Fontainebleau Beach

Mandeville, Louisiana · on Lake Pontchartrain

Verified · 2 independent sources

WATER: lake
ACCESS: Designated swim area
FEE: $3 per person
SEASON: Varies by conditions

About Fontainebleau Beach

Fontainebleau Beach is the sandy swimming beach of Fontainebleau State Park, a Louisiana state park on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain near Mandeville. The park officially designates the beach and an adjacent water playground as swim facilities, making it a sanctioned swimming hole, though the lake here is a brackish estuary rather than a strictly freshwater lake to swim in.

The park sits on a peninsula surrounded on three sides by water (Lake Pontchartrain, Bayou Cane, and Bayou Castine), on land that was once Bernard de Marigny's 19th-century sugar plantation; ruins of the 1829 sugar mill remain on site and the park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The park also has extensive pine and live-oak forest, nature trails, a fishing pier and pond, campgrounds, cabins, and connects to the 31-mile paved Tammany Trace rail-trail.

Swimming at Fontainebleau Beach

Swimming is an officially sanctioned park activity at the sandy beach on Lake Pontchartrain, with a separate seasonal water playground (Tue-Sun, 8am-8pm) as an additional swim feature. Lake Pontchartrain is a large brackish estuary rather than a true freshwater lake, and swim conditions are subject to periodic bacteria advisories issued by the Louisiana Department of Health, so water quality can vary by season and after rain.

The hike in

The beach is reached directly from the park's day-use parking area with only a short walk (no hike). The park separately maintains a 4.8-mile hiking trail and a 1.25-mile nature trail (per lastateparks.com), but these are recreational trails through the park's pine/live-oak forest and are not the route to the swim beach.

No hike is required to reach the swimming area; it is a standard drive-up state park beach.

Plan your visit

Bringing kids

OK with supervision

It is an officially designated, drive-up state-park swim beach with a separate seasonal water playground (Tue-Sun, 8am-8pm) that offers shallow, controlled water good for young kids. No lifeguard service was confirmed at the main lake beach in any source found, and Lake Pontchartrain is a large, wind-exposed brackish lake that has had periodic bacteria advisories (per WDSU coverage of a past swimming advisory and the LA Dept. of Health beach monitoring program), so open-water swimming there should be supervised and checked against current advisories rather than treated as a controlled pool.

Parking

Paid, $3 per person park entrance fee (free for seniors 62+ and children 3 and under)

The $3/person charge is a general park entrance fee collected at the gate, not a separate parking fee; it covers access to the day-use lot near the beach. No source found gives a distinct lot name or a parking-specific cost.

Restrooms

Yes

Restrooms are listed among the park's on-site facilities (per lastateparks.com), but no source found specifies the exact building location relative to the beach itself beyond being within the day-use/park facility area.

Hours

Park gates open 7am-9pm daily; entrance station staffed 8am-5pm Sun-Thu and 8am-8pm Fri/Sat/holiday eves (per lastateparks.com). The seasonal water playground runs Tue-Sun, 8am-8pm, closed Mondays for maintenance. A vendor page (bayouadventure.com) separately describes the park as open daily 8am-8pm.

On the water

Kayaks

A self-serve kayak rental kiosk (operated by Bayou Adventure) is located at Cane Bayou within the park, offering single and tandem kayaks. No source found specifies rules for visitor-owned canoes, paddleboards, or motorized boats at the beach itself. A private marina (JSBB Marina) on nearby Bayou Castine offers boat slips for rent but does not appear to be an equipment rental outfitter.

Rentals nearby

Bayou Adventure (Fontainebleau State Park / Cane Bayou kiosk)

Self-serve kayak rentals (single and tandem kayak) at a kiosk on Cane Bayou inside the state park

Prices: Single kayak: $35 (2 hrs) / $50 (4 hrs) / $65 (6 hrs); Tandem kayak: $50 (2 hrs) / $65 (4 hrs) / $80 (6 hrs) (per lastateparks.com listing of the park's rental program)

Cane Bayou, inside Fontainebleau State Park, Mandeville, LA (reached via Hwy 190, then Ground Camp Rd after crossing the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway) · Not separately published for the kiosk; the vendor's own page states the park itself is open daily 8am-8pm

Backstory

The park's land was part of a 19th-century sugar plantation owned by Bernard de Marigny, who named it after the Fontainebleau forest near Paris; ruins of an 1829 sugar mill remain, the park was established in 1942, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Fontainebleau Beach: FAQ

Does Fontainebleau Beach charge a fee?

$3 per person to enter the park; free for seniors 62 and older and children 3 and under (per lastateparks.com).

Is Fontainebleau Beach kid friendly?

Do I need to hike to reach Fontainebleau Beach?

No significant hike is required. The swimming area is close to parking and access.

Where do I park for Fontainebleau Beach?

Can I bring a kayak or paddleboard to Fontainebleau Beach?

What are the rules at Fontainebleau Beach?

Park gates open 7am-9pm daily; entrance station staffed 8am-5pm Sunday-Thursday and 8am-8pm Friday/Saturday/holiday eves. The beach and water playground are subject to Louisiana Department of Health beach monitoring, and swimming advisories have been posted in the past when bacteria levels were elevated.

What water body is Fontainebleau Beach on?

Fontainebleau Beach is on Lake Pontchartrain, a natural lake verified in USGS hydrography data.