Monday 3-26 Beaver Dam Campground

Camping in a National Forest

This morning we left the casino and traveled 40 miles down the road to Kisatchie National Forest, Caney Lake Recreation area.

I woke up around 7:00, which is early for me. We had breakfast and sat around the Minnie wasting a little time. We didn't have far to go and we didn't want to get there too early. To get to the campground we had to drive through the town of Minden, while going through Minden we saw great signs directing us to the Caney Lake Recreation Area but when we got to the main turn off to the park there were no signs. Larry had read that the signage wasn't good so it wasn't a total surprise. We saw one sign to the recreation area but there are two campgrounds in the area and we thought the entrance to Beaver Dam, where we're going to stay was farther down the road, we were wrong. Larry had to turn the Minnie around on a small two lane road and back track about half a mile to the only entrance to the recreational area. 

We have camped in many National Forest before, sometimes the roads are paved and others are dirt. The road to Caney Lake Recreational Area is paved and very well maintained. Beaver Dam Campground cost $15.00 per night and $9.50 if you have a pass. The sites have power and water, the restrooms have running water and there are shower facilities by the restrooms. The restrooms are old but they are usable. Most of the sites have beautiful views of the lake. There is a hiking trail called Sugar Cane, it is 7.6 miles long. The sites are very roomy and there's a lot of gorgeous trees. This is a terrific campground and offers so much for such a small price. Not often you find a forest service campground with electric hookups and showers.

Camping at Beaver Dam Campground

About half of the sites are reservable, being this is a Monday the campground is almost empty. Once we setup the Minnie we walked around the campground to get familiar with our surroundings. Then Larry barbecued Hatch Green Chili sausages for lunch. They came out excellent.

Hatch Green Chili Sausages

Larry having fun barbecuing

After lunch we went for a short hike, about an hour, 2.5 miles round trip. We walked around the campground and part of the Sugar Cane trail to the trail head. On the way back to our site we walked the main road to the campground that was closed. We found out why it was closed, a big pine tree has fallen across the road. We climbed over the tree and walked around the campground. The sites don't have power so it only cost $10 a night. After walking around the campground we walked to the boat ramp and took the trail back to our campground. The hike was very peaceful. The trail took us through the forest and the terrain was very easy to hike. By the time we got back we were sweaty.

Some of the trees in bloom with white flowers

The hiking trail

Caney Lake

When it was time for dinner Larry barbecued hamburgers. In the evening we walked around the campground for an hour. Then we sat outside for a while. We had a great day enjoying the forest.