Went here this time because a website said it had the most awesome view in the state. Unless the big pecan is that awesome view, I didnt see it.

Almost a hidden gem. This is a great park just off the interestate a few miles. It’s a great place to see a plantation of this type. The buildings were restored beautifully. The staff here love their jobs here and it shows. Great explanations about the history of the park and the surrounding area.NOTE…. It is a plantation. Be prepared to spend some time walking around to look at the various buildings. Also, try to join in in the plantaion house walk through. It’s fascinating.There are restrooms near the parking lot.

Big proud to Ranger Tim! This guy deserves a medal. Knowledgeable, funny and enthusiastic - perfect man for this job. Park itself is alright but I feel there might be more to do in terms of giving justice to slaves and dark prob of history of this place. Dont get me wrong - you can get to know quite a lot about that but I just had this feeling when leaving that something was missing from the whole picture.

Very pretty. Certainly off the beaten path. Not very well maintained. Couldnt find a single park ranger/employee while we were there.

Beautiful and scenic area to visit. So much history and places to explore. Great shopping and food.

Fantastic area, beautiful land, and the friendliest staff. Come take a tour of this old plantation and enjoy the beautiful work put in to keeping up this historical site.

The Live Oak cartage path leading to the main house is just as it was in the mid 1800! The main house was built around the water well. The mule is still in the mule barn!

Just great set up...fascinating.

The buildings were all closed due to covid-19, however, it was still nice to stroll about on a cool Louisiana summer morning. Nicely maintained and the ranger we met was very kind.

Very nice historical site. Self guided tour is very informative. Park staff were friendly and very knowledgeable.

Its a nice area to drive through and stop along the way for pictures or to explore history.

Born and raised tenth generation Louisianian and I had never even heard of this place. Completely worth the drive from LFT or BTR. Wonderful history, landscape and stories as well as spectacular vernacular architecture. Thank you.

This is one of only two plantations still mostly intact with all the outer buildings. Very interesting and well kept. The grounds are gorgeous, and you can tour many of the buildings, including the big house.

Explains the history of the plantation and what life was like during that era. Worth stopping by just to see the Live Oak trees.

A complete plantation offering a living history unlike anything you can gather from a history book.

I enjoyed walking around the grounds and my family had a great time experiencing the history.

If you are looking for local history about the cane river and its plantations or centeral Louisiana history, this is a great place to start. The plantation isnt like your Greek revivals of later years and holds a lot of interesting nuances. The tour is short but provides great detail and you can walk the grounds and buildings.

Nice historical visit

My family and I enjoyed walking the grounds of my familys history! We took a tour in July 2017, I wanted to see and needed to know but at first my family didnt care but later on they wanted to know and see more!

I love history and you could feel it in your soul. Beautiful.

A nice place to stop and picnic lunch

Excellent park! Very informative and such a beautiful place!

Self guided walking tour of plantation. Enjoyed the time

Fantastic visit! The fort is so nice and there was even a ranger dressed from the past and leather working. Nice set up.

Great! Very informative. Coming from a history buff.

The main house is being renovated. Only hospital and slave housing available to see. Still cool.

We spent most of our time at the Oakland Plantation. Beautiful home and grounds.

Beautiful, scenic place with a ton of Louisiana history. Enjoy seeing the surrounding areas as well. On the Louisiana Tour 2017 we drove the back roads in classic cars, and the National Park and all the signs along the way with neat little facts and tidbits were great. Will go back when I have more time for photography in the area. I also recommend staying at the Chateau At. Denis if youre coming to the area. It even beats most places in nearby larger cities.

A trip to Oakland is to stroll through the history, and legacy of the once large plantations. Oakland still provides the ability to see the Plantation as it existed during its hayday. Many of the original buildings still exist. The overseers house, slave cottage, outdoor kitchen, carpentry shop, and many more are still standing and in excellent condition. The fantastic Live Oak Alley is be a sight in of itself. If you are a history buff, you should schedule a few days to see Oakland, its sister plantation Magnolia, as well as Melrose Plantation and others in the area.

Good antebellum mansion that survived the war, sharecropping and the end of segregation. It is in the process of being restored. When it is, it will get five stars.

Great national park. The plantation grounds were beautiful. Nice park information store. Enjoyed the area.

My mother & I were checking out a few homes & church where the movie Steel Magnolias was filmed years ago & accidentally came across this wonderful tour. I wish I could remember the lovely lady who led our tour, because she did a wonderful job. If you are in the area its really an amazing piece of history to walk the grounds. Ive personally never been to a plantation so I was in history heaven!

Excellent fall stop, relaxed and beautiful scenery. Very nice, quick roadtrip stop, without disrupting the drive schedule.

It was dated in the 1960s. I guess I wasnt expecting that and it took away the actual depth of its history for me. I hope the government didnt pay too much for it in 1998.

Interesting historical place. Didnt have time for the tour, but next time. Gorgeous old trees reminded me of the fictional plantation, Terra,

It is truly a beautiful place. We didnt know the tour times, so we came too late for them. It was great to just explore a bit on our own.

This National Park Service unit contains two historic plantations along the Cane River. Both are in pristine condition and allow you to freely wander around. The Oakland Plantation Big House can only be viewed on a guided tour.

Nice Plantation. Good for strolling and checking it out at your own pace. One of two Park Rangers excellent. 2nd Ranger not so good.

Considering this area spans human habitation from the 1700s all the way to the present and has been in the same family for all of that time it is amazing to see so many artifacts and buildings without having to pay a fee. There are plenty of plantations that arent as nice and cost a lot of money to see but this one is absolutely free and has a large number of buildings

Not crowded very nice history lesson.

Very interesting worth the visit

This is an excellent historic site for Antebellum homes and layout of the plantation it is off the beaten path but right across from the cane River and a beautiful location

Closing at 3:54 = 4:00... My granddaughter is learning about National parks. On a recent trip from Kentucky to Texas she ask if they could stop so she could get stamps in her National Park Passport and coins at each one they found near their destination and on their way home. Today, they left Conroe, Tx on the way back home to Fort Knox, Ky. In looking at her passport her dad realized that Cane River National Park in La. was not exactly on the route home, but close enough he was will to go the distance so she could get another stamp in her passport. They drove for 5 hours to get there before closing so she could get her stamp. The park has a posted closing time of 4:00 pm on Sundays.They pulled up to the park at 3:54 as the attendant was walking towards the gate. The woman told them that they would have to turn around because she was closing. He said but its not 4. She said, Im sorry, you will have to come back tomorrow, Ive already closed up. And he said, my daughter to obsessed with National parks, all she wants is a stamp in her passport and a coin, please. She said, no that would require her walking back across the parking lot and he said, Ill drive you and she said, no, you will have to come back tomorrow. He again explained that they were on their way home to Kentucky, and couldnt come back tomorrow... too bad so sad... she said no.So, you want children to be involved and enjoy our national parks and this is the way you treat them... sad... so sad... my granddaughter was devastated. Not cool people, not cool!

Nice historical park, free. Plantation from pre-civil war. Several signs to park from I-49.

This review is for the Oakland Plantation. Its just down the road from Natchitoches, and the grounds are gorgeous. Just one family owned the plantation from the 1600s to the 1980s or so, so all of the buildings are full of stories. And not just the plantation owners, but also the slaves and later share-croppers that made the place work. I was amazed at the fact that the Park Service has done such a good job of maintaining relationships with all of the families that worked and lived there.Only downside is the house is undergoing some renovations at the moment so you cant see inside it. The Park Ranger that was there did a great job of giving a tour, though, so its still worth a drive.

Nice visit. History spanning 200 years. The ranger gave a nice presentation.

Jo Ann (park ranger) was terrific! Great historical site.

I hate giving any NPS site a poor review, but this Park was just so so. The good thing is that it runs parallel to the highway so if youre just passing through North to South its not out of your way. It does look like they are trying to make some improvements so maybe future visitors will find it more enjoyable. Be advised that its a good amount of walking on mowed paths. Not good for wheelchairs or strollers. Could be muddy when wet.

At first outside looks like any Lousiana small rural area but when you dive deeper its a treasure of Louisiana French history...Great experience!

Very informative trip. Loved learning about this area and the periods on time.

Very Interesting place, a must not miss spot. Gives an interesting perspective of what it was like on a working plantation

Such a shame it was closed during the government shutdown. It looked interesting.

Great historical site. Beautiful location for pictures.

Read the book CANE RIVER. Rich Creole culture. An Oprah book club pick. Historic site

This is a very interesting place, no guided tour. It was nice to just walk around not rushed.

Never been there, but definitely plan on stopping for a few days on my cross country travels next Fall. My Da who was stationed down outside of Alexandria before WII said Best people, great food,music and cold beer! Said he hated to leave as he hasnt found a better place to lay his head in all his life.I know from going to N.O. that I myself couldve placed my hat in that beautiful State and never look back.Being Scots Irish Polish & American Indian I felt welcome & right at home by this unique blend of cultures.

Very interesting National Park. Guided tours provide a lot of info on history of a slavery plantation.

Nicely preserved history

Good place to walk through and learn local history

Historical place. Take the kids. They have an old cotton mill still in place. Watch your step on the grass, there are mole holes. We wrenched an ankle.

A neat little piece of Americas history. Check it out on a day thats not too hot

Park ranger very friendly. Nice place with some interesting history

An awesome place to visit. The Rangers are knowledgeable and welcoming.

Poorly kept. Was closed due to government shut down.

FULL OF PEACE AND HISTORY PLACE. Realy, realy finr.

A wonderful place to get a glimpse of plantation life and a treasure trove of Creole architecture. Anyone curious about slavery or plantation agriculture as it existed in Louisiana should stop in.

I live in California.... Specifically the suburbs outside of Los Angeles so as you can imagine it was all, very different, not only this Historical Park, but Natchitoches & Louisiana in general.... I Love it there slower pace, friendly people, cleaner air, I could go on & on but to get back to topic,I only saw the outside of the Plantation but it was such an awesome feeling, like Id just step out of a Time Capsule & was now apart of life long ago.... I Love Natchitoches, its quant & very genuine.Im hoping next time Ill be able to get inside! Until next time...

Very interesting and loaded with history and great info

Beautiful

Lovely and interesting

Worth the trip if you are near natchitoches.

Great location adds to the historic feel of the area. Free

National Park ...part of American history

Quiet, peaceful & really takes you back in time it feels

Peaceful place to wander and see a plantation and how it worked.

A great place to visit

Enjoyed my tour and was educated on history of my ancestors

Neat

Beautiful country.

Walked around

Very interesting cultural resources

Very Informative and Volunteer was friendly and knowledgeable

Free and very nice tour!

Interesting tour.

Awesome

Loved it there is so Beautiful

I will definitely be back ! Super cool !

Closed too early

Beautiful

Family history

It was great

Great fishing

Nice safe clean

This place is amazing for the whole family

Free entrance.

Sucks

Great experience!

Great plantation and grounds! Very historical!

Interesting and pretty