RV Harvest Hosts Review: John Schneider Studios – Holden, Louisiana
Me: “You know, that show with Bo & Luke Duke, Boss Hogg, and the General Lee!”
24yo Dear Daughter: “… the what now?”
Me: “Okay, he’s also Superman’s Dad on Smallville.”
24yo: “Nope, I never saw that show, either.”
🤦♀️
John Schneider. Oh my god, BO DUKE! The Dukes of Hazzard! Superman’s Earth Dad, for goodness sake…
Yeah, we stayed at his place last night!
Harvest Hosts
We’ve talked about Harvest Hosts before on the blog:
Harvest Hosts: 2,712+ Amazing ‘Free’ Places to Park Your RV Overnight
“Totally unique overnight camping experiences at amazing places…”
*** Harvest Hosts: If you are interested in more information or in joining Harvest Hosts,
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Bo Duke’s Place
I was searching Harvest Hosts for an overnight along I-10, somewhere between Gulf Shores, AL and Houston, TX… and this popped up:
John Schneider’s Place – Holden, LA
WHAT?!?!
Description: The home of John Schneider which sits on 100 acres, formerly Camp Singing Waters… fishing ponds… swimming pool… atv trails… museum & gift shop… RV hook-ups! [meaning power connections, of course]
Umm, okay… that’s unique. Let’s do it!
–> And, believe me, Russ and I both know who John Schneider is!
Bo Duke, here we come — Yee Haa!
The Dukes of Hazzard (1979 – 1985)
We knew we’d arrived when we saw the General Lee — that beloved (yet now kinda controversial) bright orange “01” Dodge Charger with the confederate flag painted on top (I know, right?! 🤦♀️ ) — a little worse for wear* — parked in front of the “Place”.
*Hurricane Ida damage in 2021: As for the General Lee Dodge Charger parked in the front yard of Mrs. Shirley’s [the studio’s museum and gift shop named after Schneider’s late mother], another tree landed diagonally across the roof’s painted Confederate flag, crushing the top portion of the car. Source: The Advocate/Baton Rouge
We’d received email confirmation and detailed directions, with a gate code, to “John Schneider Studios,” still not knowing exactly what we were getting into, in the swamps and bayous of Louisiana.
We’re always up for an adventure like that!
Camp Singing Waters
We pulled our freshly-washed and detailed 40-foot motorhome, Charlie-The-Unicorn RV — along with another 15 feet of Starfish-The-Jeep in tow — off the main road, through a narrow, gated driveway entrance… onto an even more narrow, one-way dirt road. On the edge of a swamp.
On the way in, we had little time or attention to see everything we were oh-so-carefully driving through: the buildings, the shipping containers, the construction in mid-progress here and there, The Dukes of Hazzard memorabilia — except for the General Lee and a rusted-out police car parked out front.
From not-so-glamorous in the backwoods of Louisiana…
Camp Singing Waters was an old-time, old-school (Vacation Bible School-type) campground, back in the day.
Definitely a “ramshackle swampy vibe,” as one reviewer described it — at first.
To be fair, it was February. Definitely off-season in Louisiana.
Even though we arrived mid-afternoon on a Saturday, there was no one around.
We followed the very Southern directions, trusting Bo Duke and his people:
“Go straight all the way back… you’ll see a red/blue house on the right, go around the bend, make the first left [over a very narrow, muddy land bridge, through a big puddle — seriously worried we were going to tip over into the swamp]… past the Broadmoor theatre barn, you’ll see 2 colorful buildings… go between that [😳 ] and you can pick any spot you’d like…”
Suddenly Awesome
Bo Duke’s little RV campground (8 spaces), at the very back of his 100-acre swamp/revival camp property, is a wonderful surprise.
Nicer than some RV campgrounds we have stayed at, for sure!
We parked and settled in as quickly as possible, to get out and explore everything we had barely seen on the way in…
Here’s where it gets fun & magical & weird
When we weren’t white-knuckling the 40-foot RV + tow vehicle down the narrow, swampy little dirt road into the unknown… WOW! 😯
We set out in the late afternoon to explore the property, from the campground area, back up to the front, and all around.
There was so much to see! 👀
— Backed up to the campground, there was a beautiful open meadow, with a festival set-up: a big wooden stage, facing a grassy, open field, with stored lighting and equipment for John Schneider Studios – even an Airstream trailer set up as a concession stand (all closed up).
— Directly across the meadow was the swimming pool – a HUGE swimming pool, with a beautiful, resort-quality deck, gardens, and entertainment area.
The pool was empty, except for sludgy rainwater, but you could absolutely see it in its annual glory:
- Elegant, heavy iron lounge chairs
- Bright red umbrellas
- Comfortable pool deck seating
- Intimate conversation areas
- Gorgeous landscaping and lighting
There is a tiki bar (set up for restaurant-quality service), two huge stacked stone fireplaces, a Big Green Egg installed — serious entertaining happens here!
And another complete stage set-up, above the pool, with shipping containers all around to form a courtyard and support elevated wooden walkways with a view of the pool area and the separate festival area stage in the meadow.
— Beyond the swimming pool, by the road, is the Broadmoor Theatre Barn. Which, when we explored close up, turned out to be a full theatre and church inside, with rows of padded pews, theatre seating, and wooden chairs; a full stage, and professional theatre lighting and equipment. Red velvet curtains. Twinkle lights everywhere after dark. It was beautiful!
— Aside from all of THAT… there was a baseball field, a fishing pond, trails and river access, cabins in all shapes & sizes, more shipping containers, outbuildings and garages, vehicles everywhere in various stages of… well, demolition and restoration from movie-making.
You could see the remnants of a ramp on the river where a car had obviously been launched…
John Schneider Studios
It turns out, John Schneider Studios is an active independent film studio, festival grounds, and event space:
JOHN SCHNEIDER STUDIOS IS A 58 ACRE FULL SERVICE PRODUCTION FACILITY IN HOLDEN, LOUISIANA DESIGNED WITH AN INNOVATIVE INFRASTRUCTURE TO GIVE FILMMAKERS ALL THE TOOLS THEY NEED TO CREATE THEIR STORIES AND FILM IN ONE LOCATION.
Schneider is not only a well-known actor, he’s a country music star, and independent filmmaker, too.
He and his wife, Alicia Allain, have produced 10 movies together. Several of those were filmed on location at John Schneider Studios.
Trailer from John Schneider’s movie “Smothered”
Every year, in April, the entire place is transformed for Bo’s Extravaganza:
John Schneider’s annual birthday bash in Holden, La the event is held in April. It’s an old fashioned outdoor car show, carnival, celebrity signing event along with performances by John Schneider & the Hazzard Nation band…
Again: It was February. Everything was closed down and stored away for the winter. But we had free access to everything that was open. Freedom to roam and hang out and enjoy the lights and rustic, revival campground ambiance of John Schneider Studios.
There was no one around the property, except for a half-dozen fellow Harvest Hosts campers and their puppy dogs.
Unfortunately, the gift shop & ‘museum’ were closed and all locked up.
Meeting Bo Duke
Turns out, John Schneider does live on or nearby the property. There are several comments in the Harvest Hosts reviews where he has come back to the campground and met people, or greeted them up at the front. By all accounts, he is friendly, outgoing, and a gracious host.
The night we were there – in February – he was performing at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. (He’s a country music star, too! 🤩 )
It wasn’t until after our explorations, before and after dark, that we had a chance to Google a bit and learn about John Schneider Studios at the former Camp Singing Waters, past, present, and future:
- John Schneider Studios, located on 58 acres, include a swamp and bamboo forest nestled against the Tickfaw River.
- Purchased in 2014 to make his horror-comedy movie Smothered.
- The property flooded twice in 2016 and sustained damage from Hurricane Ida in 2021 (including damage to the General Lee when a tree fell on it).
- There are two homes on the property (connected). In 2016, his mother lived in one and the other – each side painted a different color to give the illusion of entrances to different homes – is the center of the studio’s operation. It includes a screening room and an area for sound mixing and editing.
- Source: From ‘Dukes’ fame to studio owner, John Schneider doing what he wants
Our Harvest Host Review: Dukes of Hazzard Nostalgia Tour & so much more!
One of our favorite Harvest Hosts ever! February – 40’ Class A w/ toad. The entry road was daunting, but we followed the directions and camping signs and made it to the small campground area at the back of the property – what a great set up!
We were definitely out-of-season and didn’t get to meet anyone, except for other Harvest Host members, which was terrific!
John Schneider Studios is amazing – very laid-back and rustic. We had such a great time exploring this very unique property and enjoying it all for 24 hours.
We will be back in May/June sometime, after everything is cleaned up for John’s annual Extravaganza & Birthday Party in April. Super easy stop off I-10 in Louisiana. Enjoy!
*** Harvest Hosts: If you are interested in more information or in joining Harvest Hosts,
click the referral link HERE for your 15% DISCOUNT ***
This article was about our RV Harvest Hosts Review of John Schneider’s Place in Holden, Louisiana.
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