Louisiana State Arboretum

The Louisiana State Arboretum (300 acres) is an arboretum located on Louisiana Highway 3042, approximately eight miles north of Ville Platte, Louisiana, and bordering a branch of Lake Chicot. Established in 1961, it is the oldest state-supported arboretum in the United States.

The Arboretum contains over 150 species of plant life native to Louisiana, on a varied topography suitable for nearly all Louisiana vegetation except those of the prairies and coastal marshes. The Arboretum is a mature Beech-Magnolia forest containing centuries-old giant beech, magnolia, oak, and ash trees, as well as ferns, hickories, maples, sycamores, and crane fly orchids. Wildlife includes white-tail deer, fox, opossum, raccoon, skunk, squirrel, wild turkey, and numerous other bird species.