Pre-Mardi Gras Camping in New Orleans!!

I've been wanting to cross the border, and I thought this might be the perfect time to do it. This is the weekend before Mardi Gras, so people who can make a long weekend of it can even choose to stay through Mardi Gras!

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Fontainebleau State Park: http://www.crt.state.la.us/parks/ifontaine.aspx
Krewe of Isis Mardi Gras Parade: http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/schedule/parade-route/parades-isis.html

Barataria Preserve: http://www.nps.gov/jela/barataria-preserve.htm

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Fontainebleau State Park is on Lake Ponchartrain and still has plenty of improved sites for $16 a night. You can put 2 tents or 6 people on each site, and there are showers, etc. nearby. To reserve your site, visit www.reserveamerica.com. Search Fontainebleau State Park. Choose "Campsite (Improved)". Then click on the map icon next to a campsite. I have reserved site CI068 for Friday & Saturday nights. The ring of sites near me are the closest to the bathrooms and showers.

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Saturday during the day we will hike in Jean Lafitte National Historic Park in Barataria Preserve and visit the Audubon Zoo. This is one of the top 10 zoos in the country. Saturday night we will drive to Metairie to see the Isis Mardi Gras Parade.

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Sunday morning we will do a city hike of the French Quarter and some historic sections of New Orleans. This will be how we begin our morning. We will park near Harah's Casino. We will run just inside the front doors, all put a dollar in a slot machine, see who gets lucky, and move on with our hike. Then we will head to the RiverWalk Marketplace where the ferry is that will take us across the Mississippi and back. From there we will hike along the riverwalk to the French Marketplace. We will head toward St. Louis Cathedral and take a short break to have a beignet and coffee at the Cafe du Monde. We will take a little trek down Bourbon St. and head up to St. Louis Cemetery #1, the oldest cemetery in the city where Marie Leveau (Voodoo Queen) and many others are interred. After heading through Louis Armstong Park, down Orleans residential district, and down beautiful Royal St. (known for its art galleries). We will then catch the St. Charles Streetcar at Canal St. and head to the Garden District where we will see spectacular historic and celebrity homes. (More to come) :-)http://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/9/4/f/e/event_194618142.jpeg