Tunica Hills is only about an hour from the Capital City, Baton Rouge. There are 3 trails to choose from and they are often less populated than nearby Clark Creek. There are some important distinctions to keep in mind so read on before you head out!
What's is Tunica Hills?
Tunica Hills is a Wildlife Management Area managed by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. There is plenty of confusion online about hiking Tunica and/or Clark Creek. Clark Creek and Tunica are NOT the same areas and have some serious distinctions.
Tunica Hills is public land managed for multiple uses INCLUDING HUNTING. Hiking is not allowed all year round so and the signage out at the property can be minimal so it’s imperative that you do your research beforehand. Most of the closures are in the winter months and again in the spring during turkey season, be sure to check LDWF‘s website for the latest updates.
There are regulations and requirements for being on WMAs so be sure you have your right permits ready. I had no signal out there so do that beforehand. Checking in and out is via an app, there aren’t any paper check-in’s on the property.
The road in is a skinny unpaved gravel road that is slick when wet. Check the weather too! This place is amazing and a bit more quiet than the popular nearby Clark Creek trail so if you are interested in a serene change of scenery read on!
The property
The property is two large split tracts. The North Tract and the South Tract. The three designated nature/hiking trails are on the South Tract. The trailheads for hiking trails A, B, and C are all near each other and share the same parking lot. If you put “Tunica Hills WMA Trail A” in Google Maps it will take you just about where you need to go.
For the most part the trails are loop trails ranging from 2.8 to 4 miles. The AllTrails app has all three trails rated as moderate while Louisiana Hikes has all three listed as hard. I can’t say that I found them to be that difficult, but to each his own. I certainly find them less challenging than Clark Creek just because there seems to be less steep up and down elevation changes to deal with.
Camping
LDWF does allow tent only primitive camping off of Parker Road toward the north section of the South Tract. Note that the campground is not attached to the trails according to the posted map.
There is also a private Tunica Hills campground nearby with reviews available on TripAdvisor. I have not stayed here myself as we just day trip to this area.
Be Prepared
The cost
Free for anyone with an existing LA hunting or fishing license, but you still need to check in and out via the app. If you aren’t a hunter or fisherman like myself, an annual WMA Access permit will do the trick. Check LDWF’s WMA website for the latest info.
The surrounding area
This WMA is remote. If primative, but well marked is what you are looking for this is the place.
The dirt
Yes, the dirt, it matters here. The soils are wind blow loess soils made of light silts and clays. That matters because when it rains in this area the trails can be very slick. As always when hiking, wear proper shoes!Some of the trials follow creekbed. Wearing waterproof hiking boots or shoes you don’t mind getting wet and dirty is a great idea.
Bathrooms
Ha ha, what is that?! No bathrooms, none. Ladies, I use a pee funnel in the great outdoors, I’ve had mine for years and it is a game changer! This is the particular funnel I use, not a paid link, I just like it. Best 10 bucks I’ve ever spent. I definitely re recommend NOT using a silicon one. Ask me why.
Head South After the Trail
Ok, so you finally made it back the to car, sit there for a few minutes, catch your breath, and suddenly it hits you. You are starving. You’ve been working for hours on this appetite and those granola bars just aren’t cutting it at this point.
No worries. If you are headed south to go home St. Francisville has you covered and covered well! No, I don’t mean the McDonald’s, Burger King, or Sonic though those are options. I’m talking about Sonny’s Pizza and the Francis Smokehouse & Specialty Meats! (These are my same post-Clark Creek recommendations because the best is the best.)
This place hits the spot 🔥🔥🔥, BUT they close somewhat early and are 30 minutes away from the trail so you have to get off the trail early enough to make it. They have bbq, boudin (pronounced boo-dan, but without the N, say it through your nose), smoked meats, wings, you name it, as well as plenty of frozen foods you can pick up for dinner another night. My go to is the chicken sandwich, but I’ve never heard anyone have anything bad to say about an order in my many stops there. They don’t have 4.7 starts on Google for nothing!
I’ve only had the pizza and bread-sticks here so that is all I will review. I’ve been to Clark Creek many times before but somehow missed this restaurant existed for years. We took a trip one year for my son’s 14th birthday with myself, four 14/15 year olds, and my eldest who may have been 23 at the time. I detail our crew so you know just what kind of appetites we were dealing with that day. I ordered cheesy bread-sticks and three large pizzas (pepperoni, veggie, taco) wondering if that would be enough. Let me tell you when our server brought out that first pizza all of our jaws hit the floor. These people are not playing, those pies were huge! I swear that taco pizza was about 1.5-2 inches tall. We left with one pizza to go box full and at least two teen guys who looked like they were about 5-6 months pregnant. True story. The price was affordable as well. I want to say when we left my bill was in the $70s.
There are other options around the Airline and HWY 10 intersection, but those two are my favorite. If the smokehouse is still open when I pass I just don’t bother stopping anywhere else.
