Campground Review: Fullerton Recreation Area Pitkin, LA

After celebrating my birthday (and three days of not running out of gas!) at my daughter's I left Dallas-Ft. Worth and drove to Shreveport, LA and from there south to the Fullerton Recreation Area near Pitkin, LA. 

The complex is located 7 miles north of Pitkin.

The town of Fullerton existed from 1907 to 1927 and was set up by the Gulf Lumber Company to house it's lumberjacks, mill workers and their families.  The population varied from 2500 to 5000.  The town boasted a movie theater, a dance pavilion, a hospital, a post office and was quite modern by early 1900 standards.  The recreation complex is built on and around where the town and saw mill used to stand and is part of the Kisatchie National Forrest administered by rangers of the US Forestry Service.

The largest sawmill west of the Mississippi!

Here's the campground data:

Hookups:                                 no

Fire ring:                                  yes

Water Access:                         yes

Dump station:                          no

WiFi:                                       no

Level sites:                              yes

Laundry:                                  no

Store:                                       no

Pool:                                        no

Shade:                                     yes

Verizon reception:                   ½ bar out of 4

Millenicom reception:             ½ bar out of 4

Cost:                                        $5 / night

Camping at one of the complex's nine campsites is boondocking although there is a bathroom with vault toilets and there is one faucet with running water.  

Campsite under the pines with picnic table and fire ring.

Fullerton Lake itself is fairly small as inland lakes go, probably not more than a few acres but the locals seemed to believe there are fish for the taking as they daily came to try their luck.

Boat ramp at Fullerton Lake - no gas engines permitted.

The Forestry Service has constructed hiking trails through the overgrown ruins of the mill and it's service buildings.

This used to be the kiln building where the lumber was dried.

You can take the long way or the short way.

Your Blogger took the long trail.

The foundation for the "log slide" that slid the logs off a train into the lake still stands in the lake.

They put the logs in the water to clean mud off them prior to milling.

 

At $5 a night the camping at Fullerton Rec Complex is a bargain!  I'd definitely return although maybe with a cell signal booster to facilitate internet access.

Thanks for reading!