We have always enjoyed walking on a good trail and if that trail also included lots of scenery and/or wildlife, all the better. Even before the pandemic steered us towards more outdoor activities, we were trying out trails in Louisiana, where we spent must of the winter of 2019-2020. The following is a list of some of the best places we found to hike.
The one thing you can almost be assured of finding on a swampy Louisiana trail is an alligator. From tiny to huge, we saw a lot of them while walking in the back country. The gators are in a hibernating state until mid-March, so they were lethargic and easy to spot when they crawled out on logs or banks to get some sun. We took a couple of boat rides into swamps where we could get fairly close to the big gators.
Baby alligators are quite docile, at least ones that have been handled, and we had the opportunity to hold a couple of them.
We were even brave enough to try eating alligator, on a stick, at the Louisiana State Fair. It was a very mild meat, kind of good as a matter of fact.
Lake Martin, in Breaux Bridge, was one of our favorite places to walk.
A well maintained, wide path around the lake was rarely used by anyone and we enjoyed spotting the many birds which lived there. Blue Herons and Egrets were permanent residents and fun to watch as they went about their daily lives.
And there was always one log where the young alligators could be found on a sunny day.
Jean Lafitte National Wildlife Refuge is south of New Orleans and we walked that area twice. The first time we visited we attended a ranger walk. The ranger walks are always interesting and full of details about the area and the creatures that live there; information that we would not normally know about if we walked it on our own. Jean Lafitte is alive with mammals, birds and reptiles and is an easy walk on a well-maintained boardwalk. We found snakes, owls, gators, nutria, lots of little green lizards…all kinds of creatures. Spanish Moss hanging from the trees created such a nice backdrop on our walks.
Grand Isle State Park is a long drive south on winding roads to the Louisiana coast. We spent a week there, enjoying walks on the beach. A very friendly brown pelican was one of the highlights of our stay. We named him Harold and we met Harold when he walked right up to us on our way to the beach one day. He hung around for a day and then left again, hopefully on his way to visit more pelicans.
A big rainstorm moved in one afternoon and left a huge area of water in the campground. A flock of White Ibis landed and spent quite a bit of time ‘fishing’ in the flooded area. 
We found a very different kind of trail in NE Louisiana, at Poverty Point National Heritage site. This area boasts a huge earthen mound and surrounding smaller mound rows, all built by ancient Native Americans. A museum provides information about the history of the land and people who lived there. Walking trails posted with sign boards dot the area. A good view of the very large site is available from the top of the largest mound.
Poverty Point was our last stop in Louisiana and we drove north into Arkansas on March 11, when our lives were still not yet affected by COVID.
Our first trail in Arkansas was at the State Arboretum in El Dorado. We spent quite a bit of time enjoying the spring blooming flowers, trees and bushes in this park right in the middle of civilization.
We decided to stay in Hot Springs, Arkansas, while the country was shutting down due to COVID. We first stayed in the Hot Springs National Park campground for 2 weeks and then moved to a private campground for 2 weeks. Each day that the weather allowed we walked the miles of trails in Hot Springs National Park.
We accessed the trails system from the park campground by crossing a small creek and then walking up a very steep path to connect with the trails. This route only worked when it was not raining, rain would swell the creek and make the creek crossing inaccessible.
The other way to get to the trails was to drive to the town of Hot Springs and then into the park via a steep, curving road to the top of the hill. We ended up using this method every day once the National Park campground closed due to COVID.
We enjoyed watching spring arrive in the park during the month that we were there. At first the undergrowth was all brown, but by the end of our stay everything was green and the wildflowers were putting on a show.
The little creatures that inhabit the woods are always fun to spot.
The states started to open up again by the middle of April, so we began our journey northward. We found an interesting set of trails at Table Rocks State Park located just south of Branson, Missouri. There is an easy trail around a lake and steeper trails in the hills where we found lots of waterfalls over very flat rock ledges. Dogwoods were in full bloom, and the birds, bees and butterflies were enjoying all of the spring flowers.
We hope you have enjoyed viewing some of the great places we found to explore in the spring of 2020.
(View a larger image of each picture by clicking the picture. Use the back arrow to return.)