Once upon a time, U.S. Highway 90 passed this way via a bridge crossing the Sabine River from Louisiana into Texas. A fire eventually claimed the bridge, and U.S. 90 was re-routed across a new bridge farther upstream. Old 90 is a dead-end road on a six-mile oak ridge that passes through a maze of bayous, bar ditches, and freshwater marsh.
This wonderfully isolated site is now primarily used by local southwestern Louisiana birders. There is excellent habitat diversity along the route. During spring and fall migration and throughout the winter, the live oaks draw many woodland songbirds.
On the south side of the access road, bottomland hardwood forest filled with hackberries and sweetgums attract songbirds foraging for fruits and seeds. A cypress swamp and a freshwater marsh hold a surprising diversity of waterbirds, including herons, egrets, gallinules, rails, and shorebirds. A spotting scope is highly recommended for viewing distant birds in these habitats as well as in the open water of the Sabine River at the road's terminus.
Pullovers are plentiful along most of the length of the access road. Through the entire length of the road, dwarf palmetto and yaupon holly thickets comprise the understory, holding numerous thicket-loving species such as White-eyed Vireo and Brown Thrasher. There is limited parking, and the site has no facilities.
