Monkey Trail

Nice little trail. It wasn't bad muddy but we have had quite a bit of rain lately.

Nice trail, not too busy, but it is easy to end up walking in circles in some areas. I only hiked the red trail, and it is not very well marked. I ended up walking probably extra mile around the 3 mile marker because of the poor marking.

Nice hike but not marked well at all.

Red Trail could be better marked but overall not a bad hike. It's 11 miles not 10. I missed part of the trail.

The only downside to this trail is the confusing trail markers / lack of trail maps. There are several forks in the trail. The trails, facilities and the park are kept up very well. We followed the red markers and got turned around somewhere along the way when we realized we had already hiked that section. The trails take you through a nice terrain variety. Many of the trails are shaded. There are lots of rooty areas to watch out for. The creek bridges are in great shape. The distant sounds of the chimps and church bells are great!

Overall loved it! As others have said, there are times when it is not clear which way to go. We were trying to follow the red bike trail and did good overall, we got off track once and added about half a mile on a loop. I thought the trail would end at 10 miles but we ended up getting back up on the road to finish because I wasn't sure how much further it would go and we weren't prepared for much more. We will def go back more prepared and find out how long it really is.

This is a great trail! Depending on how you choose to bike or run it; you can get far more than 10 miles. There is a mix of gravel roads, equestrian trails, and challenging single track. There is a sneaky amount of elevation, especially for Louisiana. The local trail group:Get On A Trail-Shreveport; runs there often. Many of their members have detailed information and insight into this trail. Hit them up on Facebook and maybe one of them can show you the ropes. Full disclosure- I’m a member of the group.

My husband, son and I , with our two dogs went hiking there today. Pros - excellent shading, beautiful parts of the forest, able to bring your dogs along. Neat to hear the chimps from chimp haven making their sounds. That it’s a hiking,biking, and horse riding trails. Cons- the markers are not very understanding- there are no boards or bulletins with information or a map of the trails. Came across a family that were biking, and they had their dog that was not on a leash.

What a wonderful trail! And you can hear the chimps at the right time of day once you get close to the sanctuary. However, the trail is confusing and I am not sure many of the reviews help. My best advice is start at the official entrance to the trail at the park building. Starting at some other point in the trail is too confusing. Then stay on the RED mountain bike trail the whole way. If you get lucky, there will have been mountain bikers in it so you can follow their tracks. The most confusing part is the beginning so keep the app map open and tracking you 100% of the time. The signage is better after about three miles. At approximately the 6.5 marker, you’ll come to a gravel road. This will take you back to the park entrance OR you can jump right back off it back on to the red mountain bike trail. If you do that, it’s and 8.5 mile run. I am not sure why the mileage is incorrect in the description of this trail. There are mileage markers all the way to 8.5. Note you’ll likely lose cell service at the farthest (as the crow flies) spots from the entrance. So all of my notes won’t keep you from getting lost but they should help. My suggestion is run with a partner and if you get lost, use that to get more miles in and have fun. Also, run when it’s sunny so you’ll have some sense of direction. The pay off is pretty great.

Did the upper half section with mix of both bike and hike trail sections. Could hear the monkeys howling from their sanctuary across the pond. Muddy and puddles throughout.

Great trail. I pulled my son in the weehoo igo 2 and we had a blast. Can’t wait to go back without the trailer and really get after it.

This one was an adventure. We could hear the monkeys hollering and banging.

awesome Trail

Hiked trail in about 3 hours. Wasn't marked well at all. Loved hearing the chimes and monkeys, I think that was the highlights of the trail. Clocked 9.06 miles.

Started the trail at 9:00 finish at 11:00. The first section is very confusing. Got turned around several times. The trail is marked, however not very well. I’m not sure how many miles I lost in the first section, definitely rode the same section multiple times before realizing I was going in a circle. The AllTrails app shows 6.5 miles. Definitely longer than that. The last mile marker I saw was 7.5, I road for at least another 30 minutes before returning to the starting point. I also took a short cut following the road back. The trail continued through the woods so not sure exactly how long the trail is.

Started at 8am and finished around 11. I clocked in right at 6 miles. It winds through thick woods with plenty of shade. The first 2 miles are very confusing. I constantly referred to the AllTrails map (Be sure to download it. No signal out there). The trail is very poorly marked, with a ton of forks. I pretty much stuck to the red mountain bike markers for the most part. I think there are a lot of bike loops that add to the trail, but if you pay attention to your map, you can bypass them. There’s a great spot overlooking pond to throw up that Eno for a break. It’s part of a Chimpanzee refuge, so you can hear the chimps going nuts in the distance. It’s mainly a mountain biking trail, so be sure to look out for those guys. Overall it’s a great trail considering that there aren’t many in this area.

This trail would be 5 stars if it was clearly marked. Multiple unlabeled forks in the trails and the cell signal is really bad out there. I realized I was lost about 2 miles in, and switched to follow the horseback trail (since THAT is clearly marked) in hopes of finding my way back to the car. It worked, and I ended up with a nice 5 mile hike still. The two cycling/hike trails cross over each other and the horseback trail multiple times, and they aren’t marked in a way that you can tell you are going the right direction for a loop.

Closed Monday, Tuesday, and Holidays. Open from 8-5 wedding-Saturday and 1-5 on Sunday. That would’ve been great to know before driving all the way out here.

Wonderful trail, but the signs can be a bit confusing

I parked at the trailhead and walked under the sign. The trail immediately came to a Y. The arrows with bikes pointed left. I 'assumed' then that hikers should go right. I ended up walking a 3-mile additional loop back to the trailhead. The trail was easy to follow. Sandy and hard clay. It would be muddy if after a recent rain. Water at the park near the trailhead. No water on the trail. No creeks or lakes. So take first left after the sign for a short 3-mile alternative.

I walked the biking trail with my dog Zena. It was tougher than I expected from a hills standpoint. We went about 2 miles out and 2 miles back when I realized the biking trail is 11 miles! Great hike, hear a Pileated Woodpecker but not the monkeys! Will be back to see the Chimps on Nov 18! Thanks

Solid moderate distance, nice and defined changes of scenery, plus church bells and the occasional chorus of monkeys in the distance. how could I NOT rate this 5 stars??

very pretty and pretty clear path. Loved hearing all the chimps while walking. my only complaint is they need more signs along the paths.

Great moderate morning hike!

We really enjoyed this trail. Us being newbies we kept having to refer to the map on here and found ourselves doubling back a lot at first. Then we discovered following the red markers led us to longer than 6.5 miles LOL. it was fun we had a blast, we will be back. Only saw one snake the whole hike.