Black Lake Bayou is a 105 miles (169 km) waterway in northwest

North Louisiana

North Louisiana is a region in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The region has two metropolitan areas: Shreveport-Bossier City and Monroe-West Monroe....

 Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

, USA, that extends from north of Gibsland

Gibsland, Louisiana

Gibsland is a town in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, United States. Conveniently near Interstate 20 and less than an hour from both Shreveport and Monroe, Louisiana, Gibsland offers small town living with access to urban amenities...

 and travels south to Clarence

Clarence, Louisiana

Clarence is a village in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 499 at the 2010 census. It is located some seven miles east of the parish seat of Natchitoches and is part of the Natchitoches Micropolitan Statistical Area....

. The watershed covers much of northwest Louisiana. The bayou

Bayou

A bayou is an American term for a body of water typically found in flat, low-lying areas, and can refer either to an extremely slow-moving stream or river , or to a marshy lake or wetland. The name "bayou" can also refer to creeks that see level changes due to tides and hold brackish water which...

 meanders its way through Claiborne Parish

Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

Claiborne Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Homer and as of 2000, the population is 16,851.-History:The parish is named for the first Louisiana governor, William C. C. Claiborne....

, Webster

Webster Parish, Louisiana

Webster Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is Minden. In 2010, its population was 41,207....

, Bienville

Bienville Parish, Louisiana

Bienville Parish is a parish located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Arcadia and as of the 2000 census, the population is 15,752....

, Red River

Red River Parish, Louisiana

Red River Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its seat is Coushatta. It was one of the newer parishes created in 1871 by the state legislature under Reconstruction...

 and Natchitoches

Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana

Natchitoches Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Natchitoches. As of 2000, the population was 39,080. This is the heart of the Cane River Louisiana Creole community...

 parishes. Black Lake Bayou empties into Black Lake

Black Lake (Louisiana)

Black Lake is a reservoir located between Creston and Campti in northern Louisiana. Water feeds into Black Lake from Black Lake Bayou, a watershed that extends from north of Gibsland in Bienville Parish and south to Clarence in Natchitoches Parish. through the parishes of Claiborne, Webster,...

, which drains to Saline Bayou

Saline Bayou

Saline Bayou is a tributary of the Red River in Louisiana in the United States. In 1986 it became the first blackwater river in the American South to have been designated in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System...

, a tributary of the Red River.

Black Lake Bayou runs near the towns of Minden

Minden, Louisiana

Minden is a city in the American state of Louisiana. It serves as the parish seat of Webster Parish and is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The population, which has been stable since 1960, was 13,027 at the 2000 census...

, Dubberly

Dubberly, Louisiana

Dubberly is a village in Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 290 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area....

, Fryburg, Gibsland

Gibsland, Louisiana

Gibsland is a town in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, United States. Conveniently near Interstate 20 and less than an hour from both Shreveport and Monroe, Louisiana, Gibsland offers small town living with access to urban amenities...

, Mount Lebanon

Mount Lebanon, Louisiana

Mount Lebanon is a town in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 73 at the 2000 census.-History:Mount Lebanon was probably the first permanent settlement in what is now Bienville Parish. Its pioneers were Baptists from South Carolina who quickly established a church and...

, Jamestown

Jamestown, Louisiana

Jamestown is a village in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 149 at the 2000 census.Lee Smith, a retired professional baseball player, was born there in 1957.Enoch T...

, Castor

Castor, Louisiana

Castor is a village in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 209 at the 2000 census. It was established in 1900. The name "Castor" refers to the genus Castoridae beaver....

 and Ashland

Ashland, Louisiana

Ashland is a village located in the northernmost portion of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. It was incorporated in 1963. A few residences and a convenience store to the north spill over into neighboring Bienville Parish. The population was 291 at the 2000 census...

. Kepler Lake

Kepler Lake

Kepler Lake is a reservoir located in Northwest Louisiana, USA. It is about from Castor, from Jamestown, from Bienville and about from Gibsland, Louisiana. It is an open lake available for fishing and boating. Kepler's spillway drains into Black Lake Bayou which drains into Black Lake in...

 is also a part of the Black Lake Bayou watershed. Black Lake Bayou runs underneath Louisiana Highways 154, 156, 531, 792, 4

Louisiana Highway 4

Louisiana Highway 4 is a state highway in Louisiana, USA. It spans , mostly as a two lane, undivided road.-Route description:From the west, LA 4 begins at an intersection with U.S. Highway 71 in northern Red River Parish and runs eastward along the Red River Parish line. It then turns to the...

, 507, and 155.

Landscape

The bayou is choked by trees--bridge overpasses are the only places where the bayou is easily accessed and usually where people fish. There is a crude boat launch at Nix Crossing, which is 2-3 miles north of Castor

Castor, Louisiana

Castor is a village in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 209 at the 2000 census. It was established in 1900. The name "Castor" refers to the genus Castoridae beaver....

 and 3-4 miles south of Jamestown

Jamestown, Louisiana

Jamestown is a village in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 149 at the 2000 census.Lee Smith, a retired professional baseball player, was born there in 1957.Enoch T...

. Nix Crossing is one of the widest and deepest parts of Black Lake Bayou.

The Kansas City Southern Railroad had a bridge that crossed Black Lake Bayou at Nix Crossing until the rails to trails program deconstructed it--the pilings still stand in the water.