Best Tent Camping near Bienville, LA

I tent camped here in April 2023. The staff was friendly and the office was still open at 6pm, when I arrived on a Saturday. I don’t know their normal hours. The weather was nice but it had just rained so my campsite was wet with a little mud. Plus it was a little uneven without much clear space for a tent but my tent fit because it is a 2-person tent. Other sites had wooden platforms but mine didn’t. I took an evening walk on the Discovery Trail and saw two deer. There are several other, longer trails. I didn’t explore the lake. The bathroom/shower house was clean. It was a little ways from I-20 but overall decent park.

This lakeside state park has RV and tent camping, cabins, lodges and YURTS available. There are also day use pavilions available for family reunions, employee barbecues or birthday celebrations. You can also rent a meeting room in the visitors center.

There are lots of recreational opportunities which include hiking, biking, fishing, canoe and kayak rentals, tennis courts and an 18-hole disc golf course. They also have a large hiking trail system. Closed right now but available Memorial Day through Labor Day weekend they also have a really large swimming pool. A tornado hit the park in March 2021 and there’s still some trees down and a brief section of the trail I walked on today that wasn’t accessible but it is an easy detour amazing how much they have restored.

I thought I’d stay here because it said it was free on the app: IT IS NOT FREE. It’s cheap though! $12/night and you can book on the recreation.gov app.

If you want to tent camp or sleep in your car, only book sites 1-5. The others don’t seem to have flat spots for much of anything. Perhaps hammocking would work!

Upon arrival when I noticed the not-flat site I had booked, I easily switched my site via my booking to site 1, which is the best for car sleeping and in my opinion the best site at the campground. It is set off from the others and has a large flat grassy area. If it is busy it may be less desirable as it is right on the parking lot, but I’d still take it. That being said, I didn’t see a single soul while I was there.

Flush toilets, running water, and a spigot to fill up are provided. There is a boat ramp right by site 1. It was quite buggy even in early April, but I managed to keep moving and make a fire so the smoke would help the bugs stay away.

It is easy to find, and there is ATT cell service, 1-2 bars.

I’d definitely stay here again and hope to have time to explore more!

Old campground along pretty lake in a national forest. Clean; the grounds are well maintained. The campground is confusing. Campsites are not marked. Looks like it was initially developed as a tent campground. There are shared vehicle parking pads; sites are not actually next to these - need to walkin a little. RV campers can probably park on the parking pads and walk to nearby picnic tables. Some sites have metal fire rings and lantern poles near picnic tables. Otherwise, it appears that previous campers had open campfires. Hammock camping is possible in a few areas. Clean his/hers vault toilet with tp and hand sanitizer. Water pumps scattered throughout campground; water was turned on duirng my stay. Sites in the middle of the campground are level; others slope down a little toward the lake. Sites are grass surfaces. No tent pads. No RV driveways to individual sites. Quiet, peaceful. No fee. Day Use area with fishing pier nearby. Partial shade; solar charging and Starlink access may be a challenge. Sporadic AT&T and T-Mobile service. Overall, this is a nice campground. I was the only camper during the nights I camped hare. A local resident stopped by to check up on me.