Lake Bistineau State Park – Who’s Minding The Store? [PHOTOS]

The deterioration of Lake Bistineau State Park is quite surprising to me. If you've been under a rock or maybe you are new to the area, Lake Bistineau is covered in a thick green carpet of Giant Salvinia and the park appears to be slowly falling apart. Is there anything we can do to salvage the glory of this once beautiful retreat?

I think we can all agree that the Giant Salvinia problem at Lake Bistineau is tragic. I do hope that awareness is spreading among boaters as a result of this loss of a great sporting lake. Lord, I really hope boaters take the threat of Giant Salvinia seriously.

As we made our way through the park this weekend I couldn't help but think about the effects the loss of the lake must be having on the park. No lake surely means less traffic at the park. Less traffic probably means less employees. Less employees leads to less maintenance and eventually you end up with a dilapidated state park.

Since I unfortunately don't have the solution to eradicate this miserable invasive plant, the least I can do is raise awareness of some housekeeping issues at Lake Bistineau State Park. Sure the lake is green, but that's no excuse to completely neglect housekeeping!

While the majority of campgrounds across the South are packed full of families enjoying the "dog days" of summer, Lake Bistineau State Park looks like a ghost town. Aside from the camp host spots, there were a few weekend campers present among the vast empty RV pads. I wonder if those few campers will ever return after seeing how messy the camp hosts keep the area surrounding their RV? (See photo above)

You may not be able to fix the salvinia problem, but you can clean up the mess around your RV!

As a camp host, you are a representative of Lake Bistineau State Park and the State of Louisiana park system. You should do everything you can to create a welcoming, clean environment. People should leave your park and say, "It sure is a shame about the lake, but the park is clean, the campsites are nice and shady and we will definitely go back for a quiet relaxing weekend" --make the best of what you have and take a trip to the dumpster with all that junk in your yard!

If you happen to be thinking about a trip to Lake Bistineau State Park there are definitely many redeeming qualities of this park including: super friendly front gate staff, excellent playground equipment, great mountain bicycle trails for all level riders, huge pavilions for your next reunion or birthday party. The campsites are shaded and each site includes a nice wooden deck area.

Unfortunately there are many tree limbs and downed trees around the camping area. Aside from messy camp hosts and downed trees, it is certainly a peaceful, shady campground. There are also nice cabins for rent at Lake Bistineau State Park. The bath houses are air conditioned and clean--but pack your own wasp spray, there were wasps surrounding the entrance.

Lake Bistineau State Park To Do List:

• Clean up around camp host areas
• Pick up limbs in campground area
• Sweep off the roofs (bath house, etc.)
• Take care of the wasps around the bath house (yes, they'll probably be back, but try)

I hope you visit Lake Bistineau State Park. I hope you enjoy the friendly folks that greet you at the entrance, the trail system, the playgrounds and the pavilions. I hope you give this park a chance and that one day Lake Bistineau State Park is restored to its glory!

Check out Lake Bistineau State Park on Facebook or in their blog.