Bayou Bodcau Reservoir · Louisiana

Tom Merrill Recreation Area — how to get a site when it's sold out

Overview Tom Merrill Recreation Area sits downstream of Bayou Bodcau Dam, along the Bodcau Creek. The small quiet campground provides all the facilities of a Class A campground, and is open year-round to visitors. Bodcau Creek provides fishing and boating opportunities, along with hiking/biking trails and other recreation.

🏕️ 21 sites 🚐 Standard, Group, Shelter

Booking Tom Merrill Recreation Area

Sites at Tom Merrill Recreation Area are reserved through Recreation.gov. Sites here can be reserved in advance through the official system, and they are claimed fast — cancellations then trickle back all season, unannounced, at any hour of the day or night.

Site facts

Total sites21
Site typesStandard, Group, Shelter
HookupsElectric hookups at some sites
LocationHaughton, LA
Book throughRecreation.gov
Official listingRecreation.gov

The cancellation play at Tom Merrill Recreation Area

Because sites are booked months ahead, a steady share of reservations get cancelled as trips fall through. Each cancellation instantly returns that site and those nights to the official calendar — first-come, first-served, no waitlist, no announcement. Refreshing the booking page yourself, every few minutes for weeks, works in theory. In practice, the people who get these sites are the ones who hear about the opening first.

ItOpened scans the Recreation.gov calendar for Tom Merrill Recreation Area around the clock. When a site matching your dates and your vehicle opens, you get a text with a direct link to it. You book it yourself, in your own account, at the normal price. We never book, hold, or resell — your fee pays for monitoring, and openings are first-come, so speed is the whole game.

Other campgrounds in Bayou Bodcau Reservoir

South Abutment EastCancellation alerts available
Wenks LandingCancellation alerts available

Page data refreshed 2026-10-29. Site facts come from the official directory listing for Tom Merrill Recreation Area; cancellation statistics come from our own scanning logs.