Boom or Bust Byway

This 40-acre park provides a public boat ramp, a 450-foot fishing pier, paved parking areas, restrooms with showers, RV camper hook-ups, areas for tent camping, extensive picnic facilities, two playgrounds, volleyball nets, a lighted ball field, lighted tennis courts and a swimming area.

A beach for water sports plus nature trails, camping & birding in a wooded park on a lake.

Located in aptly-named Oil City, the Louisiana State Oil and Gas Museum interprets the fascinating drama of Louisiana’s early oil industry history though photographs, films and life-size dioramas. This part of Louisiana, of course, was built on the oil and gas industry and visitors interested in the technical aspects of oil field work will find the museum particularly appealing.

Cypress Zoo is located on seven acres inside Cypress Black Bayou Recreation Park encompassed by oak, pine, and sweet gum trees. Built in 1998, Cypress Zoo has provided visitors with a superb learning environment while heightening their understanding and respect for the animals and the surrounding area.

Located a short drive north of Minden off Interstate 20, the Germantown Colony Museum tells the story of a small group of settlers led by the Count and Countess von Leon. The von Leons made their way into the isolated wilderness of north Louisiana to establish a pure Christian community, their own "kingdom of heaven." The poor Count did not make it all the way, dying of yellow fever along the Red River, but his wife continued on and managed to establish a remarkable settlement that endured for the next 40 years. Members of the original families still live nearby, and the site includes several original buildings and the community cemetery.

Stately courthouse, located on Homer's town square, was completed in 1861. Of the four antebellum courthouses remaining in the state, it is the only one which still functions in its original capacity.

The mission of the Ford Museum is to provide a unique setting to preserve and interpret the history, culture, heritage and art of the North Louisiana Hill Country.

In 1914, as modes of transportation progressed, the Historic Caddo Lake Drawbridge at Mooringsport was built to replace the ferry. The Midland Bridge Company of Kansas City, Missouri built the bridge under authority of the Caddo Parish Police Jury. This vehicular bridge illustrates the unique "Vertical-Lift" design of Mr. John Alexander Low Waddell of the illustrious firm of Waddell and Harrington Bridges. This design allowed the entire center span to lift in a vertical direction to allow tall oil equipment to pass through, especially Gulf Oil Company's pile driver. This design was invented in 1893 and was successfully introduced in Chicago with the South Halsted Street Bridge. The Caddo Lake Drawbridge is a direct descendent of this structure.

LA 2 between Sarepta and Shongaloo

The museum offers education beginning with our Native American heritage, from which the parish derives its name, through the French Territorial days, the Louisiana Purchase, the Red River Raft and the discovery of oil. Here you will find plantation history and maps, learn the steam boat routes, follow the train tracks and travel the historic LA Highway 3049.

Begin near the Louisiana/Texas border on Highway 2 and its intersection with Highway 3049. This Byway will travel through the old and new oilfields of Louisiana. The area is filled with wildflowers and pine trees. Watch for long standing oil field equipment that died when the oil industry went bust and for new oil and gas facilities. There are many side trips off Highway 2. For a day trip, it is best to pick one or two of them. The first side trip is on Highway 1. Travel south of Vivian to the Louisiana State Oil and Gas Museum, the Earl G. Williamson Park, and the Historic Caddo Lake Drawbridge. Back to Highway 2. Go south of Hosston to the Red River Crossroads Museum. South of Plain Dealing, find the Cypress Black Bayou Recreation and Water Conservation complete with the Cypress Zoo.

Back to Highway 2, in the area between Sarepta and Shongaloo you will find the Bayou Dorcheat /Sikes Ferry Landing. If you take Highway 534 south, you will find the Germantown Colony Museum. Back to Highway 2, you can linger in Homer and see the Herbert S. Ford Museum and the Claiborne Parish Courthouse. Stop for seafood at the selection of restaurants or take supplies with you as you head to Lake Claiborne at the end of the byway. Take Highway 146 to the southeastern side of Lake Claiborne to the Lake Claiborne State Park and rent a cabin or stay in the RV park. Enjoy the sandy beach or fish for bluegill, bass, crappie, or other species of fish.