Natchitoches, Louisiana Travel Guide: Historic Downtown, Plantations & Cane River
Some travel stops are memorable because of what you planned to see.
Others become memorable because of something you never could have planned.
Our visit to Natchitoches, Louisiana gave us both.
We explored the beautiful historic downtown along the Cane River, visited Oakland and Magnolia Plantations, saw wonderful Louisiana architecture and camped completely alone in Kisatchie National Forest.
Then we came home from sightseeing one afternoon and unexpectedly found ourselves responsible for a lost Great Pyrenees.
Her name was Marley.
And for a few hours, it looked like our family might have just grown from one dog to two.
But first, let’s explore Natchitoches.
Traveling From Texas to Natchitoches, Louisiana
Our travel day took us from Alto, Texas, into Louisiana.
About halfway through the trip, we stopped at an old roadside park to make lunch.
Even that turned into a little history stop.
The park still had some of its original stone grilling areas dating back to the 1930s.
That’s one of the things we love about traveling slowly.
Something that could simply be a place to pull over and make a sandwich can turn out to have its own little piece of history.
Then we continued toward our camping area in Kisatchie National Forest.
Camping in Kisatchie National Forest
We stayed at Custis Camp in Kisatchie National Forest, within the Red Dirt National Wildlife Management Preserve.
Secluded would be a good word for it.
We were the only campers there during our entire stay.
After some of the busier places we’d visited, having the whole camping area to ourselves was quite an experience.
It also gave us a peaceful base for exploring Natchitoches and the surrounding historic sites.
Ed stayed at the trailer with General while I went out sightseeing.
As it turned out, there was a very good reason for him to be there.
But we wouldn’t know that until later.
Exploring Historic Downtown Natchitoches
My first sightseeing stop was historic downtown Natchitoches.
The architecture immediately gave the town a distinctly Louisiana feeling.
I loved seeing the buildings with their New Orleans-style architectural influence.
After spending so much time traveling through the Southwest and Texas, Louisiana felt different.
That’s one of the things I enjoy most about crossing from one region into another.
The landscape changes.
The architecture changes.
The history changes.
Sometimes it feels like you’ve traveled much farther than you actually have.
The Cane River Waterfront
Downtown Natchitoches looks out over the Cane River.
That waterfront setting makes the historic district especially attractive.
During our visit, the Cane River Queen offered riverboat trips, giving visitors another way to experience the area.
Even without taking a riverboat ride, the combination of historic architecture and the river made downtown a wonderful place to explore.
Then I headed out to see some of the area’s deeper history.
Visiting Oakland Plantation
My next stop was Oakland Plantation.
During our visit, Oakland was operated by the National Park Service and admission was free.
The plantation dated to the 1790s and was established by a French Creole family.
What really surprised me was the size of the historic property.
There were more than 50 historic buildings being preserved there.
That made Oakland much more than simply an old house.
The collection of buildings helped show the scale and complexity of the historic plantation site.
Touring the Oakland Plantation Grounds
Unfortunately, my timing wasn’t perfect.
The house itself was only open for tours on Saturdays and Sundays during our visit.
I was there on a Thursday.
So I couldn’t go inside.
I did manage to get a few glimpses of the interior through the windows, and there was still plenty to see around the property.
If touring the interior is important to you, check the current National Park Service schedule before planning your visit. Tour days, hours, admission procedures and building access may have changed since we were there.
Movie History at Oakland Plantation
Oakland had another interesting connection.
It was used during the filming of the 1959 movie The Horse Soldiers, starring John Wayne.
Some members of the family even participated in the filming.
For anyone who enjoys both historic sites and old movies, that adds another layer to the visit.
It’s always fun to discover that somewhere you’re exploring also appeared on screen.
From Oakland, I continued to another historic plantation site.
Visiting Magnolia Plantation
My next stop was Magnolia Plantation.
Like Oakland, the historic site I visited was operated by the National Park Service and was free to enter during our trip.
Magnolia’s history went back even farther.
The plantation dated to the 1750s.
The main house was burned during the Civil War and later rebuilt.
However, during our visit, that house was privately owned and wasn’t part of the National Park Service property I was touring.
Other historic structures were available to visitors, including the overseer’s house and store building.
So Oakland and Magnolia offered somewhat different experiences.
Oakland vs. Magnolia Plantation
If you’re interested in historic Louisiana, I’d visit both rather than treating them as interchangeable stops.
At Oakland, I was struck by the large collection of preserved historic buildings and the plantation’s French Creole history.
Magnolia provided another look at the region’s plantation history through the surviving buildings on the National Park Service property.
Together, the two sites gave me a much broader picture of the Cane River area’s past than I would have gotten from visiting only one.
They also gave me plenty to explore in a single sightseeing day.
Then I headed back to our trailer.
That’s when the entire day changed.
We Came Home to an Unexpected Visitor
When I returned to camp, Ed was outside talking to a man who had pulled in with a dog tied in the back of his truck.
The man had found the dog at his camp farther down the road.
He’d brought her to us because he thought she belonged to us.
She didn’t.
Then he told us that he couldn’t take care of her himself and intended to shoot her if he couldn’t find someone to take her.
Ed and I could hardly believe what we were hearing.
The dog was incredibly friendly.
She clearly just wanted attention.
We talked about it for a few minutes.
There really wasn’t much of a decision to make.
We told him we’d take her.
Suddenly, We Had Two Dogs
The man let her out of his truck and drove away.
And there we were.
General plus one.
I looked her over and started pulling ticks off her.
There were quite a few.
Then we tried giving her a bath.
That didn’t go nearly as smoothly as bath time with General.
Getting her into the trailer wasn’t easy either.
She was hesitant about the steps.
Then General came out.
He basically showed her how it was done.
He was remarkably tolerant of this strange dog who had suddenly appeared at his house and was actually quite helpful.
For the moment, we had no idea who she was or where she’d come from.
Trying to Find Her Owner
Once we had her safely inside, I started calling veterinarians.
Our first priority was checking for a microchip.
We also needed to think about General.
We didn’t know the dog’s vaccination history or health status, so we wanted a veterinarian to examine her as quickly as possible.
The first veterinary office I called answered my questions and told me to bring her right in.
So back into the truck we went.
She Didn’t Have a Microchip
At the veterinary office, they checked her for a microchip.
Nothing.
At that point, it seemed like finding her owner might be difficult.
Then the veterinarian walked into the exam room.
And everything changed.
He knew her.
Her name was Marley.
She was a Great Pyrenees.
The veterinarian knew exactly who she belonged to.
Of all the veterinary offices I could have called, I’d called the one where someone recognized her.
Marley Was Going Home
The veterinarian contacted Marley’s owner and explained what had happened.
He gave Marley a quick examination and removed a few more ticks.
Then we took her back to our trailer.
Her owner was coming to get her.
When Marley’s owner arrived, she explained that Marley had been running away frequently.
We agreed that keeping her on a lead might be a very good idea.
Marley had only been with us for a few hours.
It didn’t matter.
She’d already worked her way into our hearts.
We were surprisingly sad to watch her leave.
One of Those Strange Moments on the Road
We often say that things happen for a reason.
That day certainly felt like one of those times.
Ed could have come sightseeing with me.
Instead, he stayed home with General.
A stranger found Marley.
He happened to bring her to our campsite.
We agreed to take her.
I started calling veterinarians.
And the very first office I contacted told me to bring her in.
There were several veterinarians in town.
I happened to take Marley to the one where the veterinarian recognized her.
However someone chooses to interpret that sequence of events, we were simply grateful Marley made it safely home.
General Was a Pretty Good Big Brother
We also learned something about General that day.
He handled the whole situation remarkably well.
A strange dog suddenly appeared at his campsite.
She needed help figuring out the trailer steps.
She came inside his home.
And General basically seemed to say:
“Okay. This is what we’re doing now.”
He was patient with her.
He showed her how to get inside.
And he accepted her presence far more easily than we might have expected.
We were pretty proud of him.
We Needed a Recovery Day
The following day, we didn’t go sightseeing.
We stayed home.
Between the exploring, the shock of suddenly taking responsibility for a stray dog, removing ticks, trying to bathe her, rushing to the veterinarian, finding her owner and then saying goodbye, we’d had enough excitement.
We needed a day to recover.
Then it was time to continue our journey.
What We Enjoyed Around Natchitoches
Our short stay gave us quite a mixture of experiences:
- Historic downtown Natchitoches
- Louisiana architecture
- The Cane River waterfront
- Oakland Plantation
- Magnolia Plantation
- Historic buildings preserved by the National Park Service
- Movie history connected with The Horse Soldiers
- Secluded camping in Kisatchie National Forest
- And one very unexpected Great Pyrenees named Marley
That’s a lot of memories from one Louisiana stop.
Tips for Visiting Natchitoches and the Cane River Area
Based on our visit, I’d give yourself time for more than downtown.
The historic district and Cane River are certainly worth exploring, but Oakland and Magnolia added a completely different dimension to our trip.
If you want to tour historic building interiors, check schedules ahead of time. I missed the Oakland house tour simply because I visited on the wrong day.
Comfortable walking shoes are a good idea if you plan to explore multiple historic sites.
And if you’re camping in the national forest, be prepared for a much more secluded experience than you’d get at a commercial RV park.
Most importantly, verify current hours, tour schedules, fees, road conditions and camping regulations before your trip. What we experienced reflects our visit and may not match current operations.
Is Natchitoches, Louisiana Worth Visiting?
We thought Natchitoches was a fascinating stop.
The historic downtown gave us that unmistakable Louisiana atmosphere we’d been hoping to see.
The Cane River added a beautiful waterfront setting.
Oakland and Magnolia gave us the opportunity to explore preserved historic sites and learn more about the area’s past.
And our secluded national forest campsite gave us a peaceful place to stay while doing it.
Of course, years later, there’s another part of Natchitoches we’re never going to forget.
Marley.
We certainly didn’t plan on rescuing a lost Great Pyrenees when we woke up that morning.
We didn’t know that Ed staying home would put him in exactly the right place when someone brought her into camp.
And we couldn’t have known that the first veterinarian I called would recognize her.
But that’s travel.
You can research the destinations.
You can plan the route.
You can decide where you’re going to camp and what you’re going to see.
Then something completely unexpected happens.
And sometimes that’s the part of the trip you remember most.
We hope Marley went on to have a wonderful life with her family.
And we’ll see you down the road…and Over the Hills!
Continue the Journey
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