Best Tent Camping near Florien, LA

Kisatchie National Forest surrounds Florien, Louisiana with several primitive tent camping options that offer seclusion and natural beauty. Coyote Camp, located in the Kisatchie District, provides free tent-only camping with basic amenities and direct access to the Sandstone Trail system. Red Bluff Camp, about 5 miles down a red dirt road, offers walk-in tent sites approximately a quarter-mile from the parking area. Kisatchie Bayou Campground (temporarily closed) features 17 primitive walk-in tent sites along the bayou with one drive-in site located in the parking lot. Hunters Camp in the Calcasieu Ranger District provides dispersed tent camping with two loops of sites.

Most tent campgrounds in the Kisatchie National Forest feature minimal amenities, requiring campers to bring their own water and supplies. Vault toilets are typically available, but shower facilities are absent. Sites at Coyote Camp include fire rings but limited other infrastructure. Red Bluff Camp has vault toilets near the parking area, but they are quite a walk from the bayou camping areas. A 14-day stay limit applies to most forest service campgrounds. Access roads to these primitive tent sites often involve dirt or gravel surfaces that may become challenging during wet weather. Campers should prepare for insects, particularly during warmer months, with mosquitoes, horseflies, and yellow flies common in these wooded areas.

The backcountry tent camping experience near Florien offers exceptional solitude and natural surroundings. According to reviews, Kisatchie Bayou's clear water creates "a relaxing waterfall sound" with campsites "spread out nicely" along the water. One visitor noted that at Coyote Camp, "we were the only people there" on a Sunday night, with the "wooden area very shady." Wildlife sightings are common, with deer, bobcats, and various bird species frequently observed. The Caroline Dorman Trail runs directly off several campsites, providing excellent hiking opportunities. Winter camping offers fewer insects but still maintains relatively warm temperatures, with campers reporting mid-80s even during winter months. Weekdays typically provide the quietest primitive tent camping experience, with some sites seeing increased traffic on weekends.

Best Tent Sites Near Florien, Louisiana (7)

    1. Kisatchie Bayou NF Campground - Temporarily Closed

    7 Reviews
    Gorum, LA
    22 miles
    Website
    +1 (318) 473-7160

    $2 / night

    "Fee: $2.00 day use $2.00 per vehicle 

    17 primitive walk in tent sites with the sites running along side the beautiful Kisatchie Bayou. There is one drive in that is located in the parking lot. "

    "It’s located on the Caroline Dorman trail. When the water levels are high there are beautiful waterfalls. It’s remote and requires travel down gravel roads to access it."

    2. Red Bluff Camp

    3 Reviews
    Provencal, LA
    19 miles
    Website
    +1 (318) 472-1840

    "But nothing irks me more than reviews of various parks and campgrounds getting docked stars because nature is outside!"

    3. Coyote Camp

    8 Reviews
    Cloutierville, LA
    25 miles
    Website
    +1 (318) 472-1840

    "Large camping spot with fire ring. Clean area. Definitely a gem in the trees."

    "So just be aware when walking on the trails. Lots of deer and bobcats.

    Absolutely no highway noise and the bathrooms are always stocked and cleaned.

    No water or trash pickup."

    4. Hunters Camp - Calcasieu Ranger District

    3 Reviews
    Fort Polk, LA
    37 miles
    Website
    +1 (318) 473-7160

    "The Hunter Camp is situated just off range road. You're surrounded by wilderness. The only amenities are a vault toilet. Fort Polk is close enough for supplies, check your gate schedules."

    5. Dogwood Ridge Camper Park

    Be the first to review!
    Natchitoches, LA
    27 miles
    +1 (318) 352-8619

    7. Valentine Lake South Shore

    1 Review
    Gardner, LA
    48 miles
    Website
    +1 (318) 793-9427

    "There is no power or water a sites but has community water faucets in a few areas... The bathouse is real nice... But the canoeing is wonderful there..."

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Florien, LA

4 Photos of 7 Florien Campgrounds


Tent Camping Reviews near Florien, LA

180 Reviews of 7 Florien Campgrounds


  • NThe Dyrt PRO User
    Dec. 22, 2021

    Kisatchie Bayou NF Campground - Temporarily Closed

    Beauty on the Bayou

    Fee: $2.00 day use $2.00 per vehicle 

    17 primitive walk in tent sites with the sites running along side the beautiful Kisatchie Bayou. There is one drive in that is located in the parking lot.  The bayou looks more like a creek in Arkansas than a Louisiana bayou. Don't think you will find a gator in that bayou. The hardwood and pine forest has lain down a beautiful carpet under your feet with very little noise when you walk. NO WATER. Nice parking area and great hiking. There are a lot of picnic tables and grills close to the parking lots for day use. Pit toilet, grill, picnic table, fire ring, lantern pole.  The area is very beautiful and the peace is amazing especially along side the bayou.  Road in is in very good shape.

    LNT

    BTYFI

    Travel safe

  • NThe Dyrt PRO User
    Nov. 25, 2021

    Willow Oak

    Lazy Days

    Fees:  $4.00 camping per day

                $2.00 per vehicle per day

    Limit:  up to 28 days (select sites)

    Sites:  1 RV and tent walk in sites

    409-625-1940

    No water or electric.  Drinking water, portable toilets, picnic table, trash, fire pit, water views, boat ramp and parking area.  This campground is set on the shores of the Toledo Bend Reservoir close to Hemphill.  The reservoir is 185,000 acres and provides a great outdoor vacation.  The fee is suspended at this time.  The road in is in good shape and travels through the pine forest.

    LNT

    BTYFI

    AIS

    Travel safe

  • NThe Dyrt PRO User
    Nov. 24, 2021

    Valentine Lake Northshore Campground

    Peace & Beauty

    Fee: $10.00 cash or check 

    Sites: 15   6 located right along the lake 

    No electric 

    FCFS 

    Camp host, pit toilet, trash, potable water, picnic table, lantern pole, fire ring Tent campers, small RV's or trailer. Hard pavement pads but they are narrow and crumbling on the edges. Site is well maintained. Beautiful water sites. Valentine Lake is a 46 acre lake surrounded by pine and hard woods. Motorized boats are not allowed. The lake is serene as is the campground. 

    LNT

    AIS 

    BTYFI 

    Travel safe

  • Debbie J.
    Mar. 23, 2021

    COE Sam Rayburn Reservoir Twin Dikes Park

    Beautiful Setting, Average Sites

    There are only 43 sites at this park, but most have no hookups. Only 9 full hookups, which is what I prefer if staying more than a couple days. The FHU sites are really close together and not private at all. Our picnic table and fire ring were at our neighbors sewer connection. The water and electric sites are more spacious and private, but some were a long way from the restrooms. There are many beautiful sites at waterfront, but that is all dry camping.

    The sites are all paved, and all seem pretty sloped, so make sure you have levelers. All picnic tables have shade covers, and most sites have good shade. The grounds are well kept and the park very quiet and tidy. If you like to fish, there are plenty of spots for shore fishing. There is also a boat ramp. The lake is clean and beautiful, also huge.

    There is only one hiking trail, but it is not paved and seemed a bit overgrown so we did not hike it for fear of encountering a snake.

    This is a nice park, but not a “do over” for us because of the lack of space and privacy at the full hookup sites. Also you can hear some road noise at times, which is really a distraction, especially if you are a person who enjoys the peacefulness of a nature setting.

  • A
    Apr. 1, 2021

    COE Sam Rayburn Reservoir Twin Dikes Park

    Beautiful Sunsets

    Beautiful campground. Stayed in last loop camp 36. Was too close to 35. Not much privacy. Wish I would have chose 43, drive down the hill a bit to unload, had its own private beach. The last loop 35-43 is primitive campsites. Still has bathrooms though with flush toilets. Each loop has flush toilets, the first 2 loops has shower houses. Didnt check the water temp. Have my own hot water privacy shower. Dogs must be on leash. Quiet tim 10pm to 6am. Cute couple in matching shirts comes around on golf cart several times a day checking on guest. First 2 loops are for electric amps for RVs. But the primitive loop still has water hook ups as well. There is a dump station. And must Reserve Online only! No cash, cards, checks accepted on site. Boat dock is $5 a day with a credit card machine as soon as you go through gate. The gates do not lock at night. Was there for 2 weeks March 2021. Many fireflies,, which was like a fairytale,, through the forest and down by lake.. cell service was good for Verizon, Sprint, and Tmobile. Kinda slow but worked. Fire rings, and tables at each site. The primitive loop had no tent pads, just set up where you like. I paid $7 because I get half off with my American is Beautiful/interagency pass which is available online for $80 annually. Saves me %50 @ most parks. Price is $14 a night for the primitive loop. And goes up to like $40 depending on amp. They have 3 shelters, which is just a box with windows and electricity for $38 a night in the first loop. All sites are basically on the water, some are too close to one another, some are very private. Gotta look at the park map online. Only 1 walking trail with 2 benches through the walk. Very short, not much to see, kinda muddy. Trail ends at a picnic table by the water. There is a short cut if you follow the path to the boat ramps so you don't have to turn around and walk back out. No wildlife messed with our food out side. No coons. Saw red cardinals, blue Jay's, woodpeckers, white tailed deer, bunnies was about it. There are some fat dark brown squirrels tho. If you come out gates for gas/ice/food make a left. Twice the ice 16lbs for$2 is a mile on your right. As is food and ⛽ and doughnuts 🍩 😋. Being next to a major road and the giant trucks and boats driving through to get down by the dock kinda killed the forest, fireflies, lake, sunset ambiance for me a little. Very windy up on the primitive loop, mind you its a peninsula 30ft above the lake!

  • Trevor H.
    Oct. 25, 2020

    Ebenezer Park

    Decent

    There aren't many sites for basic tent camping here, maybe 10-15 tent sites, and the rest are equestrian. It's a pretty tidy looking campground. There is a park host that is usually hanging around if you need something. We ended up being neighbors with a large group that was using their fire like a bonfire so we let the park host know about it. Probably won't come back unless in off season. But it's good enough

  • Napunani
    Dec. 6, 2020

    COE Sam Rayburn Reservoir Twin Dikes Park

    Weirdly Spaced FHU Sites

    We camped in Loop A during the week of Thanksgiving 2020 by making reservations 134 days prior to arriving. Very friendly volunteer gate attendants, but not sure when they work the gate as we tried to find them twice in one day and no one around and no info on how to contact/find someone, even tho there are four different campsites marked“attendant”. Overall, very quiet campground the week of Thanksgiving except for the highway noise from Highway 255, which was loud! Nine site FHU loop where sites are crammed together, weirdly and poorly laid out and spaced. No vegetation between sites so no privacy here what-so-ever! We could hear everyone’s conversations, even some that were inside their RV! Back-in site 12 was a tricky challenge to get into due to the terrain. First a dip before a narrow entrance over drainage ditch pipe, then a steep grade which almost had us scrapping the asphalt as we saw evidence of many that had previously. The narrow asphalt parking pad is deteriorating on the utility hook up side leaving a 6-8 inch drop off, so not very forgiving! Most asphalt site pads in this loop are in poor condition. Site 12 was not level side-to-side. Site 12 also has two wooden enclosures(wooden fence) that house utility panel boxes. At first, we thought we had our own outhouse! There is a slight view of the lake from Site 12. Recreation.gov states this site is"full shade", which we disagree. Our concrete picnic table on a concrete pad was fairly close to the parking pad. Our site also included a rotting shelter over the table, a rotting wooden bar-height prep table(aka fish cleaning table), a wooden lantern pole and a metal fire pit with a grilling grate that was one big tripping hazard due to the concrete slab the pit was placed on was broken up and huge hunks of concrete displaced around the metal fire pit. What a mess. Toilet/shower facility just for this campground loop fairly clean, but not serviced every day(during the week). Tent sites are along the lake in Loop A. There is a significant drop-off down to the water’s edge. Evidence of tent campsites that had been washed out/destroyed in recent flooding. Not a good stargazing location due to other close by campers with numerous outdoor lights burning all night! Super friendly squirrels that ate from our hands. No other wildlife sighting during our 4 night stay the week of Thanksgiving. Sam Rayburn Lake is beautiful. Park has a boat ramp and a large ramp parking area. No firewood for sale in this park. A bait shop, Valero fuel station, liquor store and a couple restaurants within a 5-minute drive of the Park entrance. Jasper has a Tractor Supply and a small Walmart. Lufkin has most chain restaurants, Lowes, Super Walmart, etc. Two bars AT&T signal

  • Paula W.The Dyrt PRO User
    Sep. 1, 2018

    Valentine Lake Northshore Campground

    Peace and quiet

    Inside the Kisatchie National Forest, Evangeline District lies this peaceful little oasis. Water, flush toilets, seclusion, lake, and fishing. This was an amazing spot to stay for a few nights. The sites are either on the lake or not, no reservations, picnic table, fire ring, lantern pole and shade. The only complaint I have with this campground is that you can not put your tent on the grass. Make sure you have padding.

  • Cheri H.
    Aug. 31, 2020

    Kisatchie Bayou NF Campground - Temporarily Closed

    Nice tent-only campground

    This is a US Forest Service campground. It’s located on the Caroline Dorman trail. When the water levels are high there are beautiful waterfalls. It’s remote and requires travel down gravel roads to access it. I didn’t have a cell signal there with AT&T and didn’t have one for some time prior to arrival at the campground. It’s a great location especially if you are backpacking the Caroline Dorman Trail. It’s not too far from the Backbone and Longleaf Vista trails either. A pretty peaceful place for those who appreciate a “no frills” camping experience. These are clearly defined, walk-in, first come, first serve campsites. No bathhouse, vault toilets. You park in a designated parking area then walk in to the campsite.


Guide to Florien

Primitive camping opportunities dot the landscape surrounding Florien, Louisiana, within the Kisatchie National Forest. The forest encompasses nearly 604,000 acres across central and northern Louisiana, with elevations ranging from 80 to 400 feet. Summer temperatures typically reach 90-95°F with high humidity, while winter nights can drop to the 30s.

What to do

Hiking trails access: At Coyote Camp, visitors gain direct entry to the sandstone trail system with "direct access to the overlook and the sandstone trail," according to Fabein D. The network includes miles of marked paths for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding.

Bayou swimming: The clear waters at Kisatchie Bayou NF Campground create natural swimming holes during warmer months. Alex F. notes, "Camp next to this beautiful sounding creek, there is a beach to lay out on while the kids play in the water or you can hit the Caroline dorman trail on foot or horseback."

Night sky viewing: The remote location of many Kisatchie Forest camping areas provides excellent stargazing opportunities. Conrad V. mentions that at Hunters Camp, "You're surrounded by wilderness" with minimal light pollution, while Coyote Camp offers "great dark sky opportunities" according to another camper.

What campers like

Isolation factor: Weekday camping at Red Bluff Camp often means complete solitude. Rocky F. describes their experience at Coyote Camp: "We were the only people there, it was a Sunday and we were disperse tent camping. Once it got dark, a few vehicles passed thru but did not stop."

Creek sounds: Many campers appreciate the natural white noise from the bayou waters. Cheri H. describes Kisatchie Bayou as having "beautiful waterfalls" when water levels are high, creating a peaceful soundscape throughout the camping area.

Wildlife viewing: The forest supports diverse wildlife populations. One visitor to Hunters Camp mentions seeing "lots of deer and bobcats" during winter stays. Danny H. notes the abundance of insects: "Because of its location so deep in the woods mosquitoes, horseflies, and yellow flies were in abundance. Using a therma cell was perfect at keeping them at bay."

What you should know

Access road conditions: Many primitive campsites require traveling on unpaved roads. N I. explains that Red Bluff is "about 5 miles off of the main road, down a red dirt road," while Melissa S. notes about Coyote Camp: "Our GPS put us on a dirt road for a few miles - however it was well maintained and not too rutted."

Cell service limitations: Connectivity varies significantly throughout the forest. At Enduro Complex, most carriers have no service, while Rod F. reports that Coyote Camp surprisingly offers "Two to three bars of Verizon 4g, fast service."

Insect preparedness: Bug activity increases dramatically in warmer months. Paula W. warns about Enduro Trail: "The trails are very well marked. Beautiful area, just don't forget sunscreen, water, bug and tick repellant."

Tips for camping with families

Water play opportunities: Valentine Lake South Shore offers child-friendly water activities. Keith R. shares, "Great water front sites at $10 a night is not bad!!! The canoeing is wonderful there... Very peaceful & quiet during the week but gets a little noisy on the weekends & holidays."

Space for outdoor activities: Several campgrounds feature open areas where children can play. Christy P. recommends Red Bluff Camp: "It is very remote and secluded, which we loved. We surrounded our fire pit with leaves and pine needles to help dry the area and we were good to go."

Weather preparation: Despite being in Louisiana, temperatures can fluctuate seasonally. One camper notes of Coyote Camp: "Not as many bugs but it's still warm and temps reached the mid 80's" even during winter months, so families should pack accordingly for unexpected conditions.

Tips from RVers

Site accessibility: Most primitive camping areas have limited space for larger vehicles. David S. reports about Coyote Camp: "We found at least three sites that could accommodate our 26' class C." However, most sites are more suitable for smaller rigs or tent camping.

Dump station locations: Few primitive campgrounds offer waste disposal. Hunters Camp is one exception, providing a sanitary dump station, though with no other hookups or amenities.

Parking logistics: Many sites require parking in designated areas and walking to camping spots. Cheri H. describes Kisatchie Bayou: "You park in a designated parking area then walk in to the campsite," which can complicate setup for RVers with extensive gear.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Florien, LA?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Florien, LA is Kisatchie Bayou NF Campground - Temporarily Closed with a 4.6-star rating from 7 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Florien, LA?

TheDyrt.com has all 7 tent camping locations near Florien, LA, with real photos and reviews from campers.