Federal Government (LA)

Kisatchie National Forest

The Kisatchie National Forest is Louisiana's only National Forest. Located in seven parishes in central and northern Louisiana, Kisatchie's five Ranger Districts have a variety of recreational opportunities for everyone to enjoy and explore! Those Ranger Districts are:

Calcasieu Ranger District. With over 183,000 acres divided into two units, Vernon Unit (near Leesville) and Evangeline Unit (near Alexandria/Pineville), the Calcasieu District is filled with beautiful longleaf pines, pitcher plant bogs, serene lakes, and scenic trails.

Caney Ranger District. Near the state line of Arkansas, the 32,000-acre Caney Ranger District is a forest area restored from sugar cane and cotton fields.

Catahoula Ranger District. With its close proximity to Alexandria and Pineville, this 121,500 acre-District is popular with residents of Rapides and Grant Parishes as they explore the piney woods and hardwood bottoms on one of the many trails.

Kisatchie Ranger District. With a little over 102,000 acres of scenic vistas, byways, pine trees and bayous to explore in Natchitoches Parish, the Kisatchie Ranger District is truly unique. With its panoramic views from sandstone bluffs at Longleaf Vista, white sandy beaches and rocky rapids of Kisatchie Bayou, and a nationally designated wilderness area in Kisatchie Hills, visitors will fall in love with the district named after the Kisatchie National Forest.

Winn Ranger District. With over 164,000 acres to explore in Winn, Natchitoches, and Grant Parishes, visitors to the Winn Ranger District can enjoy the recreation serenity of an upland pine ecosystem, the historic past of Gum Springs Recreation Complex, and float along the bottomland hardwood forest of scenic Saline Bayou National Wild and Scenic River.

Overseeing these 5 Ranger Districts is a Forest Supervisor's Office located in Pineville, LA. Called the Alexandria Forestry Center, it is also the headquarters of the Southern Research Station and the USFS little known "State and Private Forestry" branch of the agency, providing consulting services to these entities in Louisiana. This center also houses the dispatch center for this forest, known on the air as "Pineville Dispatch.