Kisatchie National Forest

Louisiana's only national forest, Kisatchie spans 604,000 acres across seven parishes in central and northern Louisiana, organized into five distinct ranger districts that together protect the most significant public wildlands in the state. The forest preserves a mosaic of longleaf pine savannas, hardwood bottomlands, cypress-tupelo swamps, and the unique Kisatchie Hills Wilderness, where sandstone mesas, buttes, and outcrops rise above the surrounding flatlands in formations often called "Louisiana's Little Grand Canyon." These sandstone hills support plant communities found nowhere else in the state, including rare ferns, mosses, and wildflowers adapted to the rocky, well-drained soils.\n\nThe longleaf pine ecosystem, maintained through an active prescribed fire program, supports populations of the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, Louisiana pine snake, and gopher tortoise, while the bottomland hardwood areas provide critical habitat for black bears, wild turkeys, and migratory songbirds. The Wild Azalea National Recreation Trail, at 31 miles the longest hiking trail in Louisiana, winds through rolling pine hills and along creeks blooming with wild azaleas in spring. Kisatchie also offers extensive opportunities for hunting, fishing, horseback riding, off-highway vehicle use, and mountain biking, serving as a vital outdoor recreation resource for a state with relatively little public land.