Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Black Bayou Lake

Visitors Center

The gravel trails and wooden walkways are well maintained and clear with the occasional  horse apple or maclura pomifera.

A visit to Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge will take you just out of the city to a wooded area around the lake, the lake itself and the visitors and education centers.  The Visitors Center is a residence built around 1885 by Lemuel and Ann "Mattie" McLain.  Modifications were made to the house in 1900 and in 1998 it was moved to its current site from 1/4 mile away from its origin. The house was part of the Richland Plantation owned by Mattie's family. The area and town had been known as Crosley, LA.  Lemuel oversaw the farming on Richland Plantation and he and Mattie lived in their "country house" and their house in the city of Monroe.  

Cotton was farmed on this land until 2001.  Since then the forests have been replanted with native hardwoods that would have been in the virgin bottomland near the lake.

The visitors center is run by a friendly and knowledgeable staff and group of volunteers.  The displays are well-done and very informative.  They have information about the hardwood forests, wildlife and plants.  There is a small display of archeological items, tools and potter shards dating 2000 years ago and older.  A display with recorded songs of local bird is done very nicely.  Another audio kiosk has information about different areas and animals.  The gift shop has some wonderful finds: cookbooks, t-shirts, finger puppets, jewelry, laminated guides to birds of Louisiana, fish, snakes, etc...

Next door a historic barn houses displays of live animals: snakes, small alligators, fish and turtles including a glass wall aquarium between the displays and the classroom.  

Gravel pathways and wooden walkways take visitors around through a prairie area, around the lake and out into the lake.  There are several trails and distances to choose from.  A separate parking lot has easy access to a boat dock.  

Information about the refuge can be found here:
http://www.fws.gov/northlouisiana/blackbayoulake/findus.html

More information about Louisiana wetlands:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wetlands_of_Louisiana