The Louisiana arboretum just outside Ville Platte, tucked inside Chicot State Park, offers visitors a walk through some of the state’s most diverse natural landscapes—all in one place. Spanning 600 acres, the Louisiana State Arboretum features more than five miles of trails that wind through a vibrant, natural forest. It’s a place where native plants and animals grow wild, creating an ever-changing outdoor experience.
Interpretive Ranger Kim Hollier, who has worked at the arboretum for more than two decades, says the forest is designed by nature itself. “It’s basically a natural forest… it has a wide variety of native plants in it that people can see,” Hollier explained.
Louisiana arboretum – multiple forest worlds in one walk
One of the most striking features of the Louisiana Arboretum is how quickly the landscape changes. Within just a short walk, visitors can move through several distinct environments. “We have several different forest types here,” Hollier said. “You can walk right behind the building and see the cypress tupelo swamp. A few steps away, you’re in a beech magnolia forest… then a bottomland hardwood forest. We have a really good mix here.”
That diversity comes from the arboretum’s unique location—where prairie, hills, forest, and swamp all converge. Walking the trails brings that contrast to life. One minute you are down at water level walking through a cypress tupelo swamp. And the next minute you are climbing hills through the forest.
Louisiana arboretum preserves old growth trees
Along the trails, there are reminders of a much older forest. Some trees here may be centuries old. “Probably 200, 300 years old,” Hollier said. “A few of them… they’re fairly huge trees.” Some of these old-growth trees may have survived logging simply because they were hard to reach or not useful for timber.
The natural forest also supports a wide variety of wildlife. Deer, otters, coyotes, foxes, squirrels—even flying squirrels—make their home here, along with many species of birds. But spotting them takes patience. “You might have to stop for a little while and wait… kind of blend in,” Hollier said.
teaching through nature
At the arboretum’s Nature Center, native flowers bloom in a range of colors—from large magnolia blossoms to small wildflowers—while hummingbirds buzz around feeders from March through November.
Out on the trails, signs with photos help visitors identify native plants and better understand the environment around them. Visitors John and Mary Cordasco, touring from Colorado, were impressed. “The amount of vegetation and the variety of it is incredible,” John said. “This arboretum is so educational and interesting,” Mary added. “I learned a lot.”
“If you don’t have native trees, you will not have the native wildlife,” Hollier said. A walk through the Louisiana arboretum is more than just a peaceful stroll—it’s a reminder that every plant, tree, and animal plays a role in Louisiana’s natural world.
arboretum and trails featured on tv
getting there
The Louisiana State Arboretum is located at 1300 Sudie Lawton Lane, inside Chicot State Park near Ville Platte, LA. The site is open daily 9am-5pm. To access the arboretum, visitors must enter through Chicot State Park and pay the park’s $3.00 entrance fee.
Leave a Reply