Camping In Coyote Campground In The Kisatchie National Forest

Coyote campground is located within the National Red Dirt Wildlife Management Preserve of the Kisatchie National Forest of Louisiana.

It has clean vault toilets, but no other amenities. This is a primitive campground with no trash cans, water or hookups. There are also no picnic tables or fire rings provided. We gathered rocks and built our own ring for roasting marshmallows and making yummy s’mores though.

There is a 14 day stay limit and you can get potable water and dump trash at multiple other campgrounds in the area and the local ranger station.

The ranger station and over half a dozen other paid and free campgrounds are within a 15 mile radius of each other. There is also a spring with the freshest tasting water located on forest road 380 on your way to Bayou Campground.

We had great cell phone service while camping there as well.

This is a small campground suitable for tenters, truck camping, pop-ups and smaller trailers and rigs. There are a couple spots that could fit something up to maybe 30 feet.

We helped a guy back his 25 foot trailer into a spot late one night, but it was tricky and a tight fit. There are other free campgrounds in the area more suitable for those with larger rigs.

There is a lot of tree coverage here so if you rely on solar you will only get a few hours a day in most spots so be prepared to use your generator to offset any power issues you may have.

The Sandstone Multi-Use Trail is able to be accessed right from camp near the restrooms. It’s 36 miles total and free to hike. It does cost horse and ATV riders $5 a day to use. Horses are prohibited in this campground.

Quiet hours are between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.  Place campfires in rings only and please don’t leave them unattended. Make sure every spark is out before going to bed or leaving camp. All pets must be maintained on a six foot fixed leash.

While staying here we met our second full-time traveler who also happened to be traveling in a pop-up.

He was there with us the whole three weeks and we spent a lot of time chatting with him. Only a couple people stayed a night or two while we were there.

A majority of the traffic we saw were people coming to the scenic view located at the camp. Twenty or so years ago the view might have been pretty good, but now the trees have grown and the view is meh at best.

A note on why we stayed a week past the ‘actual’ stay limit.

This was when the Covid-19 pandemic really hit. States, including Louisiana, issued stay at home and shelter in place orders so we were kinda stuck. This was the beginning of our 2 1/2 month stay in Louisiana.

We talked to the rangers in the area and they gave us permission to stay over the 14 day limit since we were full time travelers. We literally weren’t suppose to be traveling anywhere because of the lockdowns.

We ended up moving to a dispersed campsite in the forest, because turkey hunting season started and the camp filled up overnight. The place had more campers in that one day than we had seen in three weeks so we made the decision to officially start our 2 months of socially distancing lol.

This camp is nothing special, but it’s quiet, clean and has bathrooms so what more could you ask for. It’s a nice little spot for the night, a weekend or a week. There are plenty of trails in the area to explore so you can keep yourself entertained for a while. The ranger station is nearby for maps and information.