Welcome back to a new semester and a new calendar year! To ring in the first issue of 2023, I am rolling out the first article for a Louisiana State Park. Lake Claiborne State Park is a park in the state's Northwest region that offers much of the recreation one might think of when they think of the “Sportsman’s Paradise.” For those not from Louisiana, the northern part of the state is home to the terrain that is great for activities like hunting, boating, and fishing which are all “Sportsman’s” activities. Over break, I paid this park a visit with one of our copy editors, Jordan Fong, so that I could make an informed review. Now, let’s get into it!

Distance from Centenary: 62 miles

Drive length: 1 hour and 4 minutes

Entry Fee: $3/person 

Park amenities: disc golf course, boat launch, pavilions, playgrounds, nature center, trails, cabins, regular and RV camping grounds, meeting rooms, etc. 

Things you can do: biking, hiking, boating, fishing, swimming, camping, paddling, disc golf, birding, picnicking, etc. 

Rating: 26 frisbees/26

The drive to this park is not super complicated. It’s a lot of I-20, and then there are about twenty miles of some highways that are not very busy or in bad shape. You’ll see lots of trees and some cows on the drive. As mentioned previously, entrance into the park is very inexpensive and gives you access to most of the activities. Obviously, camping and certain other activities will cost more, but for a day trip, it is still an enjoyable time. The disc golf course is a pretty good one, so if you’re into that, grab your frisbees and head over.

My visit with Jordan was on a cloudy day where it wasn’t raining hard, but it sprinkled on the drive a couple of times, so we didn’t do as much as we might have on a sunnier day. That didn’t take much of the fun away, though. We explored some of the trails and checked out the small beach area near the boat launch into Lake Claiborne. I also scoped out the playground, which was pretty nice for a state park. Unfortunately, I don’t play disc golf much these days; I left those days behind me in LSMSA Gym class. However, I was impressed with their disc golf course. I think it poses a pretty good challenge while being an easy-to-navigate course.

The scenery of the park was also just really nice. I’m a huge tree fan; I love any tree. So Lake Claiborne State Park containing trees of all different types was right up my alley. The tall and beautiful pines among the other small trees made for a good atmosphere that made you feel more than just an hour away from Centenary. This park is definitely one that would be more popular in the warmer months because of the lake access and water recreation aspects, but I think it is still a worthy venture during the colder months. The trails are still walkable, and the aforementioned trees provide a scenery fit for the season. 

Overall, I would recommend the park and definitely plan to visit it again. There are so many things you can do here throughout the year, and it has something for everyone at an affordable entry fee. The state park in Texas that I worked at last summer had an entry fee of $7, so $3 for Lake Claiborne is a deal if you catch my drift. I hope y’all have a chance to make it out to the park this year, and if anyone has recommendations for the next park profile or requests for a type of park, let me know! Send an email to my school email, and I’ll look into it. 

Similar Reads