Friends of the Coates Bluff Nature Trail

The Coates Bluff Nature Trail runs through a historically and culturally significant wooded strip and along a bayou from the Montessori School for Shreveport (MSS) to Caddo Parish Magnet High School. It’s an area that was once home to Caddo Indians and follows the preferred detour around the Great Raft on the Red River, the longest continuous log jam on the North American continent until it was cleared in the 1830s. It’s also the site of the first trading post and post office in northwest Louisiana as well as the location of Hopewell Cemetery, one of Shreveport’s oldest African-American cemeteries.

The Coates Bluff Trail can be accessed by one of two sites (assuming you need to park a car): Viking Drive at SPAR's Valencia Recreation Center (behind Magnet High's softball field, look for the gap in the fence) and Sevier Street next to The Montessori School for Shreveport (across from the Montessori school playground).

In 2024, the Friends of the Coates Bluff Nature Trail received a Louisiana Outdoors Forever grant from the LA Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. We used those funds, a donation from the Alta and John Franks Foundation, and other local donations to acquire approximately 48 acres of undeveloped land surrounding the trail. 

Since then, we've improved and expanded our trail system from a 1 mile loop to a network of over 3 miles of trails!