Fontainebleau State Park

We rolled in Sunday afternoon and immediately felt how social this park can be. The Louisiana Airstream Club was wrapping up a weekend meet-up, and a few people still around camp came over to introduce themselves and share recommendations. It slowed our arrival in a good way. Instead of pushing straight into New Orleans, we ended up standing outside talking long enough that the park became the first plan.

North Loop was more wooded than South, with more shade and a tighter sense of canopy. Some of the pull-through sites had the best privacy we saw. Noise never became a factor. Nights were mostly frogs and the usual park sounds, even with the campground running close to full. Our spot was closer to the trails than the lakefront, but the beach was still only about a ten-minute walk.

Once we settled, the park’s rhythm was easy to fall into. Bike rides and dog walks, naturally. The Tammany Trace was close enough to feel like part of the stay, and Lake Pontchartrain was always within reach for a stunning shoreline sunset. The week moved fast, partly because we didn't get a weekend but also due to a full day trip in NOLA. How could we resist, it was Mardi Gras...

🧭 The Lay of the Land

• Location: Mandeville, Louisiana · 30.3450, -90.0228 · [Google Maps]
• Official site: [Fontainebleau State Park]
• Landscape: Lake Pontchartrain shoreline · Live oak forest
• Vibe: Social
• Our stay & conditions: Feb 2026 · 4 nights · clear, mild days (mid-60s) with occasional wind

🏕️ Camp Setup

• Site types: RV back-in · RV pull-through · Tent
• Arrival & setup: Moderate
• Hookups: 💧 / ⚡ / 🚽 | 🧻
• Connectivity: 📶 AT&T ⚠️ | 📶 Verizon ⚠️ | 📶 T-Mobile ⚠️ | 📡 Starlink ⚠️ | 📶 Park Wi-Fi ⟂
• Facilities: Restrooms · Showers · Laundry · Trail access

Legend:
🚽 = sewer at site · 🧻 = dump station
🟢 = solid for work · ⚠️ = usable with limits · ❌ = unusable

Park Highlights

Fontainebleau works because it gives you two things at once: a real park setting with trails and big trees, and a direct line to a major city without feeling urban. The live oaks are not a backdrop here. Even in February, with the landscape muted, the canopy carries the park. The trees are the main feature, shaping every walk and ride through camp.

Cane Bayou Trail and the Sugar Mill Nature Trail were the routes we kept returning to. They are easy to reach from camp and work well for dog miles. They also make the park feel larger than it is. The Tammany Trace bike trail connects to the park and gives you a long, flat, car-free route that fits into a morning window without becoming a project.

Lake Pontchartrain is less about swimming this time of year and more about scale. Two evenings were still enough to feel why the lake matters here. Sunsets opened up across the water, and even with a mostly full campground, the shoreline was peaceful. It is one of those places where the water is part of the atmosphere even when you are not using it.

🚴 On the Ground

• Activities available: ● 🥾 Hiking | ● 🚴 Biking | ● 🐕 Dogs | ○ 🚣 Paddling | ● 🎣 Fishing | ● 🐦 Wildlife / Birding | ● 🏊 Swimming | ● 📸 Photography | ● 🏕️ Camp-centric | ○ 🧗 Climbing
• Trail mileage available: 🥾 6.5 | 🚴 28.2 mi | 🚣 ⟂
• Crowd level: Moderate

Legend: ● = available · ○ = not available

New Orleans Day Trip

Fontainebleau works as a basecamp for New Orleans because you can have a full city day and still come back to quiet trees at night. We took the bridge over Lake Pontchartrain and made a loop of the city. Audubon Park first, then a drive along St. Charles to see the streetcars and old neighborhoods, then into the edges of the French Quarter.

We walked the Quarter with the dogs, kept it simple, and let the place be itself. Lunch, a stop for a drink at Lafitte's, Jackson Square, live music in passing, and beignets at Café du Monde before heading back out. It was a full dose of New Orleans, and we loved it. It also made the park feel even more valuable as a quiet reset point outside the city.

⚡ TL;DR

• Park highlight: Lake Pontchartrain beach, big-oak campground setting, easy drive into New Orleans
• Best for: Social, water-adjacent weekends with trails and easy lake time
• Skip if: You need consistent cell signal or want paddling at the park
• Worth planning around?: Yes

Final Takeaways

Fontainebleau is an easy park to recommend if you want big live oaks, trail access, and a Lake Pontchartrain shoreline all in one place. It’s social when it’s busy, but it stays peaceful at night. The beach is close enough to use even if you are camped nearer the trails, and on the right evenings the sunset across the lake is the payoff. Add in how close it sits to New Orleans, and it becomes a stay you can build a longer week around.