Best Glamping near Alexandria, LA

CAMPGROUND REVIEW:

Located inside the Kisatchie National Forest, Kisatchie District, this campground is great. This section of National Forest is home to over 30 miles of nature trails. The trails are for hiking, biking, horseback riding and off road vehicle riding. This campground is just steps away from the bayou where you can launch a canoe or kayak depending on the water level. Fishing and swimming are great pastimes here. The site has a grassy area and fire pit. There are vault toilets and NO WATER so be prepared for that. The day use area offers picnic tables, fire pits and grills. There are 2 different sites for camping on either side of the day use area. The day use area has a lot of local traffic but we did not encounter a lot of overnight campers. It is very secluded and the sound of the bayou is serene. There are lots of wildlife sounds at night but we didn't see anything more than a squirrel. We loved our stay here. We hiked, biked, and relaxed in the low waters of the bayou.

NOTE - Kisatchie Bayou Recreation Complex Camping/Day Use is the same area as Kisatchie Bayou Campground

PRODUCT REVIEW:

As a Ranger for the Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time - today I tested the INNO Aero Light 2 (2 bike) hitch rack.

www.innoracks.com

This bike rack made our trip so easy. It was easy to set up, easy to install (my 8 yr old did it). The simple hitch design slides right into a standard 2" hitch receiver or can be adjusted to 1 1/4". The screw bolt came with it along with a wrench for tightening on the receiver. We easily secured 2 bikes to the rack. Bike weight needs to be less than 33 lbs., have a top tube and a seat tube. Frame size 1/2" - 2 1/4". We loved this rack for its sturdiness and lightweightedness. It traveled great, we drove with the rack on my SUV for over 300 miles and we never had any problems. A great feature is the easy fold down option to allow access to the back of the car. This rack also features great locking mechanisms. You can lock the rack at the hitch as well as lock the built in strap around the bikes. As our little one grows and his bike gets bigger, we will definitely get a larger INNO rack to carry all the bikes. For now, the 2 bike rack is working great.

Pros: lightweight, easy install, easy fold down feature, great locking mechanisms.

Cons: None

Chicot State Park is wonderful and well maintained. We had a wonderful weekend stay, and the weather was perfect. Take the time to drive around to the East Landing in the evening before sunset. It has one of the prettiest views of Chicot Lake. Also drive down to the South Fishing Pier below the South Campground. It has a long pier that goes out into the lake. My son spent a lot of time at the splash pad. Be sure to visit the free La. State Arboretum onsite. It has a great visitor center with some fantastic exhibits and nice hiking trails. 

Stayed in campsite#84. It has a nice deck with picnic table. BBQ grill and fire pit are on the other side of the RV spot. Even though it is in the front, it is actually quite secluded with woods all around. Nearest neighbor was at least 40-50 ft. Away. My son could easily walk or ride his bike to the splash pad. Both AT&T and Verizon had poor signal(1 bar each). Was able to connect to the free park Wi-Fi. It was slow, but I could send text messages and make the occasional phone call. Wasn't a big deal, because I came here to camp and get unplugged. We camped at Chicot State Park in a Travel Trailer.

This RV campground allows tents (at RV prices). The sites are big with full hookups. There is a nice playground for the kids as well as a nice shower house. The park has lots of picnic areas (34) set up under shade trees. Some sites have tent pads, but not all. They all have picnic tables and fire pits. It is a nice friendly campground with lots of boats and fisherman. You can make reservations or first come first serve. The staff is very friendly and helpful.

The park has a nice free day use boat launch as well as a floating dock with a fish cleaning station. The park is very clean and does not smell fishy. Really nice place, but at $32 a night, it was a little steep for me.

There is a security gate for after hours access. Comfort stations at boat launch and camping area. There is a wash house with washer, dryer and showers (heated and cooled). There are 2 picnic shelters with 6 picnic tables in each.

We went camping in a tent this weekend at the park and really enjoyed it. We stayed at the south landing camping area in loop A. If you plan on camping in a tent I recommend the spots in loop A and most in loop D. B and C are more for RVs but you could still set up there, those two loops are more open and the spots are closer. Loops A and D are a little more spread out and have trees between some spots. The main bathroom was in good shape and had heat. Trash was picked up every morning by the park. Our spot had a fire ring, water , and electricity. The park allows you to use dead tree limbs for firewood. One thing to know about spots on loop A near the comfort station is that there’s a treatment plant in the center that kicks on every once in a while and makes a good bit of noise at night when the motor runs. It helped put me to sleep but it might bother others. Also theres no cell signal except in one or two random spots of the campground but it was nice to unplug for a weekend . We really enjoyed this campground and park though and will definitely be back .