Best Tent Camping near Mandeville, LA

Every time we visit this park (which is a lot) we are able to have a new and fun adventure!

When my children were very young. This was one of the first places in the area to have a splash park for my children to run and play while staying cool in the south Louisiana heat.

Move up a few years, Tickfaw has provided myself and children with hours of fun, safe and informative hikes along the well maintained boardwalks through South Louisiana swamps.

As my children have grown we have still been able to explore the park further by utilizing the campgrounds! The tent camping section has defined/ private tent sites with picnic tables, and parking next to each site. The Rv park also boost a fun and family atmosphere, with fishing ponds, bike riding, canoeing, and primitive hiking. All with clean and air conditioned restroom facilities easily accessible to all sites.

Friendly, kind and helpful owners offer a kid’s playground, swimming pool and large RV campsites. Full hookups at most sites. Tent camping accommodated as well.

Just completed our first non-tent camping experience with our new camper. Fontainebleau was the perfect spot. Easy to navigate, lots of really good campsites, clean, air-conditioned restrooms. Tons of wildlife and a great splash park for the kids. Nice nature trails. Can’t wait to go back.

The campground was nice. Plenty to do to keep us busy. Between the nature walk, fishing and time on the beach our days were packed. I do not recommend the “premium” tent sites. They are nothing more than a stop of grass next to a parking lot backed up to trees. The gnats were terrible, made worse by the wind screen provided by the tow of trees. Plan ahead as it seems this park stays full. Very good location for a day trip into New Orleans too!!

We were pleasantly surprised by the nice views, great tent campsites, cold river access, and access to restaurants even though camp feels remote. At night there was a lake nearby you could see the alligator’s eyes glowing - kids thought that was cool. Great swimming- but river had very strong current so kids wore Life jackets. This area is hilly and has a different appearance than most state parks I’ve been to in LA. The restrooms/shower access are a short walk and kept very clean.

My understanding is that this campground is currently closed due to the impacts of Hurricane Ida and efforts are being made to get it opened back up soon.

We tent camped on an rv site (May 2020) and set up our tent on natural ground beyond the asphalt pad.  The other campers in our area were quiet and kept to their campsites.  We enjoyed a bike ride on the Saint Tammany Trace and then made a short drive to Abita Springs for lunch.  There was high water at the time we went, so the beach area was shut down for recreation.  We did manage to get out to the pier on Sunday for a scenic view of the lake.  

We plan to return to the park soon and bring our kayaks.  There seems to be lots of good paddling opportunities around the park.

This is a really nice state park and campground. It's located right on Lake Pontchartrain, which is really beautiful and nice for swimming, fishing, canoeing. They have some really nice tent sites, nice bathrooms, pavilions, picnic tables. There are also cabins that you can rent if you want. The beaches are cool, there are some nice hiking and biking trails.

Of course, being right near New Orleans, there is plenty to do. Taking a boat tour through some of the swamps is really cool. Plus, you get to find out a little about the history of the city. Taking a bike tour around the city is really cool as well. I learned so much about the history of New Orleans when I did it! Just a really awesome city full of culture and weirdly awesome stuff.

Enjoyed spending 3 nights in this large, family oriented state park campground. Camped in a camper van, but most sites appear to be big rig friendly. About a half-dozen freight trains pass close by the campground; noisy, especially where we camped in the Treaure Cove loop. There is also some vehicle noise on a nearby road as well. Didn't bother us, though. Stayed in site 106. Nicely wooded with some, but not much, privacy. Probably not a good spot if charging with solar panels. Restroom/shower houses appear to be we maintained. Sites have water, electric & sewer hookups. Sites are also suitable for tent camping. Can't say anything about the staff since I did not interact with them much. Long walk to the edge of the gulf; not much of a beach near the campground entrance, but nice beaches, with places to park, a short drive east & west of the park. Good AT&T & T-mobile data service. No Wifi.

This park is giant! There are probably over 200 sites for camping in this park with beachfront sites and even primitive drive up sites for tent camping back in the woods. The park has 2 shower areas and 4 bathrooms on site as well as multiple playgrounds for the kiddos and even a water park! It is located directly across the street from the Gulf of Mexico and has its own private beach. I stayed in the primitive camping sites for 2 nights because all other sites were reserved for the weekend and it was great. No electric hookup or water but the sites are privately tucked away in the woods and only cost 15$ per night. If you want, you can stay beachfront for 48$ and I believe the regular sites with hookups and water are around $30 per night. The park itself is very well maintained and has ice and drinks for sale in the front office. The employees are extremely nice and helpful and will even tell you about fun things to do in town while you’re there. Definitely the biggest and one of the nicest campgrounds/state parks I’ve stayed in. Worth the trip!

There is a decent breeze because of Lake Ponchatrain. We brought bikes and rode to the beach and also did part of the Tammany Trace, which runs through the park. If you take a left onto the Tammany Trace, it goes through Mandeville about 4 miles total from camping spot area. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant a couple blocks away from the trail in Mandeville, was really fun.

We saw deer in the campground! Pull through spots are really nice and easy to manage. Make sure you get rid of any trash in the designated dumpsters or trash cans before nightfall. Bathrooms were clean. Had great cell service and decent wifi. Will be visiting again.

We stayed here a little over two weeks in mid-February 2019. We really enjoyed this park. It does get very busy on the weekend, but the area we were in was still quiet and peaceful. We were in an area that is deemed long-term and some people around us were staying several months. There is only water and electricity hookups, but there are two dump stations throughout the park. We used our tote to dump grey water while there. We were on spot #138 and were close to the dump and the camp host. Very convenient for using the tote.  This is a bit older park, but we liked it. There are a few walking trails and you can walk along the road as well. There is a long bike trail that takes you into town, but we didn’t do that. There is a cute little beach and pier at Lake Pontchartrain. Would have loved to have a beach day, but the weather did not cooperate. We walked around the park most days and enjoyed the birds and the wonderful trees with Spanish moss. As with most things in Louisiana, the park is low-lying so with rain there are puddles and mud. The campground did not get bad even though it rained several times while we were there. Internet access was good. Strong signal with AT&T and Verizon. The park is close to Mandeville and Covington if you need any essentials. Access to New Orleans is about an hour. We went twice while there. This was our second time staying here and we enjoyed it more this time because we had extra time to explore the park. We saw numerous deer and several wild boars which was fun. We were there during the off-season, so rates were $20/night on the weeknights and $28/night on weekends. We will definitely be back when in the area again.

This campground is a small open field by a road and river. There were some other rvs and tents even I arrived. I felt safe & it was quiet. No bathrooms or water available. You must have a (free) permit on Louisiana’s app LDWF WMA & sign in & out. I def recommend & I’ll be coming back if I need to camp out near NOLA!!

Went for a few nights solo camping (with my dog) in late January, so we had the tent area to ourselves until Friday afternoon. Really impressed with the cleanliness of the grounds, but some of the fire pits and grills could use some work. Great variety of campsite layouts, as well as a couple of wheelchair friendly ones. Facilities were clean and plentiful. Several miles of trails showcasing the beauty of southern Louisiana. Will definitely be going back.

This place is crawling with gators in the lower portion on the lakes. Hey this is south Louisiana. Tubing down the River is a big attraction. Nice park.

We visited Bogue Chitto after torrential rains pummeled Louisiana and Mississippi causing the park to cancel our site we had reserved with a water view in the Bottomland Loop. This really ended up being a blessing in disguise. We were forced to just pick a site when we arrived at the park (not so great for this OCD-Teacher-Planner-Mom), but after only one drive around the Upland Loop, we decided on site 2 and were not disappointed! The site backed up to a trail, and the driver side of the trailer faced a wooded area (instead of a neighboring site) which afforded us much more privacy than any of the other sites would have. Sites 9, 14, and 46 also looked nice with their awnings facing trees instead of other campsites. All sites in this loop had sewer hook ups, so that was nice. There was a concrete pad underneath the fire ring with a lifting grill, a separate grill by the wooden picnic table, and a lantern post. There was a big tent pad close to the fire ring as well.

We thoroughly enjoyed all of the hiking and biking opportunities this campground afforded us. Although the Bottomland area was closed for camping, we still checked things out for future visits. Given the choice between the two loops in the future, I think I’d choose site 2 again. Camp hosts were visible and kept the campground very clean. During our visit, there was a Dutch Oven competition, so the campground was packed.

We only were able to stay here for two nights and left wishing we could have stayed much longer! We will definitely visit Bogue Chitto State Park again.

This is probably my favorite place to visit in Louisiana. The primitive camping sites are on little peninsulas just big enough for you and your group, so it's truly private. The lake has always been calm when I go, with maybe 1 or 2 kind and considerate boaters.

We went on a weekend after it had rained all week. There wasn’t a dry spot to be found. The bathrooms were cleaned every morning. Sites were pretty close together, but the campground was clean. I would like to see it in summer when it is drier. They offer a discount for the Access Pass holders, but only if you are a Louisiana resident. They don’t detail that on the website.

This site was quite nice.  Loved the beach area and the picnic areas, and the live oaks are to die for.  There are also historical relics there and an museum which were very very nice.  

Only downfall we could see was the sheer amount of bugs.  We brought a bug zapper, thank god, and that thing was COVERED by the time we left.  I guess that would just be typical for south louisiana!