Fontainebleau State Park

About this park

Fontainebleau State Park spans 2,800 acres on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, surrounded on three sides by water, and takes its name from the plantation established here by New Orleans planter and legislator Bernard de Marigny, who named the property after the forest near Paris favored by French kings. The land later served as a sugar cane plantation and brickyard operated by Marigny and his son before entering the state park system. The 31-mile Tammany Trace rail-trail crosses directly through the park, connecting it to a broader regional network of paved biking and walking paths, while more than 27 miles of trails within the park itself wind past the historic Tchefuncte archaeological site and through habitat supporting more than 400 recorded bird species, including wintering bald eagles. A state historical marker also documents the enslaved families who once labored on the original plantation grounds. Twelve deluxe cabins perched on piers directly above Lake Pontchartrain, some with stairs leading down to a private waterside deck, give the park some of the more distinctive overnight lodging in the Louisiana system, alongside a north-side lodge, premium and primitive campsites, and group camps. Freshwater ponds stocked with largemouth bass supplement fishing directly in the lake, making Fontainebleau a popular destination for the greater New Orleans and Northshore communities alike.