Sam Houston Jones State Park 107 Sutherland Road, Lake Charles, LA 70611

"We got a full hookup site for our RV at a very reasonable rate for a week. The staff at the gate were friendly and helpful. The park is clean and the facilities are new."

"Stopped overnight at this park on our way back to Texas from a trip with our camper to North Carolina around the holidays. It was a Friday night and there were only a few camper spots available. The RV/camper-trailer campgrounf area is very reminiscent of a private RV "resort" or "park" type place, but just with a little more room between the spaces than most private parks. Every improvement in the park - like pavement of roads & pads, the bathrooms, and other structures are brand new. I'm assuming its a rebuild since the really bad hurricane season of a few years ago that really ripped up the southwest area of Louisiana; particularly the Lake Charles area. The RV/camper camp area has very big and spacious pull-through concreted pads with full hook-ups. Thankfully all the pad and road paving are concrete, and not blacktop (as blacktop would be WAY too hot in the summer in LA!). I can't comment on the cleanliness of the restrooms, as I never used or visited them - but again, the structures appeared all brand new. The only disappointing thing about this park is the lack of trees or shade. It was obvious pulling in that this pine & swamp cypress area was stripped & pretty much decimated by those devastating hurricanes, leaving few trees surviving in its wake. Therefore, there's not only zero shade in the campground areas, but even throughout the park, on the trails, and around the pond. There's a few big old pines or cypress trees that were apparently stripped clean, but still standing & survived the hurricanes. They've thankfully been left standing to attempt to reforest the area over time - but that will take a LOT of time. This park apparently used to be known for one of its few last stands of Longleaf Pine trees on the LA coast. They're still there, but it will take many years for them to come back to the glory a Longleaf forest can hold. Overall it was a very clean & well kept park with reasonable rates and friendky attendants, but if coming here to recreate, keep in mind it's still in recovery and won't offer much shade in the summer anywhere. The only problem that irritated me here is that there were a few visitors who let their dogs run loose during our stay, which really peeved me off because we have a dog that can become very defense to hyperactive dogs that run up to her and get into her personal space. People have to understand that just because **your** dog is friendly & social to other dogs doesn't mean that every dog they run up to (while they're loose & out of control) that us on a leash by their owner's side will be friendly back to them if they're quickly running up into their space or on their property/territory!! Please just be courteous about your public park dog handling! Anyway, this park definitely an awesome stop any time of year for RVers who are passing through, as it's very close to I-10 and close to a grocery store, gas stations, and a great shrimp boil (& I guess crawfish during season??) drive-up shack along the way. The Rouse's supermarket you pass by also a full-service market that has a wonderful collection of cajun and creole spices (T-Roy's is my all-time fave), as well as other LA culinary delights, so it's definitely worth the stop to home chefs! The local folks are also very friendly & welcoming. We will definitely be stopping overnight at this park again during out travels. Thank you to the Louisiana State Parks Department for rebuilding it!"

"Beautiful park with a lot of walking trails, picnic area, public relations and playground. Clean and dog friendly. New campground with full hookups and paved leveled RV sides. Good Verizon and T mobile services . Clean bathroom and laundry room. Quiet, good for stargazing."

"Everything here seems new and awesome! Very affordable at $25 per night, full hook-ups. Great walking trails and nice and quiet. They even close the gate at night which makes a person feel safe. Great spot and close enough to town that it's not a hassle to go for lunch."

"We had been down to Westlake for a funeral and was returning home when we decided to go to the Sam Houston Jones State Park. We had initially intended to just drive through and maybe stay about 10 minutes. When we drove up to the park office, they told us that we had a free day pass since we were over 62. Because of the day pass, we ended up staying for about 2 hours. It was really peaceful in the park. They were paving the roads, which made traveling through nice. Everything is updated, and the restrooms are really nice. The cabins are new, and they even have tents set up that can be rented. We decided that we would be back one day and stay longer. Well worth the trip to the park. The only thing I didn't see was an alligator, but that's okay."