LOUISIANA - Accessible Nature

Louisiana has a number of trails with minimal obstacles. Some are very easy and others are wheelchair accessible. Here are just a few of them.
Most of these links were found through Internet search. I would love some recommendations from people who have wheeled or walked these Louisiana trails. With your help, we can share our knowledge with disabled people everywhere and also increase awareness of the need for more accessibility. Please e-mail me with your suggestions using the form in the sidebar.

Federal
State
Local
Private
Miscellaneous

Federal

Kisatchie National Forest
This Ranger District contains over 102,000 acres of forest southwest of Natchitoches. “Visitors to this Ranger District can enjoy panoramic views from the sandstone bluffs of the Longleaf Vista Recreation Area; feel the cool currents, white sandy beaches, and rocky rapids at Kisatchie Bayou Recreation Area; experience a wilderness challenge in the nationally designated Kisatchie Hills Wilderness Area, and so much more. ” Phone 318-472-1840 Brochure. Here is their website. The website also gives contact for each ranger district within the Forest. Some trails are described as easy, but that isn’t enough information for me to include them here.

To learn more about accessibility than is given on their website, here is the contact information for the Forest Supervisor :
Kisatchie National Forest:
2500 Shreveport Highway,
Pineville, Louisiana 71360-2009
Phone: (318) 473-7160 TTY: (318) 473-7254
Sabine National Wildlife Refuge
Eight eight miles south of Hackberry, on State Highway 27 in Cameron Parish, the Sabine Refuge occupies the marshes between Calcasieu and Sabine lakes in southwest Louisiana. It “encompasses 125,790 acres, consisting of 40,403 acres of open water and 85,387 acres of marsh grassland. The Sabine Refuge “provides habitat for many species of wildlife, including ducks, geese, alligators, muskrats, nutria, raptors, wading birds, shorebirds, blue crabs, shrimp, and various fish” in “a number of habitat types from freshwater impoundments to brackish, intermediate & freshwater coastal marshes.” Sabine website.

For information about Sabine and also the Cameron Prairie, Lacassine and Shell Keys National Wildlife refuges, call the Southwest Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge Complex at 337-598-2216.
The Wetland Walkway in the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge is described as ” ….1.5 mile (round trip) fully accessible boardwalk offers walking access into and over saltwater marshes. Viewing scopes, observation decks, five rest shelters along the path and a two-story observation tower offer exceptional views. Excellent site for nature photography with alligators and numerous bird species most often spotted. Restrooms available on site.”

State

Bayou Segnette State Park

“…a multitude of recreational opportunities awaits visitors of all ages ….. as well as an ecosystem that offers you the chance to spot plants, trees and wildlife from both swamps and marshland.”
Here is the Park website. Phone 504-736-7140 Map
Nature Trail 2.8 mile lollipop said by AllTrails to be “good for all skill levels.”
Here is a chart of the facilities available at Louisiana State Parks. There are 11 trails marked as “ADA accessible”.
Fairview Riverside State Park
This park offers picnic tables, a group pavilion, a playground, and comfort stations beneath a canopy of huge oak trees. Fishing and crabbing are popular pastimes. The nature trail will take you by the Tchefuncte River.
Here is the Park website. Phone 985-845-3318 Map
Nature Trail 0.2 mile ADA accessible
Fontainebleau State Park
Fontainebleau State Park is a 2,800-acre park is located on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain. There is a sandy beach and a rail/trail…There are over 400 different species of birds and animals living in and around Fontainebleau. Bordered on three sides by water–Lake Pontchartrain, Bayou Cane and Bayou Castine–and characterized by a convergence of diverse ecosystems, the park has a multitude of habitats for birds.
The Louisiana State Parks Facilities chart shows a visitor center and ADA wheelchair accessible trail(s).
Here is the Park website. Phone 985-624-4443 Map
Nature Trail 1.25 miles interpretive. If only one of these two trails is ADA compliant, I think it is probably this one.
? Hiking Trail 4.8 miles You might want to check with the visitor center to be sure this is an easy trail.
LA State Arboretum State Preservation Area
“The Arboretum is more than 600 acres of natural growth, embellished with additional plantings of species that are indigenous to the state. ….The landscape ranges from nearly flat along the Walker Branch of Lake Chicot to relatively steep slopes along the terrace ridges. …. almost every type of Louisiana vegetation, except coastal marsh and prairie, is represented on the site.”
Picnic grounds and camping facilities are available at nearby Chicot State Park.
Here is the Area website. Phone (888)677-6100 or 337-363-6289 Trail map
The LA Parks facilities chart show that there are ADA wheelchair accessible walking trails in the park.
Lake D’Arbonne State Park
“Piney forests, rolling hills, five fishing piers, and a beautiful lake draw visitors to this quiet, majestic state park. Designed to keep the focus on nature, park facilities blend with the natural landscape to enhance the outdoor experience of this 655-acre park.”
Louisiana State Parks Facilities chart shows ADA walking trails and a visitor center.
Here is the Park website. Phone 318-368-2086 Map
There are 4 trails. Orange Trail is 1 mile, Green Trail is 0.5 mile, Blue Trail is 0.5 mile and the White Trail is 4 miles. The website does not say which, if not all, is ADA compliant. I suspect the others are pretty easy, but check with the visitor center.
Lake Fausse Pointe State Park
Lake Fausse Pointe State Park occupies a 6,000-acre site in the Atchafalaya Basin. The Park, “at the edge of a beautiful water wilderness, is … a perfect point from which to explore the natural and cultural heritage of South Louisiana.”
Here is the Park website. Phone 337-229-4764
Louisiana State Parks Facilities chart shows that the Park has a visitor center and ADA wheelchair accessible trail(s). Trail Descriptions. I do not know which of the following trails are ADA. Call the visitor center for information.
Trail A 0.75 mile nature trail
Trail B 1.6 mile nature trail
Trail C 3.3 mile nature trail
There is also a 7 mile canoe trail.
South Toledo Bend State Park
“Pleasantly located on several small bluffs that extend over and into the Toledo Bend Reservoir, South Toledo Bend State Park offers a scenic, waterfront view from many vantage points.” Visitors to the park can enjoy fishing hiking, cycling, birding, camping and enjoying the many forms of wildlife in the area. The area is a common nesting ground for the bald eagle.
The Louisiana State Parks Facilities chart shows ADA walking trail(s) and a visitor center. Here is the Park website. Phone 337-286-9075 Map
Lakeview Nature Trail 0.5 mile

? Hippie Point Trail 1.5 miles
Tickfaw State Park
“Strolling through four ecosystems on over a mile of boardwalks through Tickfaw State Park, visitors can experience the sights and sounds of a cypress/tupelo swamp, a bottomland hardwood forest, a mixed pine/hardwood forest and the Tickfaw River.”
Here is the Park website. Phone 888-981-2020 or 225-294-5020 Map
The Louisiana State Parks Facilities chart shows ADA wheelchair accessible walking trails at Tickfaw.

Local

Caddo Parish Parks and Recreation
Walter B Jacobs Memorial Nature Park near Blanchard, is a 160 acre preserve in the pine-oak-hickory forest. Admission is free. Call (318) 929-2806 for information. Here is their website.
There are five miles of trails, one of which is wheelchair accessible.

Private

Cypress Island Preserve
“Lake Martin is part of the greater Lake Martin Important Bird Area and is situated within The Nature Conservancy’s Cypress Island Preserve, the largest remaining tract of hardwood forest in the Teche-Vermilion watershed. This preserve protects almost 10,000 acres of wild bottomland hardwood forest habitat and cypress-tupelo swamp. Lake Martin’s nationally significant waterbird rookery serves as a popular spring nesting spot for a variety of herons, egrets, neotropic cormorants, roseate spoonbills, white ibis and anhingas, and some species stay at the lake year-round.” Description from Water Heritage. There is a small boardwalk and visitor center at the south end of Lake Martin.
Visitor Center phone 337-342-2475 Here is the Preserve’s website.
Levee Walking Trail. 2.5 miles is open from fall to spring. It closes during alligator nesting season.
The boardwalk is short but fun, providing a safe and dry close up look at swamp plants and animals.

Wheelchair accessible boardwalk at Cypress Island Preserve, Louisiana

Cypress Swamp from wheelchair accessible boardwalk, Cypress Island Preserve, Louisiana

Miscellaneous

Here is a list of all of Louisiana’s public recreational land. This includes State Parks, forest and wildlife management areas and refuges and also the Federally run National Forest and wildlife areas and refuges. Looking through these, I am not seeing accessibility addressed, but there is contact information for each place so you could call or write to learn more.
The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy lists wheelchair accessible trails in Louisiana.