Baton Rouge Astronomical Society: Hodges Gardens Star Party

2nd Annual Hodges Gardens Star Party
(formerly the Kisatchie Star Party)
March 10 - 14, 2010

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The Baton Rouge Astronomical Society invites you once again to join us in the piney woods of west-central Louisiana to share a few nights of stargazing and camaraderie. Past visitors will note that the location, and hence the name, of our gathering has changed. Our previous observing site in the Kisatchie National Forest finally became unusable.

We are very excited about our new site. With the cooperation of the Louisiana Office of State Parks and the A.J. and Nona Trigg Hodges Foundation, we have received permission to hold our star parties at Hodges Gardens State Park.

The Hodges Gardens Star Party will begin at noon on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 and conclude at noon on the following Sunday. As in previous years, no formal activities are planned; just dark skies and happy campers. Of course, our traditional informal Saturday night pot luck dinner will take place if weather permits.

Our new observing field is located only 13 miles (straight line) southwest of our previous site at Kisatchie. The skies are almost identical. The field, however, is much larger. In fact, the usable area is almost seven times as large as our old site. This makes for some wonderfully low horizons. This also gives us plenty of room to share the sky with many more folks. So if you haven’t visited us before, now's your chance!

Guests to the star party will see a number of benefits over previous years. First and foremost, there are actually bathrooms and showers nearby. We'll still bring porta-potties to the field, but everyone will have access to all of the State Park facilities.

Hodges Gardens State Park is most noted for its beautiful botanical gardens (at one time it was the largest privately owned gardens in the country), but opportunities for other recreational activities abound. Visitors can rent canoes and fish in the park's lake. Numerous trails are available for hiking, cycling, or birding. If golfing is more your style, the Emerald Hills Golf Resort is located adjacent to the park.

See this page for MPEG videos of the site (recommended for broadband users only).

As always, we try to keep this star party as affordable as possible. The registration fee for the event itself remains at $10.00 per adult and free for children under the age of 18. All registration is done on site via a collection box and the honor system.

The normal day use fee to Hodges Gardens State Park is $5.00 per day. Along with the outstanding support the park management and staff has given us, however, a special rate of only $1.00 per person per day will be collected from star party participants as you enter the park.

In the past, our guests have asked about t-shirts. We have set up a "store" at Cafe Press so everyone can buy t-shirts, sweatshirts, coffee mugs, and even beer steins with the new Hodges Gardens Star Party logo. Since we are a non-profit organization, no mark-up has been added to Cafe Press' prices. We offer these items solely as a service to you. And hey, a little advertising never hurts.

Tents and canopies may be set up on the observing field. There is no additional cost for camping. As before at Kisatchie, there are no hook-ups. This is camping at its most basic, so be prepared

Great news! The Office of State Parks has given us permission to bring RVs into the park this year. We won't be able to park directly on the observing field; the ground is just too soft. We can, however, park on the old airstrip about a quarter mile away. We'll be next to a new bath house. No hook-ups are available yet. It looks like it will be several more years before the actual RV park will be completed.

RV campers will be charges $12.00 per night (per unit, not per person). Generators may be operated for short periods during the day to charge batteries.

Our recommendation is to park your RV on the airstrip, then set up a canopy or tent (or both) on the observing field. This will give you a place to relax and store your equipment during the day without having to move it back and forth from your RV.

Eleven cabins are located lakeside within the park. As with all state park cabins, reservations are required and weekends book quickly. Instructions for reserving a cabin are found on the Hodges Gardens State Park website.

Emerald Hills Golf Resort is located right outside the main gate to Hodges Gardens State Park. Hotels rooms and Condominium style accommodations are available.

Mulligan's Bar and Grill is located behind the Emerald Hills Golf Resort hotel and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.

A number of convenience stores and gas stations are located in the nearby towns of Hornbeck, Anacoco, and Florien.

Hodges Gardens State Park is located on US Highway 171. If coming from the north, it is located about 14 miles south of Many, Louisiana. If coming from the south, Hodges Gardens is 18 miles north of Leesville, Louisiana. The Park's entrance is on the east side of US 171, and Emerald Hills Golf Resort is directly across on the west side of the highway.

Only dim red lights may be used on the observing field after dark. Light rules will be suspended each night from 12:00 midnight until 12:20 AM to allow participants to leave the observing field if desired.
No vehicles will be allowed to move on the observing field after dark except in an emergency or during the prescribed departure window.
At all times, vehicles on the observing field must move only within the marked traffic lane.
Play your music as loud as you want so long as you are using headphones. If anyone else can hear it, it's too loud and you will be asked to turn it down or leave. Also, the rest of us will talk about you after you're gone.
Alcohol is neither encouraged nor prohibited. Remember, kids are present so please be discreet. Besides, it ruins your night vision.
Portable generators must be equipped with spark arresting mufflers. They may be used only for short periods during daylight to recharge batteries if needed. No generators will be used after dark.
Cooking on the observing field will be limited to gas stoves and charcoal grills. No ground campfires will be permitted.
Trash. Pack it in, pack it out. Don't throw it in the Porta-Potties.
No digging on the observing field. Our field at Hodges Gardens is used primarily as a hay field throughout the year. It is important that we leave as little of an impact as possible.

Even though we're too lazy to mess with pre-registration, we would like to know in advance if you are planning to join us. This will give us and the Hodges Gardens State Park staff some idea of how many guests to expect. Also, let us know if you plan to camp on the observing site or stay in a cabin or motel.

Our e-mail hasn't changed from previous years. Please contact us with your comments and questions at:

We look forward to seeing our many Kisatchie Star Party regulars. If you haven't joined us before, or if you didn't enjoy the very primitive nature of our previous site, we invite you to give the Hodges Gardens Star Party a try. You won't be disappointed!

Page updated on Thursday, November 05, 2009 7:27 AM