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
A roof when the weather makes camping pointless
The national forest states plainly that it has no cabins for rent, so a roof on public land in central Louisiana means a state park cabin or lodge rather than a forest one. The park system caps cabin and lodge stays at 15 consecutive days like its campsites and charges $15 per extra person up to the listed sleeping capacity.
Time the decision around the storm calendar rather than the cold. The hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30 with a September 10 peak, and a wet week in a bottomland campground is a genuinely miserable thing. Parish seats such as Natchitoches, Winnfield, Homer and New Iberia are the practical fallbacks near the public land.
Nobody plans a trip around motels, and almost every long trip uses a few. After a week of wind, when the weather turns, while the truck is in a shop, or when the people you travel with have simply earned a hot shower.
What makes lodging work for overlanders
It comes down to parking and attitude.
01Room to park tall and long vehicles, and trailers without unhitching
02Parking you can see from the room, or that is lit
03Late arrivals and early breakfasts
04A hose, a laundry, and no fuss about dust
05Staff who know the local roads and what is open
Before you book
Call rather than click when you have a big vehicle.
01Ask about parking for your height and length.
02Ask about the access road in wet weather.
03Ask about pets, and about leaving gear on the vehicle.
Questions people ask
Will my rig fit?
Ask before you book. Roof tents, campers and high-roof vans do not fit many parking garages, and trailers need pull-through space. Small-town motels and lodges are usually easier than city hotels.
Is it safe to leave gear on the vehicle?
Use judgment, park where you can see the vehicle or under lights, and bring in what you cannot replace. Ask the front desk where they would park it.
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.
