The Bayou State Trail

In hikers’ circles, Louisiana’s diverse and surprising terrain is frequently overlooked in favor of higher profile recreational destinations like the Ouachita National Recreation Trail in Arkansas, or the Lone Star Hiking Trail in East Texas. But people like Eric Heber, who runs the website louisianahikes.com, have long advocated for Louisiana’s hiking trails—which can take adventurers to hilly vistas and swampy lowlands, through piney forests and longleaf savannas. Since the summer of 2020, Heber and digital marketing specialist Brian Chriceol have been collaborating on something big for hiking in Louisiana—something long. 

When Chriceol first reached out to Heber—a real estate agent and avid backpacker from Baton Rouge—he hoped to find a like-minded partner to help him bring his project to life: a long  distance trail for Louisiana. What he discovered was that Heber had already been pursuing the very same vision, at the very same time. 

[Read this story from our March 2021 issue: A Hiker's Guide to Louisiana]

A long distance trail can be loosely defined as a continuous path of at least one hundred miles in length, taking the traveler through a bigger sampling of a region’s geography and culture and providing access to the communities along its path. Currently, the sixty-mile-long Louisiana Trail from Minden to Winnfield is the longest official trail in the state. 

When they first spoke, Heber described his self-directed trail-building project, which connects the forty-mile Kisatchie Loop (made up of Kisatchie’s Sandstone Trail, Backbone Trail, and Caroline Dormon Trails) to its twenty-four-mile Wild Azalea Trail by way of a thirty-four-mile road walk, then continues on to the Camp Claiborne Trails at the southernmost part of the National Forest to form a roughly 150-mile long trail, which he unofficially calls The Kisatchie Trail. 

“After talking to Eric, it became quite obvious that we need something for the entire state,” Chriceol said in one of several Rotary Club presentations he has given over the last two years seeking support for the official creation of an even longer trail, running from New Orleans all the way to Shreveport.  

Chriceol envisions the four hundred-mile Bayou State Trail, as he has christened it, catering to cyclists as well as hikers and capturing the state’s many cultures and terrains along the way.

“The thing about Louisiana is that it’s so geographically and culturally diverse,” said Chriceol. “Most people across the country, when they think about Louisiana, they’re going to think about New Orleans and swamps. A lot of people don’t realize that once you start getting out of South Louisiana, the geography changes quickly [and] you start getting into some hilly areas.”

A long distance trail of this scale should also prove an economic boon to adjacent communities, according to Chriceol. This prediction is supported by data from numerous sources, including the Rails to Trails Conservancy and the National Park Service, whose nonprofit partner American Trails reports that in many places having a trail nearby provides a town with a revenue increase to the tune of millions of dollars annually as a result of tax revenue, licenses and fees, and in-town use of services.

In addition to day hikers who would be able to take advantage of various sections of the Bayou State Trail, the proposed route would also draw more serious backpackers interested in longer trips, particularly those from less temperate climates looking for comfortable hiking during winter months. This class of hiker routinely goes off trail into local towns to replenish supplies, relax in a hotel room, and otherwise engage in revenue-generating activities. 

So how does one go about building such a trail?

Whereas Heber created his decidedly unofficial Kisatchie Trail by simply introducing connections to existing sections of the Kisatchie National Forest, the Bayou State Trail will require an intense effort over the course of several years to become an official trail. What will make it official? That can vary depending on who’s using, sponsoring, or maintaining the land it is on. Wesley Trimble, the American Hiking Society’s Communications and Creative Director, explained that it’s generally up to landowners and caretakers.

“In the basic sense, a trail becomes ‘official’ when it’s recognized and designated as a trail by the corresponding land manager(s),” said Trimble. “In the case of a state-long trail, several land agencies and other organizations are often involved in the process of developing and designating a trail.”

Chriceol envisions creating a Bayou State Trail Association to oversee this process, with regional groups taking the lead on the ground for their area. Though the concept is still in the early stages of advocacy and development, and thus subject to change—Chriceol’s original proposed route utilizes eight existing sections, starting at New Orleans’ Audubon Park on the Mississippi River Trail, moving up through Baton Rouge to the Atchafalaya Levee Trail from Morgan City to Lafayette, then to the Chicot Park Trail in Ville Platte and the Wild Azalea Trail in Kisatchie, moving up to the Caroline Dormon/Backbone Trails, the Gum Springs Trail, and the Louisiana Trail. Chriceol even has hopes to extend the trail as far north as Arkansas by way of an abandoned railroad that once traveled from Little Rock to South Louisiana. Heber has volunteered to assist with the Baton Rouge section, which would need to be developed to serve as a spur trail between the Mississippi River Trail and the Atchafalaya Levee Trail. 

The biggest challenge to the endeavor will be, Chriceol said, acquiring access to suitable land. Creating a new trail ideally involves using sustainable land with sufficient points of interest and easy access and exit. Water sources and campsites or shelters are a must for backpackers. For a trail to serve both hikers and cyclists, there are even more requirements. And, of course, the land should be available and allowed for use as a trail. To that end, in his rotary presentations Chriceol proposes a more complex version of Heber’s trail-building technique—using present resources to serve as connectors between existing parks or trails. Possible connectors include the river levee system; railroads, both abandoned and existing; gravel roads; and for limited stretches, rural highways. He anticipates needing minimal to no private property.

It may take several years and a lot of planning, work, and funding, but when it’s finished, the Bayou State Trail could well be become a centerpiece of Louisiana’s recreational offerings. Stay tuned!