4.8 percent of Louisiana. The Forest Service holds 608,478 acres, the Fish and Wildlife Service 593,219 and the BLM 5,383, with no BLM routes recorded in the national layer
Driskill Mountain, the highest point in Louisiana 4
535 ft
In Bienville Parish. Our own query of the USGS elevation surface at the summit reads 534. The lowest point is New Orleans at 8 feet below sea level
The only national forest in Louisiana, across seven parishes and five ranger districts, designated in 1930. The CRS puts all Forest Service land in the state at 608,478 acres
Twelve Forest Service and three Corps of Engineers. Six can be booked ahead and nine are first come only
Acres of state wildlife management areas, refuges and conservation areas 29
1.6M
Held by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, which publishes width, weight, tire and season limits for every vehicle on them
Off-highway vehicle trail on the national forest 12
175 mi
On four designated multiple-use systems: Claiborne, Sandstone, Livingston and Enduro. The same forest carries over 320 miles of hiking trail and over 230 miles of equestrian trail
The 1895 to 2020 average, from about 50 inches in the north to about 70 in the southeast. A typical station records more than 60 thunderstorms a year, second only to Florida
Atchafalaya Basin, Bayou Bodcau, Bonnet Carre Spillway, Caddo, Old River Lock, four Ouachita-Black River pools, Pearl River, Red River Waterway and Wallace
Four-wheel drive for traction, not for altitude
The work in Louisiana is soft ground, ruts and recovery rather than rock. The national forest bans mudding outright and prohibits riding when soil conditions are wet, so the goal of a good setup here is to stay out of trouble and leave no marks rather than to get through anything.
Recovery points, a winch line rated for a soft-ground pull and a way to spread load are worth more than lockers on most Louisiana ground. Ask a shop about tree-saver practice too: the forest requires it for horses and the same thinking applies to a winch anchor in bottomland hardwood.
A 4x4 shop is where parts become a working vehicle. Most sell and install the major brands, and the better ones will talk you out of parts you do not need. For overland use, ask them to think about reliability and weight rather than looks.
Typical work
01Differential gears and lockers
02Armor: bumpers, sliders and skid plates
03Winch and recovery point installation
04Lift, wheels and tires
05Lighting, compressors and wired accessories
How to choose a 4x4 shop
Ask about the unglamorous work.
01Ask what they drive and where. Shops that travel build differently from shops that only show.
02Ask about differential work specifically if you need gears or lockers. Setting up gears is a skill, and a bad setup is loud and short-lived.
03Ask how they wire accessories: fused, relayed, loomed and labeled, or tapped into whatever was nearby.
04Ask about weight. Every part they sell you is weight you carry forever.
What to have ready before you ask for a quote
Start from the problem, not the part.
01Year, model and drivetrain
02Tire size and any lift
03What you want the vehicle to do that it cannot do now
04What is already installed
05A budget range
Questions people ask
Do I need lockers?
For most dirt-road travel, no. Good tires at the right pressure and careful driving go a long way, and many modern 4x4s have capable traction control. A rear locker becomes worth it when you regularly cross terrain where a wheel leaves the ground.
Winch or no winch?
If you travel alone, a winch is the one recovery tool that does not need a second vehicle. It also needs a bumper that can carry it, a battery that can feed it, and practice. If you always travel with others, traction boards and a rope may be enough.
What should I do first?
Tires, then recovery points and basic recovery gear, then whatever your first few trips tell you is missing. Trips are cheaper than parts and much better at showing you what you need.
How high is Louisiana?
From Cameron at 4 feet to Driskill Mountain at 534.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
0
Feet above sea level
Towns
HomerClaiborne Parish seat and the Caney Ranger District office. Caney and Corney lakes and the district’s designated vehicle camping corridors lie south and west.289 ft
MindenWebster Parish seat and the wildlife agency’s field office for Bodcau. The eastern approach to the Caney district and the northern end of the Bodcau country.257 ft
LeesvilleVernon Parish seat beside the 85,000-acre Vernon Unit and the Fort Polk-Vernon wildlife management area. Fuel and tires before the Enduro trailhead road.255 ft
HaughtonBossier Parish town on the Bodcau Dam Road side of the reservoir, with the Corps of Engineers Bayou Bodcau project office. Nearest services to the primitive camping areas.241 ft
ShreveportThe northwest hub where I-20 crosses I-49, with a Red River Waterway visitor center. The last large service town before Bodcau, Caney and the Arkansas line.151 ft
WinnfieldWinn Parish seat and the Winn Ranger District office. The Saline Bayou National Wild and Scenic River and the Gum Springs horse camp are reached from here.130 ft
NatchitochesParish seat on the Cane River and the northern approach to LA 117, the Longleaf Trail byway and the Sandstone trail. Cane River Creole National Historical Park sits south of town.121 ft
PinevilleAcross the Red River from Alexandria and home of the Kisatchie National Forest supervisor’s office on Shreveport Highway. The Catahoula Ranger District begins just north.120 ft
Saint FrancisvilleWest Feliciana Parish seat above the Mississippi on the Great River Road, and the town nearest the Tunica Hills, the steepest country in the southeast of the state.116 ft
MonroeOn the Ouachita River at I-20, with the Corps of Engineers Louisiana Field Office on South Grand Street. Russell Sage wildlife management area sits east of town.77 ft
AlexandriaWhere I-49 meets US 165 and US 71 in the middle of the state. The last full-size service town for the Evangeline Unit, the Claiborne trails and the Catahoula district.77 ft
LafayetteThe state wildlife agency’s Lafayette field office and the practical base for the Atchafalaya Basin, Sherburne and the northern end of the Bayou Teche byway.37 ft
New IberiaOn Bayou Teche in the salt dome country, midway along the Bayou Teche Scenic Byway and the usual overnight stop on that drive.17 ft
SulphurOn I-10 at the top of Louisiana Highway 27, the road south to Sabine National Wildlife Refuge and the western leg of the Creole Nature Trail.15 ft
Lake CharlesSouthwest hub on I-10 where the Creole Nature Trail loop begins and ends. The last place with everything before the marsh parishes.14 ft
CameronParish seat on Louisiana Highway 82 at the Calcasieu Pass ferry, the crossing that closes the coastal loop. Services on this stretch are thin and far apart.4 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Driskill MountainBienville Parish, the highest ground in Louisiana. This is our own reading of the USGS elevation surface at the summit point; the USGS published table gives 535 feet534 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
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