Reporter’s Note: My two boys, ages 3 and 8, really enjoys our hike this past weekend. This is the second weekend in a row that we tried out a hike recommended to us by a reader. Saturday morning, water bottles and camera in hand, we headed to the Lake Ramsey Preserve northwest of Covington to check out the Horse Branch nature trail. It was more hilly than the swamp walks we have been taking and it was a little more “rough” of a trail, in that it was slightly overgrown and not cleared. And there was recent markings of some animal that had been there not too long before we arrived. This feature is part of a series, and if you have a hike you would like to see us try out, e-mail me at suzanne.lebreton@bellsouth.net. Happy Hiking!

The Horse Branch Trail is located in the Nature Conservancy’s Lake Ramsey Preserve. The full preserve covers approximately 414 acres, but the Horse Branch Trail only goes through a very small portion of it on one edge.

While the preserve itself stretches back to Lake Ramsey, the trail is accessible from a parking area off Horse Branch Road, which is located at the end of Penn Mill Road off U.S. Highway 190 west of Covington High School.

(Use arrows above to view more photos)

The trail makes one loop, the Savanna Loop, with a second trail, the Creek Trail, branching off that loop.  It runs for a portion of Horse Branch Creek, and therefore, after heavy rains, the trail floods in spots.

The trail is open to the public during daylight hours.  However, dogs, firearms and ATV’s are prohibited.

This site was selected by The Nature Conservancy in order to preserve the last remaining pine savanna habitats in the Florida Parishes. These savannas are known for their diversity, including several carnivorous plants, numerous rare plant species and a spectacular variety of orchids.

This site is being cooperatively managed with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, which owns the adjacent 796-acre Lake Ramsey Wildlife Management Area.

The Creek Trail reaches beyond the preserve and into the wildlife management area.