So I’ve decided I’m going to go down to Louisiana next month for some kayaking and camping. The area south of NOLA is looking really interesting, but I haven’t had much luck finding the right spot and know less than zero about the region. What is it? Is it swamps? Salt water? Wilderness?
I am looking for a an area that has:
Open water or salt water access
Interesting features: ruins, etc.
3.Interesting nature/wildlife
Camping-primitive preferable, but not mandatory.
If anyone has some info or links to share I would really appreciate it.
Check out Check out the most info on thats section. There were 50 different paddlers who went all the way to the Gulf Of Mexico having started at the source of the Mississippi up in Minnesota. A couple of them just finished last week.
Also several expeditions started in Montana and went to the Gulf.
It’s easy to tell cypress swamp from salt marsh on Google Earth. Personally, I find the Pearl River estuary and the bayous around Lake Ponchertrain to be somewhat more interesting than what’s south of New Orleans. The latter has been cut to bits by oil activity, and mild winters recently have choked bayous and old canals with water weed.
South of NO its very marshy… Roads are built on fill.Access is mostly by boat… the water and the land are indistinct. I have paddled Baritraria preserve of Jean Lafitte National Historic park and it was canal… ugh.
North of New Orleans like Bogue Chitto are far more interesting … With camping. Not canal like at all.
Fontainebleu State Park on the north shore of Ponchartain is a developed and attractive campground.
Atchafalaya has nice swamp boating in cypress.
So yes go north. The trouble is once you have driven 10 to Slidell once out of NO or done the Causeway, the second trip is way more boring.
a ruined civil war for falling into the gulf. That is interesting for about 20 minutes and will get you down into the canals and the edge of the gulf. No camping in the area that I know of. Can be made into an interesting half a day trip
Google the Bayou Haystackers, it's a paddle club with good info of the area on their site. There is also a New Orleans outdoor club on Meetup that organizes paddles all around the area.
If you want a good paddle trip in the South look at Black Creek In the Desoto National Forest in Mississippi, camp on a sandbar or use some of the trailhead campgrounds. You could go a couple days without seeing someone. That's not salt water though.
Another option, Dauphin Island south of Mobile has salt water paddling, two restored civil war forts in the area, and a camper trailer oriented campground. Plenty of marsh paddles or salt water paddling day trip options in the area. Meaner State Park is in the northern part of the bay and would also make a good base for day trips.
Depending on how you get to NO If you are driving in from the north on I-55 there is a town north of New Orleans called Ponchatoula, from there south there are several exits that exit into swamp land adjacent parking lots where locals take boats to their houses. This area is great for day trips and exploring the swamps.
I have never had any problems, but the area can be considered a hostile environment, easy to get lost in the swamps, locals can be a little protective of turf, and don’t leave anything in your car at the take off point.