This weekend we visited one of our new favorite parks. Lake Claiborne State Park is located on the reservoir that shares its name halfway between Monroe and Shreveport about 20 minutes north of I-20. The park is a 4 hour drive from Baton Rouge or a 5 hour drive from New Orleans. Either way, you’re traveling a combination of interstate highways, US highways, and state roads. Besides the rougher part of US 190, most of the drive is an easy pull, even the the more rural state highways as you move further north. The nearest town is Homer, LA and the nearest Walmart is in Minden, a 35 minute drive from the campground. The park was very well maintained, the bath houses were clean, the laundry equipment was new (and free!!!), and there was no litter. We highly recommend a visit. There’s a good chance you’ll run into us because we’ll be headed back soon.
Picking your site
Like all Louisiana State Parks, reservations are made through ReserveAmerica.com. Also like most Louisiana State Parks, improved sites offer water and electric (50amp), but no sewer. The campsites are split into two camping areas (Camping Area 1 and Camping Area 2). With few exceptions we preferred the sites in Camping Area 1. Those site are generally further apart and more private. The waterside sites in Area 1 also provide better access to the lake than sites in Area 2 which are higher in elevation relative to the lake. While we have our favorites, there is not a bad site at this campground. If a spot is available, you should grab it. There is, however, one thing we should point out: This campground was designed in a time before 40 foot fifth wheel toy haulers. Many of the sites are around 30ft and nearly all are sloped front-to-back. So for long rigs, you may find yourself blocking up the rear jacks and possibly the wheels to keep the trailer tongue off the ground.
Camping Area 1
If you can get a water front site in Camping Area 1, pack the camper now, you don’t want to pass it up. These are sites 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24. Generally, our favorites started at the lowest number and got lower on our list as the number increased. 13 was our favorite site in the whole park. All of these water sites provide easy access to the water and there are docks every few sites. The docks are set between sites and far enough from the sites so that they aren’t allocated to any one site. The lower number water-front sites are also the closest sites to the Day-Use area where you’ll find a very large beach and a playground. Of the sites listed above, only one is a pull through; site 20. If you’ve got a longer rig, this is your site. Your door will open towards the lake and provide you an amazing view. There is a path to the bathhouse across from site 18, so grab this one if you want to conserve space in your holding tanks.
On the far end of the waterfront sites listed above, you’ll find site 25. It has a great view and privacy, but the slope to the water is steep.
Away from the water, sites 7, 9, and 11 provide great wooded privacy.
There are a number of large pull-through sites as you enter Camping Area 1. From the site marker signs, it appears that each pad is actually two separate pull-through sites which are entered from opposite directions. This could put you in VERY close quarters with your neighbors. Or you could book them with a friend if you wan to pair up. You may want to follow-up with the park on details regarding these sites. The sites paired in this way are 2 & 38, 4 & 37, and 6 & 35.
Camping Area 2
I’d book any of the sites in Camping Area 1 if available before going to Camping Area 2, but if you’re coming to Lake Claiborne State Park for a view of the water, then you can get your fix in Area 2 as well. Over there, sites 52 & 55 are your best bet. Both have sweeping views of the lake, but both drop off quickly on the sides of the pad, so you’ll have limited space to set up your outdoor living equipment.
Site 67 has a nice view but you’ll have the same elevation drop besides your pad.
Sites 84, 85, and 86 are flat and private, but do not have a water view.
Sites 45 & 47 are near the bath house and the bridge that leads to Camping Area 1 and then on to the Day Use Area.
If you looked at all of these sites on the map, you’d find that most of these are on the right-hand side of the flow of traffic. Here’s a pro-tip: If you pick a site on the right-hand side, your door will be angled away from the road, providing a more private campsite.
Facilities
The bath houses were updated and very clean. The bath house in Camping Area 1 was slightly better maintained than the one in Camping Area 2. Both bath houses have laundry facilities. The washing machines and dryers in these facilities were all new and in full working order. They were also free to use! Sites 18 and 20 were great water sites that are near a paved trail that leads to the bath house in camping area 1.
The dump stations were functional, with is about the best thing you can say about a dump station. There is one dump station in each camping area. We went to the dump station in camping area 2 because it had a hose rather than that rinse thing on a spring-mounted stick.
Things to do
Fishing
Lake Claiborne is a popular fishing destination with bass, crappie, catfish, and more. Drive north from the park entrance and you’ll find tackle at Kel’s cove. You can rent a boat at the state park or bring your own. If you have a lakefront site, you’ll find many docks spaced regularly along the shore where you could moor your boat to avoid having to trailer it every night. In Camping Area 2 there’s a nice fish cleaning station on a screened dock. When we visited, a sign hung from the fish cleaning station stating that it was closed. But the door was open and the rinse lines were operational.
Disk Golf
The State Park also boasts two disk golf courses. Disk golf requires you to throw a frisbee-ish disk down a clearing toward a basket with chains draped over it. The disk hits the chains and falls into the basket. We’ve never played disk golf before (if my description didn’t make that clear), but after taking a look at these courses, we’ve decided we’ll be trying our hand at it very soon. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize until we were leaving that you can rent disks at the gate house, so there’s no excuse not to give it a try! The courses wind their way through the woods and around the camping areas. Think of it like less like conventional golf and more throwing a frisbee down a hiking trail.
Swimming
There is a very large beach in the day use area. It was 40 degrees on our visit, so swimming wasn’t an attractive option, but a walk by the beach was nice and revealed to us how well appointed the swimming area is. There are slides from the parking area down to the beach area that could be used to transport children or ice chests. BBQ pits periodically dot the tree-line. There is a restroom nearby. The walk from the parking area to the beach is short enough that you may not even curse your ice chest on the way out. If you’re planning to use the beach, book a site in Camping Area 1 where you’ll have an easy walk across a bridge and past the boat launch.
Hiking & Biking
Lake Claiborne State Park has approximately 12 miles of trails. Much of that mileage is a combined hiking/mountain biking trail. I hiked about 6 miles of these with our 3 year old in her jogging stroller.
If there was one thing that could be improved about this great park, it would be the maintenance of the hiking trails. Many of the small bridges had broken or missing boards and the trails could benefit from improved signage. A dedicated trail map would also be helpful. The sections of the trails closest to the camping areas were well worn and easy to follow. As we continued our adventure south and away from the camping areas, the trails got harder to follow. We missed a turn and found ourselves hiking up a couple of steep inclines along a utility right-of-way. In some areas large trees had fallen across the trail.
I would not recommend you follow in my footsteps of bringing a stroller on these trails except those around the camping areas and the cabins. Despite the challenges, the adventure was enjoyable. I didn’t have an expectation that a hiking trail would be suitable for a stroller and I might have even been disappointed if it had been easy. You should definitely take some adult quiet time and find your own adventure on the trails in this park.
Dining
Old friends in Baton Rouge and new friends at the park recommend the Port Au Prince catfish restaurant. Unfortunately, we can’t substantiate their recommendations because didn’t get to eat there. We stopped by on our way out of town on Sunday, but they were closed. But based on the recommendations we received, we encourage you to check it out and report back with your review.
Staying Connected
We know it’s hard to completely unplug. For us, this is particularly true on a football weekend when the LSU game is not being aired on network television. Luckily for us, the Verizon signal was strong enough to stream SEC Network to our laptop which we had connected to our TV. Our campground neighbors even came to join us for the game. If you have AT&T you may not be so luckly. Reports from our neighbors indicate that you’ll have trouble with the simplest task on the AT&T network such as searching the web. Shayna tried out the Wifi at the park and wasn’t able to get a fast enough connection to download email.
Recommendation: Go to Lake Claiborne State Park!
If you like wooded campgrounds with spacious sites and lots of opportunity for adventure over a large tract of land, then Lake Claiborne State Park is the campground for you. Pick your site carefully if you’ve got a large rig, then pack your boat, your hiking shoes, your bathing suit, and your disk golf equipment. We’ll see you there.
To book your site visit ReserveAmerica.com
Take a driving tour past every TV site at the park in the video below.
