LouisianaTravel.com

Gently rolling hills and lush hardwood forests are the most striking features of North Louisiana. In this outdoorsman’s playground, the unique culture and history set it apart from its southern neighbors.

Uncover a blend of Southern flair in destinations such as Shreveport, Bossier City, Ruston, Monroe-West Monroe, Lake Providence, Minden, Columbia and Bastrop.  

The region stretches from the Texas border and Toledo Bend Reservoir in the west to the mighty Mississippi in the east. In between lie peaceful lakes, seven state parks and plenty of opportunities for outdoor activities and exploration. People come here for freshwater fishing, golf, hiking, boating and hunting. But Sportsman’s Paradise offers more than just fresh air and relaxation: It’s also home to two of Louisiana’s larger urban areas, Shreveport-Bossier City and Monroe-West Monroe, university cities that have their share of nightlife and arts, fine dining and shopping.

The French hunters and trappers who roamed these forests and waterways in the 1700s were among the first Europeans to enjoy the bounty of what would come to be known as Sportsman’s Paradise. But North Louisiana was an important center of commerce long before that: The enigmatic earthen mounds at Poverty Point are remnants of a highly civilized Native American culture that flourished between 1600 and 1100 B.C. Centuries later, trade – and the discovery of oil, around the turn of the 20th century – invigorated Shreveport, which today is a bustling, metropolitan area. Its handsome historic downtown, in the midst of an ambitious renovation, has in recent years served as a backdrop for many a Hollywood film.
 
City Life
The cities of Sportsman’s Paradise have no shortage of attractions for visitors. There’s casino gambling and horse racing in Shreveport and Bossier City, antiques shopping along Antique Alley in West Monroe and top-notch college sports events in Ruston, where Louisiana Tech and nearby Grambling State University field some of the state’s most formidable teams. For a fun day of shopping and dining, plan a visit to Louisiana Boardwalk in Bossier City.

Both Shreveport and Monroe are home to nationally known art museums and boast lively gallery scenes. The Biedenharn Museum and Gardens in Monroe are the legacy of Coca-Cola bottler Joe Biedenharn. The grounds include the family home, 10 rooms of which can be toured; the gardens; a new Coca-Cola museum; and a recently expanded Bible museum.

And Shreveport’s downtown and Red River districts have a concentration of restaurants and clubs to suit just about any taste. Not to mention the historic Municipal Auditorium, where Louisiana Hayride, a radio program, was broadcast. The program, which ran from 1948 to 1960, had a profound influence on American roots music and was dubbed “Cradle of the Stars” because of the many musicians who appeared. Among the stars were Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Kitty Wells and, in 1954, a young unknown from Mississippi named Elvis Presley. You can still catch national and up-and-coming acts, from rock to country to Mississippi Delta blues, at a club or theater in Shreveport’s downtown entertainment district.

If you’re more interested in movie stars, get tickets for independent, classic or international screenings at The Robinson Film Center. The recent addition to downtown Shreveport also hosts festivals, has a full-service restaurant and offers classes for aspiring filmmakers.
 
Natural Beauty
In addition to the region’s exciting cities, it’s the outdoors that defines this corner of Louisiana – a natural beauty that draws those seeking solitude in the region’s pine-scented forests, the rush of mountain biking along rugged trails or the thrill of pulling big bass and catfish from North Louisiana’s teeming lakes and streams.

Hunting, birding, biking or just drifting down a lazy stream: whatever outdoor activity suits you, Sportsman’s Paradise can oblige.
A network of seven state parks spotlights the best of what this verdant region has to offer. Beautiful Lake Claiborne State Park, outside Homer, has a sandy beach for swimming, a reservoir teeming with largemouth bass, campsites and some of the state’s best birding. Great fishing is also on tap at nearby Jimmie Davis State Park on Caney Lake, Lake D’Arbonne State Park near Farmerville and Lake Bistineau State Park in Webster Parish southwest of Minden.
 
At Chemin-a-Haut State Park, you can rent a boat and explore the bluffs along Big Slough Lake. Poverty Point Reservoir State Park, near Delhi, lies within the famed Mississippi Flyway, making it a major stopover for migrating birds, including cormorants, ducks and geese. And the state park on horseshoe-shaped Lake Bruin – an oxbow lake near the Mississippi River – has campsites and two fishing piers, where anglers reel in largemouth bass, white perch and bluegill. Hikers can explore the remote trails of the Kisatchie National Forest’s Caney District or keep an eye out for American bald eagles in the bottomland forests of Black Bayou National Wildlife Refuge, just outside Monroe. The 10-mile course at Lincoln Parish Park, near Ruston, is considered one of the top 25 mountain biking trails in the nation. And a canoe trip through the moss-laden cypress swamp on Caddo Lake is an unforgettable and quintessentially Louisiana experience.
 
For a different kind of only-in-Louisiana encounter, spend some time at Gator and Friends Alligator Park and Exotic Zoo in Greenwood. The park’s alligators swim and wrestle in their native habitat, and a petting zoo features llamas, kangaroos and a camel. At Delhi’s High Delta Safari Park, hundreds of exotic animals roam free on 2,000 acres. You can explore by airboat or wagon tours, as well as in your own vehicle.

Agricultural Heritage
For most of its history, North Louisiana’s economy has relied on agriculture – notably cotton cultivation – as well as oil and gas exploration, which brought wealth (and a wave of immigrants) to Shreveport in the early 20th century. To get insight into two very different agricultural experiences, make plans to see the Winter Quarters State Historic Site, an antebellum plantation where a wealthy family ran a 2,000-acre cotton and dairy farm, and take a drive along rural Highway 151 from Calhoun to Arcadia. Chicken houses, pastures filled with cows and horses, and farmhouses line both sides of the road.
 
The scenic byways of North Louisiana amble through thick forests and rolling farmlands, passing through quaint towns that hark back to earlier times. The Louisiana Main Street program is restoring and revitalizing downtowns in several small-to-medium-size cities, including Ruston, Minden, Springhill and Winnsboro. Both Ruston and Minden preserve the past at local museums. The Louisiana Military Museum in Ruston honors more than 150 years of war, and the Germantown Colony Museum recounts Minden’s little-known religious and communal history.
 
In the Northeast, the quiet lumber town of Bastrop has restored the facades of many downtown businesses that flank the domed Morehouse Parish Courthouse, a handsome Beaux Arts building that dates to 1914. And in Columbia, once an important steamship landing on the Ouachita River, the Main Street program has helped rehabilitate 40 historic buildings. The centerpiece is the Schepis Building, a 1916 Italianate structure that now houses a museum.
 
When you visit Sportsman’s Paradise, settle into its languid rhythms, explore its scenic back roads and amiable towns, stretch out under its star-laden night sky or go out on the town.
 
However you experience your stay here, let the quiet allure of North Louisiana envelop you.