Caddo Lake State Park

Caddo Lake takes its name from the Caddo, whose people, by the park's account, have lived here for at least 12,000 years, moving from hunting and gathering in the wetlands to permanent villages, ceremonial centers, trade routes and fields of corn, beans and squash. In the Caddo telling, the lake called Tso'to formed when wind threw water up into the drift along the shore. Geologists point instead to log jams on the Red River that backed floodwater into the Cypress Bayou watershed. Sha'childi'ni, or Timber Hill, was the first and last known Caddo village in this area.

The park itself is Civilian Conservation Corps work. Company 889 built here from June to November 1933, and Company 857 returned from October 1934 to March 1937. The men converted 15 Army barracks and a mess hall into the nine log cabins and group hall that still take guests, and they cut Park Road 2 and the first trails. The Caddo Forest Trail leads to a CCC pavilion.

Plan on water. The lake covers 26,810 acres, and the park office rents canoes for Big Cypress Bayou and Saw Mill Pond, where bald cypress hang with Spanish moss. There are 2.5 miles of forest trails, a fishing pier, a boat ramp and 46 campsites. Alligators live in the park, so keep a distance. The entrance fee is $4 for adults.