Seizing the Dream: Lake Louisa State Park

Lake Louisa has been on our short list of campgrounds to visit. It’s only about an hour away from our house, and about a half hour drive from the amusement parks, making it close enough for an easy visit but still far enough away from everything to enjoy the wilderness.

Sunset Storm over Lake Dixie

One thing that I really appreciated about this park is the lack of two things that hikers have learned to deal with on a regular basis – ticks and poison ivy; there were none to to be seen on either on this trip. The only downside was that the campsites were not shaded.

The area around the campsite has two fishing docs – one on Lake Dixie, and another on Hammond Lake. There were others fishing there, but no one seemed to be catching anything. I suspect the fish were in the deeper water to avoid the heat of the day.

There were a few visitors to the campsite; the cardinal (on the left) watched us in the mornings; there were a couple of parrots that likely escaped on of the theme parks as well. We didn’t see any signs of raccoons, which kind of surprised me, but there were vultures nearby and even a tortoise that lives nearby.

There are plenty of hiking trails to visit in the park, and bicycles and canoes can be rented from the ranger station at the front of the park. There is also a beach at the northern end of the park on Lake Louisa, and a butterfly garden next to the ranger station.