Caddo Lake State Park Entrance Portals, National Park Service rustic entrance portal in Harrison County, United States.

The entrance portals of Caddo Lake State Park feature natural stone construction combined with wooden framing to create gateway structures. These markers stand at the threshold where visitors transition from the road into the forested swamp landscape ahead.

These entrance portals were built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps during a nationwide effort to develop park infrastructure. The program put workers to use creating outdoor recreation spaces across America during a time of economic hardship.

The portals are part of a larger group of park structures built in the National Park Service rustic style, which drew on hand-set local stone and timber. Visitors can compare the entrance gates with the park's other CCC-era buildings, such as the stone picnic pavilion and the trailside structures, to see the same masonry technique repeated across the grounds.

The portals are easy to spot and serve as your first landmark when entering the park from the parking area. From this point you can access the walking paths and fishing areas that are distributed throughout the grounds.

The portals stand where the CCC crews finished work in the 1930s, and their stone piers were laid from rock quarried nearby rather than hauled in. Look for the mortar lines where workers fitted irregular blocks by hand, a detail that shows how the rustic style was built rather than applied.