Bienville National Forest

Explore the beautiful Bienville National Forest with your favorite four legged friend by your side. This woofderful forest spans across 178,541 acres of land inclusing five lakes, three Wildlife Management Areas, and a prairie. This place will keep your pupster busy!

If hiking is your pup’s thing, they’ll be happy to know the forest has some puptacular trails. The well known Shockaloe Trail runs 23 miles. It’s mostly flat and is very pupular with equestrians. If you don’t want to travel the entire length, there are forest service roads that allow you to shorten your hike. Another great place to hike is the Marathon Lake area. Here your pooch will find a 1.7 mile trail that circles the lake. Your pupster can enjoy some waterfront scenery as they get some exercise. For a short hike, head over to Shongelo Lake. This is a smaller lake and the trail is only a half mile.

Marathon Lake Recreation Area is the main camping destination of the forest. The campground has 34 sites and each one has water and electric hookups. To keep campers happy, there are also showers available. 

Day users can make use of the grills and picnic spots, so bring a lunch along and enjoy an outdoor meal with your pupster. The scenery and company simply can’t be beat! Even though the Shongelo Lake area doesn’t have a campground, it does have a furrific day use area. You and your furry BFF can have a picnic, fish, or just sit and bask in the sun. Please note that the various areas have different hours and fees.

Wherever you wander in the forest, make sure you have plenty of water for both you and your pup. And don’t forget to pack some clean up bags. Above all else, enjoy spending time with your pup in such a beautiful setting!