What is not to love about dining a historic park that offers 2,800 acres and beautiful views of Lake Pontchartrain. This place did not disappoint and what a lovely day to explore. Established in 1942, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, the most-visited park in Louisiana has nature trails, a sandy beach, a new, all-inclusive playground, a splash pad, and the ruins of an 1829 sugar mill situated among towering oaks. Love there is An all-terrain track wheelchair is available for use by visitors with limited mobility. Win win for everyone. read more

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Huge beautiful park! A real treasure find for this Alaskan! Took the Sugar Mill trail which is a nice, wide gravel trail. Very easy to traverse for just about anyone. Some walked while some biked. Sugar Mill is a looping trail about a mile long. The alligator boardwalk trail was closed, likely due to damage from Ida and hasn't been repaired yet. There was another trail, but we did not take it. The massive cypress are just awesome! The Spanish moss slowly wavering in the air as you walk underneath these giants is just captivating to me! We did not encounter any creatures except squirrels and a male Orchard Orbweaver and his impressive web. Sooo much space and things to do here we didn't even do all of it. There's big open fields for playing, a playground, tons of parking available. I did see the pier and water of Lake Pontchartrain in the distance, but we were too hungry to keep exploring lol $3 per person to enter the park - 100% worth it read more

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Beautiful sandy beach to share with family and friend. Watching the sunset across Lake Pontchartrain at dusk is just phenomenal. Very nice state park with lots of things to do. read more

This is a great campground as it's on the north side of Lake Pontchartrain. The best place to go crabbin off the rocky shore. Camping, fishing, nature trails, kid friendly, lots of historical significance all around you with beautiful sunsets. The shell mound builders, Native American Tribes have lived in this beautiful park area for over 2500 years. It's abundant in wildlife. The Chocktaws indians have also been around this area since the 1700's. However, most of them were forced to Oklahoma by the US Government in the early 1900's. A beautiful campground & must visit. Highly Recommend. read more

Entry to the park is 3$ per person. This park is a great picnic spot with lots of picnic benches and trails. The beach is pleasant and not too crowded. We went on a Saturday and the restroom facilities were open to the public. There was a swimming advisory in affect "swim at your own risk" with no lifeguard on duty, but many people still went in the water. There's a splash pad near the beach. Laid-back atmosphere with people cooking out on mini-grills and playing music. The lake water is warm and you have to walk pretty far out on some squishy sand mud at parts to get waist deep. All in all glad this area is accessible to the public with facilities. read more

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The meeting room worked out great for our little reunion. We had plenty of seating both upstairs and down stairs. read more

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My review is for the Cane Bayou trail as that was all that we did today. Beautiful park and very well marked trail. I would rate it very easy. Not much elevation change and not many obstacles in the trail except roots. But do not try this trail without plenty of bug spray. The mosquitos are swarming! We only had enough bug spray for one application. About halfway through the hike, we really needed another application but didn't have any. The mosquitos swarmed us the entire second half of the loop. Biting through our clothes. It was crazy. Would have enjoyed our hike much more with more bug spray. read more

This has been on my list of places I want to go since I saw it on the list Louisiana African American Heritage Trail on a social media site. This started as a Sugar Plantation in the mid-1800's and at its peak had 150 enslaved people on record. Native Tribes have been in the area for thousands of years before that but were gradually chased off by the white man. This is now a state run park that is about 250 acres. There are buildings on the water for glamping, sites for RV camping, and sites for tent camping. A very nice splash pad for the small children and those young at heart. Play equipment and spots for picnics are there, both covered and uncovered. There is a public access section to the beach on the lake. There are several trails to hike. It seems like a bit of something for almost everyone. The visitors center was open and filled with historical exhibits. Also the remains of the sugar mill sit near the visitors center. I look forward to bringing friends to take the trails and hanging out on the beach. A coworker states that the camp sites are nice and his kid and wife like coming. Everything seems clean and well maintained. read more

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Beautiful, stately park in St. Tammany Parish on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. We rode our bikes here on the Tammany Trace bike trail. This park is historically important (I'm not going to get into here-just be sure to check it out!) read more

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Came here for two nights of camping and was thoroughly impressed. The campground is clean and well maintained. I was bummed they didn't have any sites with electricity or water left, but we were just happy to have a little fun last minute. We tent camped, and we were right across from the restrooms which was nice, because who likes going far to the restroom. We were also about .5 a mile from the lake, which has a splash pad, and a pier you can fish off of. The lake shore had broken glass which was sad because there is signage every where stating no glass containers. Very fun family friendly / dog friendly campground we loved it and definitely will be back. read more

This is one of the few areas where Lake Ponchartrain offers a space that is both natural and visitor-friendly, in contrast to the flat unexciting spaces in New Orleans by the levees and the vast swaths of valuable but inaccessible wetlands. Nonetheless, it has its weak points. Notably, admission was per person, not per car. And having been charged, I was irked to find the visitor center not open, and a wetland boardwalk mostly closed off, presumably for repairs. I thought the bathrooms were closed too, but it ended up that only some doors to the building were locked. In any case, to have paid for the park and gotten these inadequacies during prime midsummer visiting hours was disappointing. The upside is that there was something to see. A small but swimmable and sandy beach was a rare find in this area. The foliage and views in the part of the swamp I did see were distinctive. I took the short nature trail, but a five mile round trip for the long one was out of the question in the summer heat. The short one notably had some nasty looking orb spiders weaving webs at heights where one could easily hit them; arachnophobes steer clear. All in all, I was glad to visit the park, but they could do better at keeping things running. read more

Fontainebleau State Park - Parks Near Me - Mandeville, Louisiana

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On lake Pontchartrain, water view cabins for rent. Picnic facility's, swimming, crabbing and fishing. Lots of nature trails to hike. Bathroom facility's. I've brought my kids and grandkids here many times read more

We've visited this campground many times over the past 7 years. The state didn't keep up with the park for a while, and they look like they're trying to catch up on some improvements lately. We've seen the group "Meeting Room" and it was great for large groups (up to 50 people). Very reasonably priced. As for RV camping; *Not all sites have sewerage hookups *The tap water has bad smell and taste to it *Some areas are low and grounds stay wet *There are a lot of broken branches, felled trees (un-cleared) on grounds *BBQ pits ok *Fire rings aren't in good condition and some are non-existent. *overall campsites need upgrades *Bathhouse was in ok condition *They need more signage to direct campers *Need more speed limit signs *Need more trash receptacles for recycling etc *WiFi worked when we were there This COULD be a really nice park. There's hiking trails, swimming in Lake Pontchartrain, fishing, and picnicking available in the area. read more

2,800 acre park that is well maintained. Playgrounds, children's water park. Open and covered picnic tables. Grills. White sandy beaches. Walk out into the water with a good view of the lake. Wonderful breeze off of the lake. Cabins out over the water for rent, improved and primitive camping. Hiking and bike trail, boardwalk with caution alligator signs! Lots of nature and relaxation. read more

Fontainebleau is a great state park in the Mandeville area. If you have kids, there is a nice play area with swings and other equipment. This area is located near the beachfront, and is not usually crowded. There are also benches for parents, and the area is filled with sand, so the inevitable falls wont be as painful. I have camped at Fontainebleau numerous times throughout the years in tents, the weird tepees and their old meeting lodges. The meeting lodges are long gone since Katrina, but it does look like they are building a new facility in its place. The camping facilities are great. There are areas with or without cement slabs (designed for RVs). Each area for camping has buildings with bathrooms and showers so you wont be totally roughing it. There are also plenty of downed trees so you should have no problem gathering enough wood for a campfire. The camping areas can get crowded on weekends, but there is usually enough area between sites where you wont feel crammed. I'm not sure if the tepees are still in use, but they are odd. Imagine a large tepee with a cement floor. They are best used for large groups sleeping on cots. There are several beautiful lakefront cabins that I have yet to experience, but i did drive by, and they look great. The day use fee is very reasonable. I don't remember exactly, but I think it was under $2 per car. I highly recommend this park. It is only an hour or less drive from New Orleans, but you will feel a world away and be able to relax and enjoy nature. read more

Absolutely wonderful state park in Mandeville. Fontainebleau is drop dead gorgeous and it has it all. I love oak trees draped with moss. There are hundreds of those here. I love pecan trees and picking pecans. That brings back such fond memories for me because my sweet grandmother had several pecan trees in her back yard and was a favorite pastime of ours. There are hundreds of pecan trees here. I love the lake. Beautiful Lake Ponchatrain is here in all of her glory for you to enjoy. I love the beach. Fontianbleau State Park even has a beach. The last time I was here I saw not one, not two, but three deer. Three! How cool is that?! It's $2 a person per vehicle to enter the park. Totally worth it, considering it is perfect here. Perfect, perfect, perfect. read more

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Great place. Clean and well maintained. Can't wait to go back to bike the awesome trails.

Campground is kept clean and has friendly staff. Both water and power available at sites but central sewer dump. Cost is reasonable, particularly to senior residents of LA. But spaces are a little close with a few providing some privacy. Large pavilions in park. No pool but nice playground and splash pad for kiddos. Water access to Lake ponchartrain via a small Sandy beach is available. Due to high bacteria levels at times, suggest showering after swimming. read more

Camped here for the first time over the weekend. Great campsites and nice grounds. Love all the huge oaks in the park with the hanging Spanish moss. Dog friendly, which was awesome. Fire pits available for every campsite. Multiple playgrounds for kids. Only complaint, which I don't know how the park would handle anyway, but sometimes your camping neighbors are great and friendly... or in our case noisy. After dark, well after dark, 10pm maybe, kids yelling, mom yelling at kids... just rowdy and inconsiderate. Don't know if there are any park employees that drive around at night or not? But overall wonderful park to visit for a day trip or overnight camping. Note: Great place to see some wild life. Saw rabbits, deer, and enough bugs to last a lifetime. read more

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I and my family (Hubby and Little Girl), plus four dogs (all above 60lbs) & 1 Cat, stayed at the Fontainebleau State Park Campground for 14 nights. We began our stay at the park's primitive campsites. When booking my site, I didn't realize that our sight had little to no shade. I called the front desk and spoke to a fantastic woman who helped us move to a considerably more covered site. We could use the BBQ pit but not the fire pit (Statewide Burn Ban) during our time. Upon setting up, I realized that the BBQ had branches above it and went to the Campground host, and within minutes, the area was secured and ready to be used. Due to the heat, we moved to the Improved Camp Site with our RV within the first week. Again, the front desk made the whole process easy and stress-free, charging us a few dollars for the upgrade. Primitive sites are $18, and improved begin at $25. We paid $ 10 to upgrade the rest of our stay. Our stay was unique between the amiable and helpful campground host and Park rangers. Being able to go not only to the beach and splash pad but also to the different playgrounds was a massive bonus for my little girl. Even when there were issues surrounding other guests and our pups (most of the people had little dogs, and ours are all big), the Park Rangers looked into everything and helped us when it became apparent other guests were harassing us. We will be back even with a few bumps in the road during our stay. The Comfort stations (Bathrooms/Showers/Laundry) were clean and well-maintained. The Park itself is Beautiful, clean, and well-maintained. read more

Lots of RV parking and great nice quiet to relax. Right there on the lake. Cabins and lots of sites available first come first serve. Great trails and nice views. Would definitely stay here again. read more

Today was my first time visiting Fontainebleau State Park and it won't be the last. This beautiful park is located just 45 minutes from New Orleans on the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain near Mandeville. After spending a few quiet hours on the beach relaxing and watching the wind surfers, I explored the various campgrounds the park had to offer. There is a large primitive camping area for tents, an RV camp, a large group cabin, and several vacation cabins right on the lake. This park also features a fishing pier, at least three hiking and nature trails as well as a visitor center and picnicing areas. At just $1 per person for a day pass, you have no reason not to visit! Pack a lunch or pack your sleeping bag, this is a great park for all! read more

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I have to check out in two hours and I don't want to leave. I've been here with friends at one of the lakefront cabins. They're amazing. The water is shallow near the shores; you can wade out 100 feet or so and then it gets deep, supposedly. I'm kind of a scaredy cat so I just chill on the beach. You feel like you're on the ocean, aside from the causeway and a foggy view of New Orleans' skyline in the distance. There are lots of really old live oaks and middens from Native American tribes if you know where to look. Freshwater clams, crabs and fish. Tons of birds. I just love it here. read more

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Beautiful park and a great place to stay with an RV. The bath house was modern, clean, and had great air conditioning. Mosquitoes were bad at sunset but what do you expect in LA. They also have a great water park and we took a look up by the cabins and they looked beautiful and right on the water. read more

My favorite campground around! This state park is absolutely beautiful! Old oak trees, tons of Spanish moss, the beach, a long pier, covered pavilions, concreted RV spots and lots of room for tents. I camp here quite often due to the beauty and also the easy access to surrounding towns. I love how peaceful this place is. In the summer we like to crab in the lake. This past visit was freezing cold but we were able to see over 30 deer! A small group was right NEXT to our camper! I whole heartedly recommend this place! read more

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One of my favorite places to visit for the day. I only gave it three stars because I have yet to visit as an overnight camper. When I do, I will give a review of the camping facilities. Prices for camping sites range from $12 - $18 per night depending on the site. As a day use visitor, this place offers a good bit to do. There's a beach on the south end along Lake Pontchartrian along with an area with water fountains for the kids. Also on the lake is a nice sized fishing pier for use. There is also a two acre brackish water fishing pond nearby. Tons of picnic tables and BBQ grills in the day use area. If you want more than just tree cove, there is also two large picnic pavilions near the lakefront. Not sure if you can reserve these or if it's first come, first served. If you like trails, the park offers two dedicated trails. There's a 1.2 mile nature trail and a 4.8 hiking trail. Along the nature trail is a boardwalk that extends over the nearby marsh. There's two observation decks with mounted binoculars for viewing. You may see an alligator or two. Be sure to check out the visitor's center and the nearby ruins of the sugar mill that once occupied the property. If you're into geocaching, there's a few here to hunt as well as in the nearby Northlake Nature Center. read more

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This park is absolutely GORGEOUS. Huge live oaks on the grounds. Beach at the Lake that is kept pretty clean. Trails going off into the wilderness. Wide open spaces for gatherings or whatever you want. Sometimes, when I'm on a cruise in my car, I gladly pay the $2 fee to enter the park just to take a ride through there. I camped here one time even and it was really nice. The $20 primitive camping fee was a bit much, but it was nice. My brolaw had his bachelor's crawfish boil in one of the pavilions by the lake and it was a nice day to be at the park. There's a nice beach out there that is enjoyed by lots of people kept clean. My dad used to rent one of the cabins out by the lake and the couple times I was out there, they were nice as well. These grounds are absolutely gorgeous and even if you're wanting to pass through to see some beautiful landscape, it's worth a drive. read more

Fontainebleau State Park - There are absolutely beautiful sights to see at this park. Lots of trees. Ignore the Mitsubishi. - Parks Near Me - Mandeville, Louisiana

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Great place to go to when you want to get out of the city and enjoy nature. It took me about 2 hours to walk the whole entire park only due to looking at the good viewing areas. A must if you ever travel to New Orleans. I've noticed that there are a few trees that stands out from the rest that are gigantic. It only cost me under $5 to get in at the gate. Plus there is a mini beach at the far end where you can see lake Pontchartrain Bridge (second longest bridge in the world) fade away from the distance. read more

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I can remember visiting this park 50 yrs ago as a child. It still has the charm it did back then! The manager Jenny Wallace was very helpful in educating us about the park. I love the fact that it's s wildlife refuge. Jenny spoke of some of the different reptiles, deer, alligators etc that claim this historic place as their home. There are camping site available to rent, historic cabins that could probably use some care. I am aware that the local Sierra Club Ladies offered to help with restoration at no expense to the park. I'm baffled why this is not already in progress. I noted on the way into the park the Sierra Ladies did a wonderful job sprucing up the entrance. That's what prompted me to stop in and visit when we were on the Northshore while visiting from California. I understand the state is considering selling off a portion of the land to developers. How sad this would be for this community. I don't think people understand the full impact of not protecting our Historic Parks and wildlife refuges! I'm definitely rooting for preservation of this beautiful place. read more

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This park was so well kept and pretty. The entrance was really nice and inviting. There were two trails, we took the shorter one called "the nature trail". We didn't see any animals other than insects but that was probably because we had a three year old with us. The signage on the trail could've been a bit better. We kind of weren't sure where we were going at a couple of points. I was a bit disappointed to see that the bayou boardwalk had been destroyed at some point and not rebuilt. I would love to go back and visit the beach area or the overnight camping! read more

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Our favorite Louisiana State Park. We love to ride the Tammany Trace o our bikes! Beautiful beach, great sunsets and the Deer at Dusk are all highlights each time we camp here. read more

Went for a day trip to get out of New Orleans during the pandemic. It was warm day but the trails were nice and beautiful setting. I'll definitely go back bike ride some in the trails and explore more once the summer heat goes down. read more

We were driving around Lake Pontchartrain and made a spontaneous decision to stop by at Fontainebleau State Park. Since the sun was setting, our intent was to take a few photos for 15-20 minutes before it got dark. The Park ranger at the park entrance did not even charge us the $4 ticket as we were spending less than an hour. What a nice guy ! The road kind of winds along for a mile or so before reaching the parking lot by the beach. The view of the sun setting on the horizon and the amazing colors were simply awesome. I wish I had a SLR camera instead of my Samsung S4 which is not too bad for a phone camera (see attached pics). The walk along the beach was beautiful, until we came to the edge of the trees where there were lots of mosquitoes - probably due to standing back waters, so we scrammed from there. Overall, it's a nice little beach for a romantic walk or a family picnic. read more

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We had a great time today at the park! It was our first time here! We didn't know it cost $3 per person (we had a party of 6) but we were advised about the $80 annual pass to get into all state parks for one vehicle. Since we decided on this they let us through and told us to come back to sign up on the way out. This trip was to face my fears apparently! Lol. There were soooooooo many spider webs and huge spiders. They were harmless although I'm not sure if they were poisonous or not. They are on either sides and above you though so definitely pay attention. The alligator marsh was nice as well! (I have a phobia of alligators so of course my experience may be quite different!) I was really scared but I only saw one alligator. There are plenty of amenities as well! You can camp on site, fish, go to the beach area, playground, splash park. There are several areas with benches for gatherings. We definitely enjoyed ourselves and will be coming back for more! read more

Fontainebleau State Park - Alligator marsh bayou -scary!! Lol - Parks Near Me - Mandeville, Louisiana

Great for visiting sandy area, I wouldn't let my kids get in water looked black and dirty. Warning signs of Bacteria. It was a great walkand visit although when arrived the the water park wasn't running read more

Fontainebleau State Park - Parks Near Me - Mandeville, Louisiana

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Beautiful place for just about every occasion and activity. From reading to sporting, hiking or just just relaxing. Great views from beach to oak trees that are amazing at sunset. read more

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Beautiful view. The park is not big, but only a few visitors. It is very quite and good for family. read more

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Took the kids and our dog to this state park. It has nice easy walking trails and I noticed biking trails as well. We love nature and taking pics. This park also has a splash pad and beach but because we had our dog we didn't get a chance to explore either which is fine. Bring bug spray and watch the trail for spiders we counted 45 today on our hike and had to duck under a lot of webs. We didn't mind though read more

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Best camping experience!!! They have clean FREE showers/toilets. They also have nice FREE washing machines campers can use. The dryer costs only $1 for 35 min dry cycle. Roads are paved. We stayed with our 24 foot camper trailer in an "improved site" which was a back in site that had water and electric hookup. There is a dump station near by, so having sewer hookup at the site wasn't necessary for us. The night rate was $24 for the improved site. There are a few sites that have sewer included. Deer and squirrels were close by. Only negative comment would be the humidity and damp/wet grounds... but that's Louisiana for ya! Would stay here again! read more

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First off the park is very nice,but the primitive camping for tents isn't that primitive. Camping spots extremely close,fire ring had trash,guy across from me started running a generator in the tent camping area. :-( read more

Fontainebleau State Park - Trash in the fire ring - Parks Near Me - Mandeville, Louisiana