Overnighters, Feb, near Gulf Coast (TX to FL)?

Lone Star Hiking Trail

I spend most of my time within a couple hours from NOLA. There are a few nice loops. None of them have challenging terrain – it’s really pretty flat around here. I’ve linked to my trip reports; maps and other links are there.

Lake Chicot is a a little over 19mi and goes around Chicot Lake.

In Kisatchie National Forest it is possible to stitch together the Backbone (aka Kisatchie Hills Wilderness Trail), Caroline Dormon, and part of the Sandstone Trail to make a 28 mile loop.

Tuxachanie & Bigfoot Loop in the De Soto National Forest in Mississippi is 21 miles. There is quite the trail network there so you can put together some other loops. Most of the trails are horse and bike trails.

it is possible, if you’ve got a kayak or canoe, to do some really nice boating in the Atchafalaya basin. I haven’t had a chance to explore this yet but there’s a bunch of primitive campgrounds scattered around that would make for some really interesting trips.

Enjoy!

Michael – thanks for the TX info.  I’ve never heard of the trail – had no idea there was that much hiking so close to Houston.  I’ll have a look at a few sections of the trail.

Richard – excellent trip reports, and your photography is absolutely amazing.  Those kinds of trips are exactly what I’m looking for – thanks.  Flat is fine.  There are plenty of hills in MT – I am looking to see pieces of wilderness, whatever that might be, in the states down south.

I do wonder how you sleep under that tarp if you aren’t fond of snakes.  Aren’t there a lot of them down there?  After looking at your photos, I kind of wish I hadn’t just sold my poncho tarp.

Thanks @susand. My bivy gives me peace of mind from snakes and mosquitos – that and I pretend they don’t strike fear into the core of me. Mosquitoes probably won’t be bad around Jan/Feb but I just killed a couple this week.

I really like the Lake Chicot hike because it gets you into the swamp with the bald cyprus trees. It’s pretty cool.