Caroline Dormon Trail

The Caroline Dormon Trail honors one of the South's most important early conservationists, the Louisiana botanist and naturalist who campaigned tirelessly for the establishment of Kisatchie National Forest in the 1920s. The trail passes near Briarwood, Dormon's former home and native plant garden, which remains a pilgrimage destination for botanists and wildflower enthusiasts from across the country. The surrounding longleaf pine savanna represents the ecosystem Dormon devoted her career to protecting.

The eight-mile loop traverses a diverse mosaic of longleaf pine uplands, hardwood creek bottoms, and open grassy bays that support an extraordinary diversity of native wildflowers. In spring, the trail corridor is alive with color: wild azaleas, native iris, pitcher plants, sundews, and dozens of species of native orchids bloom in sequence across the different habitat types. The trail gains modest elevation across rolling terrain and involves several stream crossings. Primitive campsites are available within the national forest, making an overnight trip a rewarding option. This is widely considered one of the finest botanical hiking trails in the entire South.