Courtesy of Little River Bluffs
The River Chalet at Little River Bluffs
I’ve lived in Folsom, Louisiana for more than thirty years, but until recently never heard of Little River Bluffs. Having spent a recent morning at this nature preserve and retreat, I’m now convinced it’s one of Folsom’s best-kept secrets. Tucked away on thirty acres of all-but-untouched wilderness, Little River Bluffs is a quiet celebration of South Louisiana flora, fauna, and waterways. And the host and hostess who are “keeping it real” love sharing it with others.
Blaine and Loretta DuBose first came to this property along the artesian-fed Little Tchefuncte River as honeymooners in the year 2000. As Blaine explained, “My dad’s in the travel business in Washington state. He actually found it for us. But by the time we got here, Loretta had walking pneumonia. The most she was able to do was take one walk to the river. The rest of the time, she was in bed.”
“Our theme is repurposed sustainability and we like to say our vibe is elevated rustic. What materials we can’t harvest from the property we repurpose from other locations.” —Blaine DuBose
So, he explored the densely-wooded trails alone, reveling in the absence of city noises. “We woke up in the morning and heard nothing but nature talking to us,” he said. “We didn’t see another soul, the whole time we were here. And no matter where we were in our cabin, we had panoramic river views.”
Around them, they heard and sometimes saw turkeys, raccoons, wood ducks, river otters, red and gray foxes, deer, rabbits, squirrels, and opossums with coyote calls in the distance and several species of birds flitting in and out of view. The DuBoses were enchanted.
As Blaine walked through the hand-cleared trails one morning, he came upon deer resting in the underbrush who lazily got to its feet to meander away. He spotted a giant blue heron on the water’s edge and listened to owls calling at night. The couple left with every intention of returning.
Courtesy of Little River Bluffs
The Lodge House at Tom's Point at Little River Bluffs
Then, life got busy. It would be fourteen years before Blaine surprised Loretta and brought her back to Little River Bluffs for their anniversary. “She’d been so sick the first time we were there that she didn’t recognize where we were until we walked into the cabin,” he said. This time Loretta could truly appreciate the unspoiled nature and the blessed isolation of the place.
Toward the end of their visit, they accepted an invitation for a cup of coffee with founder and then owner, David Campbell. “We were just supposed to be there a few minutes. We had dinner reservations and wanted to run check on some acreage we’d just bought in Folsom,” DeBose said. “But when we told David what we planned to do with the property we’d bought, to build cabins to host nutrition and yoga retreats, he mentioned he was meeting with a realtor the next day to list Little River Bluffs for sale.”
The property was never listed. Two months later the DuBoses took ownership, but only after assuring Campbell they’d continue his commitment to low-impact living, keeping the wilderness wild, and sharing it with small groups for yoga retreats, family reunions, nutrition workshops, memorial services, family vacations, and the occasional wedding. “There are families who visit multiple times a year and couples who spend every anniversary here,” Blaine said. “Little River Bluffs is an important part of their family history and we never want to alter the things they love about it.”
The couple set about rehabbing the cabins one at a time and added a couple more, harvesting timber directly from the land, and slowly, intentionally adding to their offerings. “Our theme is repurposed sustainability and we like to say our vibe is elevated rustic,” Blaine said. “What materials we can’t harvest from the property we repurpose from other locations. We also keep events small to reduce the impact on the land.”
Courtesy of Little River Bluffs
The Event Center at Little River Bluffs
Blaine is very hands-on with renovations, doing much of the work himself or with a small, carefully-chosen crew. He loves to point out materials and where he sourced them. “These floors came from a warehouse in Southwest Louisiana. These walls are old fence board from after a tornado in LaPlace. These beams were harvested from right here on the property. And these windows were repurposed twice.”
The property now has five cabins of varying sizes, in addition to a small event/retreat venue. Each structure is tucked off by itself and each offers wilderness views through oversized windows. Outdoor living spaces beckon guests onto screened porches, decks, hammocks, swings, barbeque stations, firepits—not to mention white sand beaches all nestled into unspoiled wilderness. Inside, the rustic aesthetic belies indulgent amenities such as two-person jacuzzi tubs, walk-in showers, pot-belly stoves, washers and dryers, and WiFi. And guests are invited to make use of onsite kayaks, bikes, and boats.
I discovered one of the property’s most exciting surprises at the end of a hike along Three Bridge Trail. There in the middle of the forest, was a swimming pool, manmade sand beach, and eight-person jacuzzi hot tub. Scattered around the pool area and tucked into the woods around it are art installations made by students from Louisiana State University, including a giant metal hand chair that guests can recline on for star gazing. Not far away is a large stocked pond with paddle boats and kayaks.
“Kindness and hospitality are woven into the land itself. You can feel the love poured into every corner, and it stays with you long after you leave.” —Noël Andrus, who hosts weekend retreats at Little River Bluffs
While staying ever vigilant about their impact on the land, the DuBoses recently expanded their event/retreat venue from a maximum of eighteen guests to maximum of thirty. Noël Andrus, LCSW-BACS, a social worker, yoga teacher, and Reiki practitioner hosts weekend retreats there. She describes it to her students like this: “Little River Bluffs is a place of beauty and belonging within the forest and clear water river, a location that gently grounds you, spaces that invite you to simply be, and accommodations so thoughtfully curated that every detail feels like a quiet act of care.”
“The experience (of Little River Bluffs) is truly one of a kind,” Andrus told us. “Kindness and hospitality are woven into the land itself. You can feel the love poured into every corner, and it stays with you long after you leave.”
One way the DuBoses maintain that “kindness and hospitality” is to stay in each of the five cabins, at least once a year. “Until recently, we lived on the property,” Blaine said. “We found it necessary to move closer to our other business, but we’re still only fifteen minutes away, if a guest needs anything. But we like to stay here and reconnect with the place, prepare meals, swim in the pool, use all the amenities, and ask ourselves what else our guests might enjoy and how we can continue making the wilderness experience everything they need it to be.” The couple is also big on little niceties, such as fresh bread and wildflowers waiting upon check-in and therapeutic essential-oil diffusers available in cabins to enhance the experience.
Courtesy of Little River Bluffs
The back porch of the River Chalet
Brayden Giardina grew up knowing Little River Bluffs as a favorite anniversary getaway for his mom and stepdad. When it came time to plan his own wedding, it was the intimate wedding venue he and his fiancée wanted. “We loved the open spaces, the wooded trails, the river setting, and loved how secluded and spaced out the cabins are,” Giardina said. “We spent Friday night, got married on the riverbank Saturday, then Saturday night the entire wedding party and even the wedding vendors spent the night. We’ve been telling everyone about it and know at least one other couple who’s now planning their wedding there.” The Giardinas also look forward to spending their own anniversaries there now and hope to bring the wedding party back with them, when they do.
“We have families who come every year and some several times a year,” Blaine said. “This is their go-to spot to escape the city. Kids grow up coming here with their parents, then come back with their own kids. We’re not doing this to make a bunch of profit. We see it as a service to the community and the families who enjoy it so much. Kids need places like this to connect with nature, explore the river, bait a hook, and see the night sky without all the light pollution of the city. We’ve seen marriages restored and family rifts mended. We’ve had proposals and weddings. Our motto is ‘Find Your Unwind’ and we hope that’s exactly what we’re offering people who need it.”
After he sold the property to the DuBoses, Little River Bluffs founder, David Campbell, stayed on the land in a garden home at the front of the property, where he still works as an author while serving as emeritus innkeeper and preservation consultant. He can often be seen hiking the trails. littleriverbluffs.com.
