Poverty Point Reservoir State Park

Our campsite at Poverty Point Reservoir State Park
The view out the back of our campsite
Campsites at Poverty Point Reservoir State Park
Some of the other campsites
The cabins on the water
Bear Habitat sign
Playground and spashzone

Yesterday I wrote about Poverty Point State Historic Site.  Today I am going to tell you about the place we stayed – close to the State Historic Site, but not connected to it – Poverty Point Reservoir State Park.

Poverty Point Reservoir State Park is on the southern side of a human-made reservoir.  The unusual thing about this reservoir is that it wasn’t built until 2002 and it doesn’t have any source of water – no creek or river running through it.  The water in the reservoir is pumped in using six huge pumps from the two bayous that are closest to the reservoir.  The lake is beautiful and well used with people boating, fishing, swimming and biking along its shores.  Most of the lakefront property is private and there is a very nice golf club on the north side of the reservoir.  The road around the lake had a wide shoulder marked for bicycles, so we rode around the lake every day.

Poverty Point Reservoir State Park has 54 very nice camping sites, spaced for privacy and with vegetation around them.  Most of the sites are full hook-up although there are also sites with water and electric only.  There are a few pull-through sites.  The campground was very quiet when we were there and it was about half full.  There are also cabins built on stilts in the lake and lodges in the woods that you can rent for a week or weekend.

There are hiking trails:  a nature trail, a mound trail, and a trail along Macon Bayou.  There are also signs warning about black bears and alligators.  Of course, as soon as you see a sign like that, you want to see a black bear or alligator (from a safe distance).  We did not see any black bears or alligators but we did see lots of other wildlife, especially waterfowl (more about that tomorrow).

The restrooms and laundry room were spotless, thanks to the work of the excellent camphosts.  The washing machines were half the cost of going to the laundromat, so that made doing the laundry more enjoyable.

The town of Delhi is just a couple of miles south of Poverty Point Reservoir State Park.  There is a good grocery store, Brookshires, and several restaurants in Delhi.  We ate at the soda fountain at Thompson’s Drug Store one day for lunch.  Thompson’s Drug Store is advertised as the oldest in Louisiana, continuously running since 1873.

We enjoyed our time at Poverty Point Reseroir State Park and would recommend it to anyone who wanted a relaxing, quiet place to stay.