St. Bernard State Park

About this park

St. Bernard State Park sits along the Mississippi River in St. Bernard Parish, between the towns of Poydras and Caernarvon, just 18 miles southeast of the French Quarter in downtown New Orleans. The land was donated to the state in 1971 by a local businessman and former state senator, and for 34 years the park served as the only state park in the St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parish area. Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage to the park in 2005, closing it for over a year before it reopened with a formal ceremony on December 19, 2006. Despite its rich woodland-meets-wetland setting and easy proximity to New Orleans, the park has historically ranked among the least-visited in the Louisiana system, giving it a notably quiet, uncrowded feel compared to parks closer to the city's more heavily trafficked attractions. A children's nature trail introduces young visitors to the transition between forest and marsh habitat, and a seasonal water playground adds family-friendly recreation alongside standard camping, fishing, and picnicking facilities. Its location near the Chalmette Battlefield, Jean Lafitte National Historical Park, and the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge makes it a convenient base for exploring the broader Greater New Orleans area's mix of history and wetland ecology.