Boom or Bust Byway

Dorcheat Bayou is a calm bayou lined with diverse plant life including some large moss-laden cypress and impressive hanging vines. It’s great for outdoor boating recreation, fishing and canoeing. There are lagoons, oxbows and islands that make navigating the bayou interesting.

The Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Nature Park is the recognized center for outdoor interpretation in northwestern Louisiana. This picture shows the sign entering into the park.

This picture shows the Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Nature Park Welcome Center where visitors can enjoy live animal exhibits, observe a beehive and get maps for the walking trails.

This picture shows one of the many butterfly gardens located in Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Nature Park.

The transmitter tower was built in 1924 at W.K. Henderson's property north of Shreveport, near Dixie, Louisiana. The studio was originally the residence with the transmitter located in a small frame building near the tower. Musicians came out to this remote location for live interviews. The station's transmission power was among the strongest in the United States; its signal could be transmitted to approximately half of the nation. Pictured is the KWKH transmitter building with the trans

The most famous and historic program to go out over the KWKH's airways was the Louisiana Hayride. The Hayride helped launch the careers of such performers as Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Jim Reeves, Faron Young, Johnny Horton, and Elvis Presley. Pictured is a historic photo of the Louisiana Hayride.

A historic photo of the Caddo Lake Drawbridge. The steel bridge was built in 1914 and is the only one of its kind remaining in Louisiana. The bridge lifted to allow oil field machinery and equipment to pass.

This pictures shows the side view of the Caddo Lake Historic drawbridge. The bridge's design allowed one of the spans to lift in a vertical direction to allow tall oil equipment to pass through.

The Caddo Lake drawbridge is a vertical lift single lane bridge carrying Louisiana 538 over Caddo Lake at the small community of Mooringsport, LA. This picture shows the entrance of the single lane bridge.

There are more than 86 species of fish found in Caddo Lake, making this lake a fishing paradise. Pictured is a fisherman catching a large mouth bass surrounded by moss draped cypress trees.

This picture shows two kayaks going through the moss-draped trees and cypress trees that stand in the waters of Caddo Lake.

Fishing is one of the many recreational activities people young and old enjoy on Caddo Lake. Pictured is the 450-foot fishing pier at Earl G. Williamson Park.

Pictured is an interactive exhibit of the removal of the Great Raft logjam.

The Louisiana State Oil and Gas Museum interprets the fascinating drama of Louisiana's early oil industry through photographs, films, and life size dioramas. Pictured here is a glimpse of what is on display at the museum.

The museum showcases Louisiana's early oil and gas industry in the technical aspects of oil field work. Pictured is one of the many pieces of equipment used during the oil boom.

This picture shows the moss-draped cypress trees that stand in the waters of Black Bayou Lake.

The park encompasses about 20 acres of open woods that drop down to the lake. Mature hardwoods along the edge of the park attract several species of woodpeckers. Pictured here is a view of the lake through the trees.

A boater is pictured enjoying the quiet waters of the Black Bayou Lake at Robert Nance Park.

Visitors can take to the water for fishing, kayaking, or just soak up the natural beauty of area picnicking. Pictured is a fisherman fishing as the sun goes down.

The Red River North Caddo Recreational Area activities include fishing, boating, picnicking, and hiking. Pictured is a family canoeing on the Red River.

The Red River River North Caddo Recreation Area attracts traffic from boaters and jet skis. The river offers picturesque views for visitors to rewind and relax. Jet skiers on the Red River are pictured.

Kayak fishing is just one of the many national competitions held on Cypress Black Bayou. Pictured is a fisherman in a kayak.

Kayak fishing is just one of the many national competitions held on Cypress Black Bayou. Pictured is a fisherman in a kayak.

Cypress Black Bayou Recreation is a full service recreation area that includes swimming, camping, cabins for rent, fishing piers, nature center and a zoo. Pictured is a group of motorcyclists enjoying a ride through the park.

Bayou Bodcau Dam and Reservoir is a unique area in northwest Louisiana that provides outdoor enthusiasts a wide variety of recreational experiences. Included in these opportunities are hunting, fishing, boating, hiking, biking and horseback riding, just to name a few. Whether it be camping and picnicking with family and friends, sightseeing or canoeing down a moss laden cypress swamp. Pictured is a kayaker enjoying a day on the bayou.

Durden Hills Nature trail, located near Tom Merrill and South Abutment East Recreation areas, is a 7 mile hiking/biking trail with many loops and switchbacks. Part of the hiking trail is pictured.

Launch a fishing boat, canoe or kayak at Sikes Ferry Landing onto the exquisite Bayou Dorcheat. Pictured is a fishing boat being launched into the bayou.

Most of Bayou Dorcheat is hidden away in forest and swamp land. It's considered to be the most scenic and historic bayou on the Boom or Bust Byway. In the picture, visitors can see the cypress tree knees. Cypress tree knees are a distinctive structure forming above the roots of the cypress tree allowing the tree to breath.

Bayou Dorcheat is lined with diverse plant life including large cypress trees that some say are over 500 years old. Pictured is a kayaker on the bayou next to a large cypress tree.

Sugar Cane National Recreation Trail passes right next to the campground and offers varied terrain for hikers and bikers. The Sugar Cane trail was named for the crop that was once cultivated here, in addition to cotton. Pictured is a view of the lake from the hiking trail.

Beaver Dam Campground is situated on the shores of Upper Caney Lake in the Caney Lakes Recreation Complex. The campground is located in a beautiful setting among woods, lakes and hills. Campsites come with electric and water hookups. The group picnic area accommodates up to 200 guests while each campsite fits up to eight campers. A sanitary dump station, drinking water and flush toilets are provided. A family camping is pictured.

The open waters of Caney Lakes provide a beautiful vista for swimming, boating, water skiing, tubing or jet skiing. The ski beach area is within easy access from the parking area at the boat launch. A boater enjoying the lake is pictured.

Elisa Leon was known as the Countess of Leon led the founding of Germantown. She was the widow of the religious leader Maximilian Ludwig, Count of Leon (1788- 1834), whose ideas were the basis of the settlement. Pictured is the kitchen-dining hall, along with a well. The rustic character gives a sense of the primitive, pioneering side of life in the settlement.

A view of the inside of Countess of Leon's residence which is one of the three original buildings on the site. Pictured is Countess of Leon's bedroom, you can see the reminisce of the original wallpaper on the walls.

Germantown Colony Museum features artifacts from some of the early settlers, agricultural tools.

The Herbert S Ford Museum is located in the former Claiborne Hotel in Homer, Louisiana. The museum's collections and exhibits tell the story of ordinary life in northwestern Louisiana. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Pictured is the outside view of the museum.

The Herbert S Ford Memorial Museum provides a unique setting to preserve and interpret the history, culture, heritage, and art of the North Louisiana hill country. Pictured is an exhibit of an old wooden wagon that was used to haul cotton.

The Claiborne Parish Courthouse is one of four pre-Civil War antebellum courthouses remaining in the state and is the only one, which still functions in its original capacity. It is located on Homer’s Town square. Only two of the original live oak trees remain, for decades men played dominoes and checkers under the shade of the massive oaks. The courthouse is a classic example of Greek Revival architecture. Pictured is the courthouse cloaked in shade from one of the massive oak trees.

An aerial view of the courthouse, although the building appears to be square, it is rectangular, with the north and south sides measuring 63 feet and the east and west sides 53 feet. Twenty massive columns support the eaves. The columns on the north and south sides were placed closer together, creating the illusion of a square.

A side view of the Claiborne Parish Courthouse. The courthouse was the point of departure for Confederate troops during the Civil War.

The Homer Historic District encompasses fifty-six mainly commercial buildings set around a courthouse square. Most structures date from c, 1890 to 1936, except for the courthouse, which was built in 1860. Street view of the historic buildings are pictured.

The present 1860 courthouse resembles a two story Greek Revival peripteral style plantation house. Its molded cupola towers over much of the townscape, nothing else of the original downtown survives, due in part to fires occurring in 1876 and 1889. Pictured is the historic courthouse that was built in 1860.

The parents of the legendary lawman Sheriff Patrick Floyd Jarvis Garrett are buried in the Old Homer Cemetery. Sheriff Garrett is best known for killing “Billy the Kid”. Pictured is the Old Homer Cemetery.

For fishermen, the freshwater lake was lavishly stocked with large-mouth bass, bluegill sunfish, channel catfish, black crappie, striped bass, chain pickerel, bream, and white perch. The lake itself, at full reservoir level, has a surface area of 6,400 acres. Pictured is a view of the lakes calm water.

Lake Claiborne hosts two disc golf courses that offer a range of challenging holes. Open in 2014, it is rated as one of the best disc golf courses in the nation. Pictured is a disc golfer throwing a golf disc into a basket located in the wooded area of the state park.

Visitors can enjoy a day of canoeing or kayaking on Lake Claiborne. Canoes, kayaks and flat bottom boats are available for rental. Two park visitors kayaking along the shoreline of the lake.