This state park is located 3 miles east of Mandeville LA, on Hwy 190, on the northern shore of Lake Pontchartrain. We stayed here four nights between Christmas and New Years in 2011. Despite the time of the year and a driving rain storm at arrival, the park was surprisingly well-occupied, with over half of the enhanced sites taken. Many persons were from New Orleans, spending the holidays in the park.
The park has abundant wildlife. We saw almost a dozen deer, and the occasional armadillo. Being there in December, we did not use the lakefront fishing piers or other facilities. Word of caution: Louisiana out-of-state fishing licenses are expensive, so plan ahead. The park is very large for a park so close to a large metro area. We took the Causeway Bridge into New Orleans (entrance about four miles west of the park). Traffic in the area was no problem.
Pros: Big park with lots of wilderness and wildlife. Perhaps the cleanest restroom/shower facilities I have ever seen in a state facility. Beautiful live oaks of massive proportions. Comparatively inexpensive.
Cons: Issues with campsites. As clean as the bathrooms were, the campsites were littered with old cigarette butts and small bits of trash. The campsites were oddly laid out as well. We had a small pull through site, but the paved pad was so small and curved we could not get a 12-foot popup (unexpanded) completely on it without driving into the mud beside the pad. The power and water pedestals were on the right side of the popup where they are almost universally on the left in other parks. The fire ring and picnic table were on opposite sides from the fixed grill. It made for an awkward campsite, but at least we had power and water, which we did reserve. Most of the "improved" campsites had only a paved pad, but no water or power.
I would go back here, perhaps in the Spring to see a different season in the park.
The park has abundant wildlife. We saw almost a dozen deer, and the occasional armadillo. Being there in December, we did not use the lakefront fishing piers or other facilities. Word of caution: Louisiana out-of-state fishing licenses are expensive, so plan ahead. The park is very large for a park so close to a large metro area. We took the Causeway Bridge into New Orleans (entrance about four miles west of the park). Traffic in the area was no problem.
Pros: Big park with lots of wilderness and wildlife. Perhaps the cleanest restroom/shower facilities I have ever seen in a state facility. Beautiful live oaks of massive proportions. Comparatively inexpensive.
Cons: Issues with campsites. As clean as the bathrooms were, the campsites were littered with old cigarette butts and small bits of trash. The campsites were oddly laid out as well. We had a small pull through site, but the paved pad was so small and curved we could not get a 12-foot popup (unexpanded) completely on it without driving into the mud beside the pad. The power and water pedestals were on the right side of the popup where they are almost universally on the left in other parks. The fire ring and picnic table were on opposite sides from the fixed grill. It made for an awkward campsite, but at least we had power and water, which we did reserve. Most of the "improved" campsites had only a paved pad, but no water or power.
I would go back here, perhaps in the Spring to see a different season in the park.