Hodges Gardens State Park, previously known as Hodges Gardens, Park and Wilderness Area, is located on 4700acre between Florien and Hornbeck, near the Toledo Bend Reservoir of the Sabine River in Sabine Parish, in west central Louisiana. The park is located on U.S. Highway 171 some fifteen miles (24 km) south of Many, the seat of Sabine Parish. The facility offers walking trails, formal gardens, arboretum, the Azalea Overlook, waterfalls, and a visitor center. Originally, privately developed during the 1940s and opened to the public in 1956. The park was formally dedicated on May 1, 1959 and transferred to a non-profit foundation in 1960. In April 2007, it became part of the Louisiana public parks system. It is the largest horticultural park and recreation area in the United States and with the acquisition Hodges Garden became the newest park in Louisiana.HistoryThe area was once home to bands of Indians, Spanish and French Explorers, and Highwaymen that were prominent during the time of the Neutral Strip (Louisiana). A road known as the El Camino Real, or the King's Highway, passed through what became Hodges Garden, and across the Sabine River at Gain's Ferry. It originated in Natchitoches, crossed west central Louisiana, through Texas to Mexico City.
