Best Places to Cool Off in Shreveport This Summer – Gabe’s Top Five

My personal favorite is a place called Earl G. Williamson Park in Oil City, Louisiana. It has all kinds of recreational activities. Baseball Park, swing sets, tennis courts, and of course, a large beach area to swim in. Now, this is Caddo Lake...and I’m sure you’ve heard the horror stories, but the lake bottom in the swimming area is clean, and it’s one of the few places that I’ve never encountered the dreaded copper headed water rattler(snakes). It’s about 15 miles north of Shreveport going up Highway 1 and it will not disappoint.

I don’t have a general location for this one, but I can tell you that it is a good time! The Red River, Shreveport’s whole reason for being. Of course, the River is dangerous if you don’t know what you're doing, so go with someone who knows the area, and go at a time when the river is low. I hang out on sand bars and fish and swim. You can launch boats at the Stoner Launch (yeah…Stoner….haha) in Shreveport or at the Bossier launch directly across in Bossier City. It’s the closest thing that we’ll ever have to a beach and it costs nothing.

Next up, we have Cypress Lake and Black Bayou Reservoir. It has an awesome beach area and some of the cleanest water in the Arklatex. It can be crowded at times, but it’s still an awesome place. There are boat docks and piers and the lake is a great place to ski. For you fisherman, the northern end of the lake has a fair share of blue and channel cat, bass, sac du lait, and bream - so head on up there and start tearing them up!

We can't forget Shreveport’s all time recreational lake, Cross Lake. It’s a man made lake designed for skiing, so it has a lot of room and no obstacles (like trees) to get in your way. Since it also provides some of the surrounding area’s drinking water, the water is clean and safe to swim in - and there are plenty of parks to hang out at. There are several marinas and even a yacht club. Cross Lake is the only area lake that is available for sailboating. There are 2 parks to cool off at, Richard Fleming Park and Ford Park.

And last but not least - if lakes and snakes aren’t your thing, and you prefer dry land - then I have the solution for you. in downtown Shreveport, right next to the Barnwell Art Center, there is giant fountain that you’ll see kids playing in all summer. Bust out the kid in you and join in on the splashing! If you get caught, you can always claim you were crazy from the heat,,,