Great history and presentation. Very interesting facts. Good tour. Cute gift shop. Very…read moreknowledgeable guide.

Melrose Plantation. Came to visit my wife's family in the rural parts of Louisiana and she…read morerecommended we visit this place because she had never been and always wanted to go. I'm a bit into history now so this would have been a great history lesson for my book I'm writing so great at idea all around. What I was expecting to hear and see was your usual plantation stories of slaves and Masters, but what I got was much more inspirational. A plantation, founded and owned by FREE people of color. Marie CoinCoin (pronounced "Quan-Quan" I believe) was an African slave who ended up having a 19 year relationship (and 10 kids) with Claude Thomas Pierre Métoyer. After being pressured by the local church to end the relationship, he eventually purchased her freedom and CoinCoin began building Melrose, selling tobacco to increase the family fortune. The Métoyer family ended up becoming one of the first families in a community of free people of color. There's a lot more to the history, especially learning about the internationally famed illiterate and self taught Memory artist, Miss Clementine Hunter. The last tour stops at 4:15 and it's $10 for a guided tour or you can roam the gardens and see the outside houses for $5 I believe. The wife ended up finding out she was actually related to the Métoyer family so that was an added bonus to her family tree. Overall, it was definitely worth the visit.

Meghan Schill gave us an excellent, very interesting and historically vibrant tour of the…read moreplantation. Thank you so very much, Meghan! We really enjoyed it!

Free, yes History, yes…read moreNot a lot to see but it's my first plantation to visit. We saw the Magnolia Plantation featured on a favorite show of ours and had to see for ourselves when headed back home to Texas. Simple place yet incredibly interesting. I'm fascinated with history and/or possibly haunted. Anyway wish we could have spent a wee bit more time. Here's our pics from our short and sweet visit. Stop by if you get a chance!!

There's only three national parks in Louisiana, and this is the only one that's outside of Greater…read moreNew Orleans. We had no idea what to expect when we pulled up here, but we're so glad we stopped. The two plantations that composed this park are among the most intact Creole cotton plantations in existence, and the park does an excellent job of telling the story. I recommend that every start at the little pavilion near the parking lot and watch the video; it provides excellent context. The rangers there were ready and eager to answer questions, and the whole experience reminds me that we really do have some amazing historic sites in our country.

The park is beautiful and the houses are amazing, if you like historical structures. A main…read moreplantation house, the overseer's house, and several workers houses make for an enjoyable hour or so of wandering. The tour of the main house is guided only, and the furnishings are not what you would expect, seeing that the family lived in the house until this century. It is still decorated in the sixties style. As with most things in the south that are located outside, stay cool in the summer. We went in December and it was comfortable, I would guess that August would not be as much fun.

Great town. Locals are nice. The best food and shops. Love the river tour or lake. Learned about…read morenew French sauce I don't remember the name. It had cheesy dip with mud bugs in it. Sorry I'm from Texas. All we have is Steak and Whataburger

First time coming here for business, it comes off as an interesting small town. Old downtown is by…read morethe river and it's nicely curated. Dining and hotel options are limited but would be fun to come for a quick getaway.

Cane River Creole National Historical Park made for an interesting COVID-19 quarantine virtual…read moretour. Thanks to OnCell for sponsoring it. The virtual tour currently comprises of a simple, obscure link embedded in the word "app" on the webpage titled "Oakland Cell Phone Tour." The National Park Service (NPS) webmaster or whatever they are called these days needs to make this link more relevant and easier to find as they have done for other parks' main pages: https://www.nps.gov/cari/planyourvisit/oakland-cell-phone-tour.htm So it's a very simplistic "virtual tour." In actuality, it's a cell phone tour with a few photos of the buildings and landmarks that narrators describe as you would if you visited Cane River Creole NHP in the flesh with a map to guide you. Guided tours with an NPS staff member are also available when a pandemic hasn't plagued our great country. Their schedule is a bit lengthy to repost, so I suggest you call or visit their website ahead of time. The park encompasses two former plantations, Oakland and Magnolia, that are spread out near the Cane River in Louisiana. What was left behind pales in comparison to what the plantations must have looked like so long. The Creole people were extraordinarily clever at using their natural habitat to survive. Overall, I enjoyed learning about the history of this beautiful, live oak-lined area... especially "bousillage" (a mix of mud, Spanish moss, and/or animal hair used in architecture), the Pigeonniers, the Bottle Gardens, the Punkah fan, and the Overseer's house. TIPS - the Magnolia main house is still owned by the 7th generation of the LeCompte family and is not part of the park, thus, is off-limits to the public + the Oakland main house is guided tours only

Great time with good people! We took a private trip, and it was absolutely fantastic. The owner was…read moreso friendly, and our guide was fabulous! If you are thinking about going, DO IT!

Arrived after tour time, but was offered a personal tour instead of waiting for next tour time…read more Friendly staff. Great tour

We really enjoyed this tour. It was incredibly educational…read more The guides were very informative and personable. The education timely!

This is one if the three islands located in Hodges Gardens State Park. It is the only island…read moreaccessible by car or foot. The island has a platform where several flagpoles are located surrounded by stone benches with a map on the ground in the center. Even though these structures are falling into disrepair with the map coming up off the ground and a few benches crumbling, it possess a certain charm with it's metal structural supports for the roof structure (above the benches) and breathtaking views. My favorite photo from our trip was taken here among the metal structural supports.

A seriously beautiful place located directly across the street from the Logan mansion. It is just…read moreon the cusp of a quiet, but seemingly developing neighborhood. Worth checking out.

This mansion is one of the most beautiful and historic in Shreveport. I'm glad to that it is being…read morerestored!