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Trail Rating:
Camp Rating: |
This was my third visit to Lucky 4B Ranch in Kisatchie National Forest - 1st in May 2012, 2nd in June 2012 and 3rd in Sept 2012. Owners, Tony and Sam, are nice and don’t hover, if you need something & they aren’t at the campground, Sam is good about answering her cell phone. Mr. Weber is the Cajun Trail Meister so if you can tag-a-long with him, you are sure to have a great trail experience with no worries of getting lost!
Campground:
The campground is rustic, nothing fancy, but clean. Campers have access to the Old West Saloon, outdoor cooking pavilion (featuring stove, oven, microwave, refrigerator, etc), BBQ and pig roasting pits. There are several cabins of various sizes, rooms over the Saloon, lofts and even travel trailers for rent (I have LQ trailer so I did not stay in these so can’t comment on conditions). There are several RV hook-ups with water & electricity ($25) (dump station onsite) and some with sewer ($30) - the sites are decent but are in need of some minor repairs (electrical hookup not solid or not working at all, I fixed the leaking water hose connection myself) but there is enough room between campsites for larger LQ rigs. There is a much appreciated swimming pool (well used in May and June and could have used in Sept. but closed for the season). There are also stalls for your horses (bring your own shavings) for $5. The stall conditions are my biggest complaint – there are several stalls but the first row of stalls are in dire need of major repair (broken boards (another thing I fixed myself during 1st trip bec my gelding is food aggressive), exposed nails, metal tin roof height extremely low, etc); the next few rows of stalls are in better condition but some are only 6x12 and if you ride an average size horse, he will not be able to turn around or even lay down (potential cast) bec of small size; the last row of stalls are new and are in excellent condition so no complaints re them (requested these after 1st visit). There is also a round pen for horse use.
Trails:
The terrain is easy, mostly flat, mild slopes / hills, no gorges / jumps, lots of power line and gravel road trails too. Not necessary for horses to be shod. The trails mostly are wide, well kept & decently marked with landmarks or poi’s. If you are like me and have no sense of direction, use a gps (the one on i-phone stayed connected). Being in the forest, there is plenty of shade, but there is not a lot of water available for horses (which was a problem in June) / creek was dry on all 3 occasions. Other reviews complain about this area allowing dirt bikes sharing the trails with horses which is true on all “multi-use” trails but the dirt bikers we encountered (briefly) were very horse friendly and actually shut their bikes off while we passed (Public land use is dwindling for horseback riders so I’m not going to complain about sharing). A word of caution from MY lesson learned: if riding on multi-use trails, be aware that some of the “watering holes” created on the trails are extremely deep! If you can’t see the bottom, DO NOT let your horse wade off into one to get a drink, you might take a swim!
I enjoyed my 3 visits to 4B Ranch this year. It’s hot in Louisiana from May thru October but June was a scorcher, I wont ride here in June again bec there is no water source for horses. Also Louisiana doesn’t have a whole lot to offer for horseback riding/camping compared to some other states, so I give 4B lots of praise for making this place in the Kisatchie National Forest available for us natives!
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