North Louisiana’s State Parks are a hidden gem that many folks below the I-10 / I-12 corridor have yet to discover. On this particular weekend, we had made reservations at a campground closer to home, but the weather was ominous and being stuck in a camper for 4 days with two kids was not on my wish list. The weather forecast map showed that we could drive a bit further and avoid most of the rain so that’s exactly what we decided to do. Despite being nestled in the school break between Christmas and New Years, Lake D’Arbonne State Park had plenty of open sites and we were even able to secure a water-front site two days before arrival.
Lake D’Arbonne State Park is an easy 4 hour drive from Baton Rouge. Heading north on US 61 through St. Francisville and Natchez allows you to avoid the much maligned US 190 and I-10 west of Baton Rouge. In fact, there was only one spot (a railroad crossing just north of Baton Rouge) where I had to slow below my cruising speed. The roads are all 4-lane until you get north of I-20 and all were well-maintained. There is ample opportunity for culinary adventure along the way, and we enjoyed stops in St. Francisville at The Francis Smokehouse and in Vidalia at The Butt Hutt to help fuel our journey. Speaking of fuel, it becomes a little scarce between Vidalia and I-20, so make sure you’ve got enough to get you to the other side.
Picking Your Site
I’ve never said this about any campground I’ve visited, and I may never say it again… But there is not a bad site anywhere in Lake D’Arbonne State Park. All of the sites are well shaded and evenly spaced. Many had some slope from front to back, but in all cases it didn’t appear so severe as to cause a problem leveling your rig. There is only one RV camping area/loop at Lake D’Arbonne State Park.
Like most state parks, Lake D’Arbonne does not offer sewer hookups, so you may want to pick a site close to the bath house if you’d like to relieve the pressure on your holding tanks. By following some of the tips in our post on How To Camp Without Full Hookups, the four of us were able to camp comfortably for three nights without any problem.
There are 4 sites that provide unobstructed views of the lake. Those site are 24, 28, 44, & 45. Had the campground designers given a little more thought to the layout of these sites, they could all have amazing views of the lake from the door-side of the camper. Priority for layout must have been given to the angle of the site relative the road, so your camper door doesn’t face the water at any of the sites except 24. But don’t let this deter you. If you’re sitting under your awning, at the picnic table, or around the campfire, you’ll have a spectacular view of Lake D’Arbonne. If you have a rear living area with a picture window, you’ll be glad they designed the sites the way they did.
Site 24 is the best site in the park, with a great view of the lake and more space than you can measure between your door and your neighbor. 44 is the next best, as it’s angled to view the lake better than 28 and 45. 28 has a little more space on the door-side than 44 and 45. We stayed in spot 28 and had a wonderful experience.
Regardless of if any of these water-front sites are available, book whatever site you can and you’ll be very happy with your decision. A trail and many piers line the waterfront, so even the land-locked visitors have access to the view and the recreation that lake provides. Honorable mention goes to sites 10, 53, 55, & 60 because of their privacy. All of these sites are on the right-hand side of the traffic flow, which means that angled sites leave your door pointing away from the road.
Facilities
Lake D’Arbonne State Park is very similar to its neighbor to the west, Lake Claiborne State Park (click the link to read about our visit to that park). Both parks are situated on a man-made reservoir with similar facilities and activities. Generally speaking, it appears that Lake D’Arbonne was designed in a more simple fashion, which makes maintenance easier and less costly. Because of this, in most cases, Lake D’Arbonne appeared very well maintained. The most obvious difference between the two is that Lake D’Arbonne does not have a beach swimming area like Lake Claiborne.
Because there is only one RV camping area, there is only one camping bathhouse. The bathhouse was very clean and fully functional. The Landry boy and I used the showers on the first night to help conserve holding tank space. While some attention could be paid to the way the water drains and the need to replace a shower curtain, the experience was a clean and pleasant one.
The park offers free laundry facilities – this was the first park we’ve been to that had a numerical keypad for access to the laundry, which seems like a great way of preventing the abuse of such a great amenity.
The dump station was clean and functioned well. The old “hose on a stick” was replaced with an actual hose which made dumping and rinsing an easier affair.
At Lake D’Arbonne State Park, there appears to be a picnic table and a BBQ for every man, woman, and child in Union Parish. We visited during the winter, so it’s possible that all of these get used during the peak season. However, I expect you’ll find no trouble finding a place to grill a burger.
There were many piers and docs available for fishing and tying up your boat. Some of these were damaged in a storm and sections of the dock are missing or laying on the shore. This is the most apparent maintenance need at an otherwise very well maintained park.
Things to Do
Hiking
The 7 year old Landry boy and I did the 4+ mile Cypress Bend loop around the entire park property. The trail was very well marked and well maintained. I could have pushed our 3 year old in her jogging stroller fairly easily with only a few locations that required detours around downed trees.
Cypress Bend is one of 5 trails in the park for hiking and mountain biking. Only one of these (the Woodland Trail) was found on the All Trails app. We submitted the Cypress Bend Trail to All Trails and hopefully it will be added to the portfolio soon. The park provided us with a map of the trails, but it was not very high resolution and suffered from a history of copies being made from previous copies. Hopefully others continue to submit hikes to All Trails, and the park can direct patrons to this valuable resource in lieu of paper maps.
Swimming
It was far too cold to swim during our stay and the pool had been shut down for the season, but our visit to the pool area makes me want to go back in the summer. The pool was large and had a stunning view of the lake. There was also a shallow-entry kids pool that would be perfect for your toddler still learning their way around the water. The area around the pool had many picnic benches and BBQ pits that would make the park a great day-use destination.
Boating/Fishing
Fishing is clearly one of the top draws to Lake D’Arbonne. The park provides a boat ramp, parking area for your truck and trailer, and ample dock space to tie up your boat near your camp site. There were covered boat slips near the cabins; you should inquire with the front office on these if you might be interested in using them.
Near the boat launch is a fish cleaning station. On our visit, the screens had been covered in plastic to help insulate anglers from the winter. A heater hung in the corner, and there was a grinder to help dispose of fish waste.
Louisiana Sportsman is a valuable resource and the website provides many tips on the lake such as this one: Fishing for Lake D’Arbonne Catfish.
The boat ramps at Lake D’Arbonne State Park 
The fish cleaning pavilion at Lake D’Arbonne State Park 
The fish cleaning station was clean and fully functional. 
There was a covered boat dock near the cabins.
Paddling
The winding shore of Lake D’Arbonne provides plenty opportunities to explore by canoe and kayak. The park rents both, which is a treat considering many LA state park only rent canoes. The very friendly employee at the front office told us that a local club was working on developing paddling trails for all skill levels. We couldn’t imagine a more enjoyable day than throwing our fishing pole in a canoe and exploring the lake from above and below.
Disc Golf
Many Louisiana State Parks have developed disc golf courses. The course at Lake D’Arbonne could be described as hiking with a frisbee. Each “hole” is very trail-like and the course winds through the forests at the park. If you don’t have your own discs, you can rent them at the front office and give it a try. Even if you’re disappointed in your disc golf skills, you’ll be happy with the scenery.
Tennis
Near the pool you’ve find four very nice tennis courts. If you forgot to pack your racket, you can even rent one from the front office! Near the courts were water fountains, a shaded pavilion, and many picnic benches and BBQs. You can warm up for your game by hiking the Cypress Bend trail from the camping area to the tennis courts.
Playgrounds
We saw at least three playgrounds at the park, one near the camping area, one by the cabins, and another near the boat lunch. The equipment was modern and mostly functional. Some of the more complex pieces like an excavator arm could use a little TLC, but the kids had a great time playing on the slides and swings. We had a clear line of sight to the playground from our camp site (because the camping spots between were vacant), so the kids were able to run back and forth to the playground at their leisure.
Welcome Center
Next to the pool is a small welcome center. A peek through the window revealed a few interpretive displays with information on the park and lake habitats. Unfortunately, the welcome center was closed on the Saturday of our visit. There was no sign or hours posted on the door, but considering how lightly used the park was during our visit, it’s possible that it’s only staffed during the busy season.
Staying Connected
The park offers wifi, but connection and speed are not terribly reliable. However, our Verizon cell phones had nearly full signal everywhere in the park, and speeds were good enough to stream our favorite shows at night via our Amazon Fire Stick.
Our Recommendation
Make the trip! We decided to go north on this particular weekend to avoid rainy weather in the southern half of the state, but you shouldn’t wait for weather to drive you north. Lake D’Arbonne State Park is one of the most fun-filled, best maintained state parks that we’ve visited.
Reservations: CLICK HERE
Our track on the All Trails app from our hike on the Cypress Bend Trail at Lake D’Arbonne State Park 
The trails at Lake D’Arbonne we well marked and well maintained 
The trail map at Lake D’Arbonne State park 
Our new slack line is strung between the trees at our camp site at Lake D’Arbonne
