Fontainebleau State Park

When we got ready to hit the road searching for adventure in the Mandeville, LA area today it started to rain.  At first it was just a drizzle but then it started raining harder and it became obvious that sightseeing was not going to be the order of the day.  We stopped at a grocery store and got some supplies and then headed back to the motorhome.  

The rain let up somewhat and we decided to drive around the park.  Keep in mind that this is a very large park of 2,800 acres  with cabins, campgrounds, waterpark, picnic areas and lots of open space.  It is located on the North shore of Lake Pontchartrain and has a couple miles of beach and shore front.  They also have a bike trail that goes through the park on an old railroad right of way.  

We drove down to the area where the 12 cabins are located.  They are built on concrete stilts and go out into the lake.  I understand they are very popular and you have to rent them many months in advance.  We didn't go in any of them, but they looked new and very nice from the outside.  The view at sunset must be worth a million dollars.

There is a nice water park area with water jets and buckets attached to a pole that filled with water and then dumped it on the people below. It sounds silly but I imagine little kids would love playing in that pool in their swim suits.  They were building this area when we were last here in 2009 on our way to Tucson.  

Across from this area was a large covered pavilion that would hold at least 75 people.  There was a group of young teenagers there under the pavilion having a picnic.  Outside on the grass they had a large bouncy bounce that was shaped into a slide.  The kids were having a blast in the rain sliding down the slide.  A couple decided to jump down and bounce into the small pool.  Not a very good idea, to say the least.

The park is covered with very large and old oak trees and some   must be over 100 years old.  The Spanish moss covers a lot of the trees and they are beautiful.  Hurricane Katrina hit this area hard and took out thousands of trees and the area still has parts that can't be accessed due to the closeness of the trees.  One old tree is right alongside the road and is quite dead.  It looks very interesting and I think the park management left it there to be photographed.

If you are ever in the Mandeville, LA vicinity and want to spend the night in a great park and campground, then Fontainebleau State Park is the place for you.  They have a few full hookup sites, but most are water & electric sites.