Tom Merrill Recreation Area

Tom Merrill Recreation Area sits downstream of Bayou Bodcau Dam, along the Bodcau Creek. The small quiet campground provides all the facilities of a Class A campground, and is open year-round to visitors. Bodcau is well off the main travel roads, so traffic and other noise issues are of no concern, while downtown Bossier City and Shreveport are only a 30 to 45 minute drive away and have many opportunities for other interests such as museums and restaurants. There are 20 RV and tent campsites, one of them handicap accessible, each with 20/30/50 amp and water hookups, an RV pad, a firepit and grill, a picnic table and a lantern hangar. Some campsites are closer to the forest, while some are more open within the park, and all are within walking distance of the water. Amenities include flush toilets, showers, a playground, outdoor exercise equipment, a dump station, a game cleaning station, a disc golf course, a bike trail and a picnic shelter. A campground host is available for assistance when stationed on site. Bodcau Creek provides fishing and boating opportunities along with the hiking and biking trails; the outlet channel, where Bodcau Reservoir drains into the creek, is an excellent place for fishing. Bayou Bodcau is a large wildlife management area, and is very popular during hunting season for deer and other wild game. Bayou Bodcau is 33,500 acres of public land, much of which consists of moss-laden cypress swamps, along with lowland and upland areas of mixed deciduous or pine forest. It is considered a dry reservoir, and only fills up during periods of high rainfall: the creek can be slow moving and almost stagnant during the dry summer, but a swift and deep torrent during the cooler winter. The area is home to a diverse group of natural areas and hosts some rare and endangered species, and alligators, beaver and more can be found amongst the forest and swamps. Cypress swamps, bottomland forests, Morse Clay calcareous prairies and more can be found within the project boundaries. Some of the largest trees in the state have been found and recorded here at multiple locations. Other nearby attractions include South Abutment East Recreation Area, the Durden House, the rifle range, a horse camp and horse trails, ATV and UTV trails, and 500-acre Ivan Lake, a small but well-maintained lake known for fishing, boating and birding, where bald eagles can be spotted. Bossier City and Shreveport offer museums, a minor league hockey team, a large convention center, Barksdale Air Force Base with its small museum, and the Red River Wildlife Refuge.