Welcome to Tentrr in Greater New Orleans

Whenever you’re in a big city such as New Orleans it can often seem daunting to find camping nearby, but there is a lot to be seen just as soon as you get out of the city. From swamplands to historic sites to lakes and wildlife, camping in Greater New Orleans is a delight.

Just an hour from New Orleans, across the Mississippi state line, is Buccaneer State Park, a park that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina but which has made a magnificent comeback. The large oaks are draped in hanging moss, and the area is named for a real buccaneer: Lafitte, who inhabited the Old Pirate House just a short distance from the park. With more than 200 campsites with full amenities, including flush toilets and hot showers, Buccaneer is a park with history.

Another short jaunt from the city is Fairview-Riverside. While there’s plenty of space for the family to run and play on the grassy fields, if you want to get in some fishing the Tchefuncte River is full of bass, bluegill, white perch, and bream--but if you head out on the river to where it meets the lake you’ll also find channel catfish, speckled trout, and redfish. And crabbing is encouraged and a different kind of activity altogether. And just two miles away you can launch a boat out onto Lake Pontchartrain for all kinds of boating activities.

Camping in Fontainebleau State Park has more than 100 improved campsites and 250 primitive sites, and this large 2,800 acre park really explores the bayou ecosystem surrounding New Orleans. The area began as a sugar plantation, and the old sugar mill remains here, but the real draw is the more than 400 species of wildlife (including alligators).

So if you’re in New Orleans and want to get out of the city and go camping, there is much to be found just an hour outside of town.