Riding the Wild Azalea Trail

I embraced the first few spring-like days in March with a mountain bike ride on the thirty-one-mile Wild Azalea Trail (“WAT” in forest-service speak), the longest hiking/biking trail in Louisiana, located in the 600,000-acre Kisatchie National Forest. The federally protected forest spans seven Louisiana parishes, though most of the forest is north, west, and southwest of Alexandria.

Louisiana’s only national forest is a world of creeks, old forest communities and cemeteries, bald cypress, old-growth pine, and wildlife. Through the efforts of Louisiana botanist and preservationist Caroline Dormon, Kisatchie became a national forest in 1930.

The mountain-bike trail starts at Woodworth—a town just south of Alexandria off I-49—and ends at Valentine Lake to the north. (It has several other entry points along its length.) Woodworth and neighboring Forest Hill are in Louisiana’s plant-nursery country. There are no neater, cleaner towns in the state. Woodworth looks as though it just completed preparation for a Cleanest City Contest. When I visited, there was no—no—litter anywhere.

Friendly staff at the new town hall provided me with a map and trail information, and I do recommend that you do your research and map work before heading to the trail. The map will show you where to start your hike or ride, and a call to the U.S. Forest Service district office may tell you where you’re likely to see azaleas in bloom and how far along the trail you have to go to see them.

Starting at Woodworth, I took my ride in early March after days of heavy rain, and the trail was rideable. In places, I was riding uphill on a narrow track that had become a swiftly flowing stream, but the trail’s clay pan provides a hard bottom in all conditions.

The U.S. Forest Service had conducted a controlled burn on the northern end below Kincaid Reservoir, west of Alexandria and on the southern end. The day I rode, the forest floor was black with the promise of spring.

“Controlled burns knock back a lot of the dense growth,” said Jonny Fryar, wildlife biologist and natural resource specialist with the U.S. Forest Service.

“Huckleberries need the sunlight that burns provide,” he said. “So do wild azaleas. The burn takes care of sweet gums, immature oaks, and brambles.

“Pine trees benefit from a controlled burn,” he continued. “A long leaf forest, which is what we’re trying to restore, is second only to a rain forest in diversity.”

The wild azaleas that give the trail its name are kin to the rhododendron. You don’t ride or hike through hedgerows of azaleas, though. Wild azaleas aren’t as big or bushy as their domesticated cousins. Growing on the banks of the creeks that cut through the forest, the wild azaleas surprise you with their sudden presence and beauty. “They look like a cross of spider lilies and cultivated azaleas,” Fryar said. “The flowers are pinkish white. Wild azaleas grow at the edge of streams. They like sandy soil.”

Azaleas along the trail’s creeks start to bloom at the end of March and bloom through April. “They may bloom a little earlier on the southern end, but they’re all gone by early May,” Fryar said. “You can smell them, and they’re eye-catching.”

On the trail’s southern end, you ride the narrow trail with vegetation brushing your elbows when suddenly you emerge in a light-filled opening in the forest canopy, the tops of pine trees towering overhead. If you travel the trail’s length to Valentine Lake from Woodworth, the distance is about twenty-six miles; there are an additional five miles if you take the Kincaid loop on the northern end.

Feral hogs in Kisatchie are increasing in number, but don’t pose much threat to people, Fryar said. “We’ve received no complaints on the Wild Azalea Trail. People may see them, but there’ve been no problems.” Wild hogs aren’t likely to attack unless threatened or if a human gets between a mother hog and her young, Fryar said.

After riding four or five miles through sodden, burned forest, I was happy to come across a dirt forest-service road. The trail continued on the other side of the road, but my map said the dirt road led to U.S. 165 and Woodworth. Two miles later, I was back at my truck at the trailhead.

Organized races, trail rides, and hikers bring thousands of visitors to the Wild Azalea Trail. Hikers and bicycle riders (the trail is restricted to mountain biking and hiking) may camp anywhere along the trail but not in recreation areas, Fryar said. There aren’t many sources of healthy water, so pack your own. Estimated time to hike the trail without pack is sixteen hours.

Trayce Snow, 52, knows the Kincaid Lake trail as a runner.

“There are [huckleberries] in abundance,” she said, “and the trail’s fantastic for running. It’s well maintained and challenging. It’s hilly, sandy. There are roots, rocks, and creatures. It’s a nice break from the streets.”

Some advice on getting to the WAT trailhead: The U.S. Forest Service website suggests parking at the Woodworth cemetery. It’s a safe place to leave a vehicle, the assistant chief of police said. I was talking to the police because, while I could find the cemetery parking lot, there was no trailhead in sight. I ran into the assistant chief outside a convenience store where I’d gone looking for directions. “The cemetery’s a good place to park,” the police officer said, “but there’s a parking lot right at the trailhead.” To get to the trailhead, which is about 1.5 miles west of the cemetery, follow the intermittent sidewalk.

Also, Woodworth has been called a speed trap. A bicyclist familiar with the town said to me charitably, “They do post speed limits, and they do enforce those limits.”

Red River Cyclery in Alexandria is a good place to get information on the northern end of the WAT. “For out-of-towners,” said the affable Mike Hopkins, owner of the bicycle shop since 1993, “Woodworth is about the worst place to start. There’s not much flow to the trail. That’s something we hope to change. We usually start at Kincaid Lake to ride the Lakeshore Trail. The best vistas are on the northern end.”

Having ridden only the Woodworth end, I took Hopkins’ word for the northern end’s advantages. The vegetation is close to the trail on the southern end, but I like its twisting and turning and sudden changes in terrain.

You won’t see all of the Wild Azalea Trail and the northern Kincaid loop on one visit. That’s the best thing about the WAT. It insists that you come back.

Details. Details. Details.

fs.usda.gov/kisatchie

History: For the story of Kisatchie and its champion, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Dormon.

North vs. South: People who’ve hiked and cycled the WAT consider the northern end more open, offering lake views and, if you’re lucky, eagle sightings. The Woodworth end follows a narrow track with brush encroaching on the trail; it’s a challenging trail, with hairpin turns, abrupt changes in elevation, and tree roots exposed by erosion. The northern end offers changes in elevation and roots, too.

• You’ll want a map, which you can download at the U.S. Forest Service (http://goo.gl/IJs10q) or Red River Cyclery (rrcbicycles.com) websites. The WAT crosses forest service roads that allow you to hike or cycle in sections with easier return by hard surface road to where you started.

• The hiking trail is a good night in the woods if you’re prepared. Even on a bicycle, allow plenty of time unless you mean to spend the night in the woods. The WAT is clearly marked with yellow badges on trees, but we can all get lost when we put our minds to it.

Beyond the Trails: The WAT is a National Recreation Trail, which means it offers a lot, from picnicking and family recreation at Valentine Lake (take the Gardner Highway [La. 28] from Alexandria) to hiking and mountain-biking trails. The WAT began life as a hiking trail, but it’s been open to mountain bikes for seven years. Camping is permitted along the trails.