Fontainebleau State Park Beach
Mandeville, LA
Fontainebleau State Park's beach runs along the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain in Mandeville, calm and shallow enough that it's one of the easiest lake swims for kids in the New Orleans area. The brick ruins of an 1829 sugar mill sit just up the path from the sand, and sailboats drift past on clear afternoons.
Easy, calm swimming close to New Orleans with real shade and history on the grounds, though it gets genuinely crowded on nice weekends and the entrance fee adds up for a family.
How we score beachesRent a bike and ride the Tammany Trace in from downtown Mandeville instead of driving. It skips the entrance line and drops you within walking distance of the beach.
The park charges a small per person entry fee at the gate, and the lot near the beach fills by midday on summer weekends, so a morning arrival is worth it.
A paved path runs from the parking area to the beach, and an all terrain wheelchair is available with advance reservation for the sand itself.
Leashed dogs are welcome throughout most of the park, but Louisiana State Parks policy bans pets from the designated swimming beach itself.
Lake Pontchartrain warms up by late spring and stays swimmable into September, drawing the heaviest crowds on summer weekends. Hurricane season runs the same months, and the park has closed for storms before, so it's worth checking conditions ahead of a summer trip.
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