TOM MERRILL, COE, Benton, LA

TOM MERRILL

Sunset our first evening

RUN BY: Corp of Engineers

LOCATION: Benton, LA

UTILITIES: Water & Electric (30-50A)

COST: $15

OUR RATING (1-5): I - 4

NOTES: This campground is a lovely small (20 sites) campground nestled among the Loblolly pines of northwestern Louisiana. The biggest problem is that it isn't easy to find and it is even harder to contact. Pamela spent most of a week trying to talk to someone to find out if it was going to be open in mid-January. It is situated on a small river over which the COE has built a large earthen dam but left it open as a "dry reservoir". The dam is right by the campground. If they were to close the dam gates it wouldn't take long to flood the campground. There are three hiking and biking trails. Each is just over 2 miles. They weren't rutted badly so maybe not overused by mountain bikes. Since we were here in January we only saw one other bicycle. Fishing must be really good if the number of fishermen is any indication.

Loblolly pine grove

Environment: Heavily wooded. Loblolly Pines. Elevation is only 160 ft. You are definitely in wetlands or a bayou.

Amenities: There is a bathhouse with showers. Nice playgrounds for children. Game cleaning station. Dump.

Phone Service: Varies from 3G-4G. Overall not very good Verizon.

Location: Take the LA-157 exit (I think it is #33 but don't trust me) off I-10 about 10 miles east of Bossier City, LA. Go north on 157. About 5-6 miles up the road you will see LA-528 enter from your right. Keep going straight but start watching for Bodcau Dam Rd. It isn't easy to see. After you turn onto Bodcau Dam Rd there is a Y in the road a short distance. Bodcau Dam Rd stays to the left. Just past that start watching for the campground sign on the left. If you find yourself crossing the earthen dam you have gone too far. The campground entrance is right before the southeast end of the dam on the south (left) side of the road.

Proximity to shopping: Haughton is the nearest town of any size. It is probably 6-8 miles south of the campground on 157.

A small pond by the campground

Camping Population: We were here in January. The campground host are the only other non-locals, but it isn't an easy place to find.

Sites: Each of the sites has a concrete pad. Ours was level enough that we didn't have to use our levelers. All of the sites are fairly large.

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RATING KEY: category - score

Categories: 

I - established campgrounds where one might spend a vacation or several days

II - boondocking, dry camping where there are no designated sites and no amenities but

one might choose to stay for more than a night.

III - over-night areas

You must remember that we are scoring 1 thru 5 according to things which are important to us: the environment, cost, amenities, location, safety, camping population, site, phone service