%b%crThe Backwater %b%c* and other Caddo Lake State Park, TX Things to Do Tips

The Shack on Caddo Lake has been popular with Hollywood and there have been a number of motion pictures made on Caddo. Movies include ‘Big Bad John’ ‘Southern Comfort’ ‘Soggy Bottom, USA’ ‘The Long Hot Summer’ ‘The Man who Broke a Thousand Chains’ and ‘Gator Bait I and II’ which used this shack in the picture. Disney films include ‘The Ghost of Cypress Swamp’ ‘The Secret of the Pond’ ‘Bayou Boy’ ‘The Boy from Dead Man's Pond’ and ‘Weakfoot’. A segment from Walker, Texas Ranger was done here as well as many other similar shorts.
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Address: Caddo Lake

This was a large wasp nest which was full. There were many on the branches as we went along but this heart shaped one was the largest we saw.
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Address: Caddo Lake

I looked hard but I couldn't find any alligators lurking. Seems it was still a little warm for them to venture out but they were out there somewhere. I did see little turtles on logs sunny themselves though every now and then.
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Address: Caddo Lake

The Bald Cypress trees on Caddo Lake have been ring dated to 400 years of age and give the Lake its unique beauty. Dramatic changes in Lake levels during the past 200 years has contributed to concerns about the health of the bald cypress ecosystem.
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There has been a recorded 189 species of trees and shrubs, 42 woody vines, 75 grasses, 216 kinds of birds, 47 mammals and 90 fish and reptiles. Of those, 44 are threatened, endangered or rare. The process of confirming and adding to this data is ongoing.
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Between 1845 and 1875 more than 200 steamboats travelled between Shreveport, Louisiana, and Jefferson, Texas marking up more than 2,500 documented trips. Their route took them through Caddo Lake where they made stops at Mooringsport Landing, Swanson's Landing, Montery Landing, and others. The main exports at the time were Cotton and Beef exports.
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The 32,000 acre Caddo Lake is Texas' only naturally-formed lake. It straddles the boundary between Texas and Louisiana and has as many as five configurations. It has also been called Sodo Lake and Fairy (Ferry) Lake.
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In the spring, this lovely lake is accented by yellow Lotus Blooms, purple Hyacinth blooms, white Water Lilly blooms and the yellow buds of the Spatterdock.
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I believe in the warmer months you can listen for Yellow-billed Cuckoos, Acadian and Great Crested Flycatchers, Wood Thrushes, White-eyed, Red-eyed, and Yellow-throated Vireos, and at least 13 species of warblers. At almost any time of year, one can hear Fish Crows, Red-shouldered Hawks, Barred Owls, Pileated Woodpeckers, nuthatches and more.
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Address: Caddo Lake

The first off-shore oil drilling happened in Caddo Lake by the Gulf Oil Company although the mushy swamp made moving the heavy equipment for drilling impossible. The US Army Corps of Engineers were persuaded by the oil men to construct an earthen weir at Mooringsport, La. The Corps was the same agency which had hired Captain Henry Shreve to remove the log jam back in 1873.
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Address: Caddo Lake