after your hike: it features interesting examples and exhibits of various amphibians and reptiles that live in northwest Louisiana.

            For hikers, the park features 4 miles of hiking trails, but most of the trails are short and under 1 mile in length.  The exception is the 1.8 mile Caddo Trail described here, which forms a loop around the perimeter of the park.  Note that this park is only open Wednesday through Sunday, and it closes promptly at 5pm.  Make sure you give yourself enough time to make it to the park's exit before the gates close.

Caddo Trail trailhead

            Grab a trail map before you leave the Visitor Center: many trails start here, so finding the start of the Caddo Trail can be a challenge.  At the right (north) side of the Visitor Center, look for the green board, bench, and yellow carsonite post that mark the start of the Caddo Trail, which begins as a narrow dirt trail.  Do not take the trail further right that begins by crossing a wide wooden bridge: that is the start of the Ozark Trail.  In general, trails are unmarked with signs only at intersections, and the number of trails in this area combined with the lack of markings can make it hard to find the right route.

One of many wooden bridges

            After crossing a wooden bridge, the Ozark and Ouachita Trails enter from the right.  After crossing another wooden bridge, this one over Fordney Bayou, you reach another trail intersection.  Turn left here to stay on the Caddo Trail, which runs conjointly with the Adai Trail for a few hundred feet.  Signs with GPS coordinates help a little, but the trail map really comes in handy at these intersections.

Crossing Shettleworth Bayou

            When the Adai Trail exits right, leaving only the Caddo Trail to cross Shettleworth Bayou on a wooden footbridge, your route finding problems are mostly over.  The Caddo Trail loops by itself through the western part of the park, which features flat dense lowland forest consisting of pines and oaks.  Some traffic noise can be heard from the left, but for the most part the hiking is rather pleasant.

Hiking the Caddo Trail

            At 0.8 miles, the trail dips to cross Shettleworth Bayou for a second time on another wide wooden bridge.  More winding brings you to an intersection with the Miracle Trail.  The combined Caddo and Miracle Trails turn left here to enter a power line corridor that parallels the park's north boundary.  You cross Fordney Bayou for a second time while in this corridor.

Entering the power line corridor

            1.1 miles into the hike, the Caddo and Miracle Trails split.  The Miracle Trail continues to follow the power line corridor, while the Caddo Trail angles right to head back into the forest.  These two trails come back together in about 1500 feet, so the choice is yours.  I chose the forested Caddo Trail to get away from the power line, but the power line corridor has an impressive wildflower display in late summer.  Choose whichever route looks more interesting to you.

Climbing slightly on the Caddo Trail

            After a connector trail to the Ouachita Trail exits right, the Caddo Trail climbs slightly to intersect the other end of the Miracle Trail, which at this point is following an old road.  Turn right to follow the old road for about 500 feet, and then stay on the trail as it curves right to leave the road.  An interpretive sign tells you that the Miracle Trail was dedicated by the Twin Eagles American Indian Inter-Tribe Association in 1994, and it was named in honor of a white buffalo born earlier that year.  Soon the trail comes out at the parking area, thus completing the hike.  Be sure you browse the Visitor Center's exhibits and/or the live animal exhibits (deer pen and aviary) before you leave if you have not already done so.