I grew up with a misconception about Louisiana. I enjoyed hiking but had the impression it could be done only in states with mountains, such as Tennessee and Colorado.
Recently I changed my mind.
I spent the past spring semester in California on the National Student Exchange in a mountainous area where going hiking is like going to watch the Tigers on Saturday night here at LSU.
Since returning, I have been on the search for Louisiana hiking trails.
All you incoming freshmen might be wondering why you need to know about my favorite hobby.
Campus life is great and there are few things more fun than a game in Tiger Stadium, but sometimes a student needs to get away and clear his head. That’s where hiking comes in.
There is nothing like walking around in the peace and quiet of nature without the usual hustle and bustle of a busy campus.
Nina Baxley, a Baton Rouge resident and member of the Louisiana Hiking Club, is the author of the forthcoming book “50 Hikes in Louisiana.”
She said there is a growing tendency among Louisiana residents for nonconsumptive recreation, or making use of the outdoors without taking something from it, such as hiking, backpacking and photography.
“We’re in the early stages,” Baxley said. “I’m seeing efforts in our National Forest and State Parks.”
The following are three areas within short drives of campus with great hiking and, surprisingly, rugged terrain.
Tunica Hills Wildlife Management Area
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries operates Tunica Hills Wildlife Management Area. It is located in West Feliciana Parish about 20 miles northeast of St. Francisville and is approximately a one-hour drive from campus.
The Wildlife and Fisheries Web site describes the 5,225-acre area as “Loess Blufflands,” which are a series of bluffs that follow the east bank of the Mississippi River south of its junction with the Ohio River.
The area is unique to Louisiana because of its hilly terrain and because it serves as a home to plants rare to the state, according to the Web site.
I decided to check out Tunica Hills for myself. Driving toward the WMA on La. Highway 66, I could actually begin to see changes in elevation and foliage.
I went to the South Tract of the two-tract WMA, located off of the Old Tunica Trace, which is an easy turn to miss if you’re not looking closely from Highway 66.
I parked my vehicle and started my hike up the old, dirt road.
On either side of the trace were steep bluffs and fern-covered ravines. It looked the way I had pictured a rain forest — certainly not what I ever expected in Louisiana.
I was short for time, so I was limited to hiking the Nature Trail. This was an interactive trail with Boy Scout-carved signs for tree-naming quizes.
Some serious hikers consider interactive trails to be for the faint of heart, and I initially felt a little silly.
Until about halfway through the trail, the hike was nearly flat. Then there was a turnoff for a loop to continue the interactive part of the trail.
After the turnoff was a warning sign for people who are not in good physical shape.
Mother Nature came through on the Boy Scouts’ warning.
At the end of the trail was a steep walk down to a beautiful, sandy, dry creek bed.
Though the “official” trail ended at the creek bed, I kept walking through the bed. I encourage you to do the same.
It seems strange to see white sand in the middle of the forest, but there was lots of it. It was a mostly shaded walk because of the trees lining the creek bed.
After an easy stroll, the hike back up to the offical trail was strenuous — enough to make me huff and puff, not to mention do some serious sweating.
Because Tunica Hills is a wildlife area, I was really hoping to see some animals. I was disappointed as I walked back to my car because I had seen only three blue and black butterflies, four gray frogs, seven spiders and eight finch-sized birds.
I also had killed three tics that latched onto my legs as I hiked. Be advised: use bug spray and check yourself for those little parasites.
Right before I reached the car, I heard something rustling in the leaves on my left. I quickly turned to see a three-point buck bounding down a gulley.
A few minutes later, I saw a chipmunk darting in and out of a little cubby hole in a dirt-wall along the Old Tunica Trace.
Tommy Gould, a biology freshman, also has hiked in Tunica Hills. He enjoys the atypical, steep terrain the wildlife area offers.
“There are just these hills in the middle of nowhere,” he said. “It’s a kind of getaway — you get out of civilization and the commotion.”
At the end of my trip to Tunica, I met the first fellow hikers I had seen all day. Pat and Natalie Aucoin from Gretna, La. are frequent visitors to Tunica Hills.
They said they like Tunica Hills because it is a great place to relax and get away from the city.
If I hadn’t met the Aucoins along the way, I wouldn’t have known about the next hiking area on the list.
Clark Creek Natural Area
Right over the Mississippi border from Tunica Hills is the Clark Creek Natural Area.
There is no “Welcome to Mississippi” sign on the highway to Clark Creek, so I did not realize I was in another state until I pulled into the area’s gravel parking lot.
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks manages Clark Creek Natural Area.
This place had a $2 admission fee, but what I found inside was worth the price.
Believe it or not, Clark Creek is known for its waterfalls.
Upon paying your entry fee, you can pick up a topographical trail map and five scenic waterfalls.
I went to two of the map’s marked waterfalls, and the trail was steep getting there.
This is an improved trail: it is covered in gravel, and the steepest areas have wooden steps for people who are not able to hike up and down the hills.
I was amazed when I saw the first waterfall. It was nearly 30 feet high and there were boulders in the water-filled creek bed.
I saw about 20 hikers in Clark Creek. It seemed these people valued the waterfalls of Clark Creek more than the solitude of Tunica Hills because they were willing to risk the crowds.
John Lawton, one of the hikers I came across, currently is interim administrator of Lane Memorial Hospital in Zachary.
“I’ve been going to Foxy’s for a break from all the mental work,” he said. “Sometimes it’s good to just get out in a place like this to do some physical work.”
Kisatchie Hills Wilderness Area
This hiking area is a longer drive from campus, but well worth the three-hour trek.
Kisatchie Hills Wilderness Area is located about 20 miles south of Natchitoches off Interstate 49 and is part of the Kisatchie National Forest.
The 8,700-acre wilderness area was designated in 1980, according to the U.S. Forest Service Web site.
I first heard about Kisatchie Hills while searching the Internet for places to hike in Louisiana. What grabbed my attention on several sites was one word: mesa.
Every site I read mentioned these flat-topped “mountains,” but I was skeptical. I had seen them in New Mexico, but I certainly hadn’t seen anything of the sort in the Bayou State.
So I set out in search of Louisiana mesas.
Thinking back to childhood rides down I-49 from north Louisiana to Baton Rouge, I can remember looking off to the West and asking my dad if those were mountains I could see in the distance.
As I drove onto the byway, I could see the road was built on top of a ridge overlooking a valley.
I turned off Longleaf Byway toward the Longleaf Vista Trail. This was another interactive one, but it had some superb views.
The parking area is located at the top of a rocky ridge that has a great view of a pinetree-filled valley.
As I hiked down the improved trail, I was shocked to see enourmous sandstone boulders. I was so excited about these huge rocks that I got off the trail and climbed over them.
I contained my excitement long enough to get back on the trail. I had gone not 20 feet when my heart felt like it jumped inside my chest.
Before me sat what once had been only a myth: a mesa.
No, it was not a mesa of epic proportions, but it was nothing less than four steep, boulder cluttered hills leading up to a 20-foot outcropping of sandstone with a completely flat top.
One side actually had artifical steps built for easier access. The other sides simply were jutting rocks.
Locals tell of a “Little Grand Canyon” located off one of the trails, and the Kisatchie Bayou supposedly has some beautiful white-sand beaches.
Billy McCollister, an junior in anthropology, said he has hiked Kisatchie Hills before, but hoped to make another expedition in search of this fabled canyon.
Take a hike
There is a world of opportunities awaiting freshmen here at LSU. I hope this column has helped open your eyes to the world waiting outside the boundaries of our campus.