Lake Bruin State Park

The Mississippi River used to run right here. Then it changed its mind, cut a straighter path, and left this crescent-shaped lake behind — a classic oxbow, the river's own fossil. The current channel runs less than a mile away in Tensas Parish, close enough that you can think of Lake Bruin as the river's former self, shallow and warm where the main channel is deep and fast. At 53 acres, this is the smallest state park in Louisiana. It started in 1928 as a fish hatchery, became a state park in 1962, and has stayed small and functional ever since. People come for largemouth bass, crappie, and bream — warm oxbow water holds fish differently than the river does. There's a boat launch, a pier, and picnic areas near St. Joseph. The park costs three dollars to enter. You come because you want to fish an oxbow or because you want to see what the Mississippi leaves behind when it moves on.