Big Branch Marsh – Boy Scout Road

One of the most beautiful places in Louisiana.
This little park is one of the most beautiful places in Louisiana, and by extension, on Earth.
The area consists of a rocky parking lot, from which you can walk down a boardwalk to meet up with the main «road» that goes about 2 miles and ends at Bayou Lacombe, I think. The boardwalk is a relatively short stroll through a couple different ecosystems. A pine barren, giving way to a freshwater marsh and a small estuary.
At the end of the boardwalk, you can take a right and continue down Boyscout Road, and let me tell you, the sights are beautiful. In the waters, you will see frogs, plenty of dragonflies, turtles and if you pay attention, you will see splashes of water from the fish eating whatever insects land on the water. It’s fun. The road continues through a couple more different ecosystems. You will see a pine barren give way to a hardwood forest and then back to the marsh again. The road makes a sharp turn to the west at one point where there is a lookout, from which you can see VAST marshlands as far as the eye can see. In the distance, you can make out New Orleans and Metairie. From there, you continue down the road to the bayou. Along the way you will see might Live Oaks with plenty of Spanish Moss hanging from the branches. Lots of massive pines and other oaks as well as sweetgum.
Most of the time, there is NOBODY here, especially in the early morning, so take that time to enjoy what it means to be very alone in the wilderness. Near the entrance, there are residential areas, but the farther you go down the road, the better the sights.
Animals that I’ve personally spotted down the road are armadillos, racoons, deer, great horned owls (video of that encounter), turtles of course, LOTS of wading birds and waterfowl and… be wary of the boar.
Yes, wild boar, and as any outdoorsman will tell you, if you see a boar down that road, you wait for it to get the hell out of the way before you get anywhere near where it was, because they are extremely dangerous, especially if there are piglets around.
Other than that, this place is truly a sight to behold. In fact, one of the most beautiful memories of ANY sight that I have EVER seen was strolling down the road one morning during the fall when the sun was rising, and I came upon a part of the forest that had tall grass and heavily dotted with tall pine trees when the mist started to rise and all I could do was stand there are stare for a while. The mist hung above the grass as a low lying cloud, just above the grass and below the canopy of the trees with the sun shining through. One of the most awesome things I have ever seen… I hope to catch it again this year and THIS time, have my camera with me.
This is a nice hiking spot and it’s even nicer if you have bikes. It’s near the marsh, so you WILL encounter mosquitoes and biting flies, but you already know that. Lol.
They usually do a good job with keeping this place up. I was there the other day and the boardwalk needs a little attention with a weedeater, but that’s nothing. They could also use a few trash bins in the parking lot and have them taken out once in a while. I’m tired of picking up trash that other assholes leave out there and carrying it in my car. =/​I’d sure like it if there was a bin or two out there.
Sometimes you’ll run into kids cutting donuts in the lot. Kids also go drinking out there at night sometimes, as evidenced by the MANY beer and MD2020 bottles you will see. Lol.
Early morning shortly after sunrise is the absolute most BEAUTIFUL time to go here. All year round, too, but I prefer spring or fall. Summer can get a bit hot and there’s far less color in Winter, although winter certainly has it’s sights and feel.

For my birthday I told my partner I wanted to go hiking, and he brought me here.
The parks service has done a good job of putting up infographical displays about the decline of the forest and its causes. The boardwalk is beautiful, and there weren’t many people hiking (on a Saturday afternoon). For long stretches, we were the only people in site.
We walked the boardwalk and a gravel trail for a couple of hours. It was very peaceful and beautiful. It’s a very basic hike, no real challenge, but it’s a great place to go out to if you just want to enjoy a stroll.

«I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived»
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden
I have always felt like Thoreau knew what he was talking about when he wrote that. It’s been some time since I’ve gone to live in the woods, but I do think one can accomplish a lot by taking a walk alone into the wilderness. The boardwalk in this section of the Big Branch Refuge is a great place to take such a walk.
Located in between Slidell and Lacombe, this section of the national refuge is somewhat different than the other two areas. This spot in particular is a half mile boardwalk trail that runs from the pine forest to the swamp. The trail lets you see first hand how the forest has subsided over the years and become swamp. The remnants of dead pine trees that could no longer survive the excessive moisture dot the landscape. As the trail continues, you will end a large expanse of swamp and an incredible view. There is also more trails to hike, but on my most recent visit I was running out of daylight.
This trail is popular, but I have found that more times than not, you will be the only hiker. On my most recent trip I encountered several groups on my hike back, but only one group was irritating enough that I wanted to push them into the swamp. When people are hiking and enjoying nature, hooping and hollering is not enjoyable to others.
My hike though the wilderness was very enjoyable. For the first part of the hike all that could be heard was the wind and the birds. If you need to think, want to take photos, or just enjoy a walk through the woods, check this trail out.