It’s a little over a year since Hurricane Ida and Tickfaw State Park has not recovered. It’s important to note that hurricanes are huge and cover large distances. The same hurricane that blew our roof off in New Orleans, caused major damage to Tickfaw State Park, which is a little over an hour north of New Orleans.
This was a bit of a last-minute booking for us. We found out we had a day off and decided to grab a spot close to home. I read that the trails had all been obliterated by the Hurricane, but saw that they had a boat launch and made a reservation. I then called the ranger’s office and they explained that the Bayou had not been cleared of hurricane debris, so no boats could launch from their launch. They were nice enough to let us know of a private launch about 5 miles away as an alternative. We decided to go check out the park anyway since we had never been there.
One of the good things Tickfaw State Park has is a loop for tent campers that is separate from RVs. This is something that is much needed at other parks. RV campers and tent campers tend to have different interests. Tent campers generally don’t want to listen to the hum of generators, satellite TVs, or blaring music. Tent campers tend to be there for nature and some quiet time. The thing I don’t like about Tickfaw’s tent loop is that they also put the Tentr glamping sites there. Campers who are primitive camping in a tent don’t necessarily want to be with the most expensive glampers who tend not to have the same interests. Roughing it and glamping don’t necessarily go together. The other thing about the tent loop is that the sites are definitely too close together and you can hear road sounds as well as the kenneled neighborhood dogs barking throughout the night. This may have been fueled by the loss of trees from Hurricane Ida as Tickfaw had massive tree loss as well. If you’re looking for the most private site, that’s site 47.
Even with all the hurricane damage, Tickfaw is a spacious park where you walk or bicycle around the park even though the trails are gone. It also has a splash pad for kids.
We drove down to Leisure Landing, the private boat launch the rangers told us about. It is located about 4 miles down the road from the state park on the Tickfaw River, which has been cleared of hurricane debris. The gentleman that owns the land has a little metal mailbox in front of his house that you can stick some cash into for use of the boat launch. He actually came outside to greet us. The ranger had said it was $5.00 to launch, but he was cool with whatever. We gave him a $5. You park by the dumpster next to the launch.
The highlight of the trip was kayaking on the Tickfaw River. We had the river to ourselves most of the day, passing one fishing boat and some kids on jet skis and that was it. It was completely peaceful out there on the river.
Final Thoughts. We’ve been told Tickfaw used to be a south Louisiana favorite before it got hit by Hurricane Ida. I hope that the state parks will rebuild the trails and bring the park back to its former state. It’s in desperate need of repairs. If you just want a quick getaway to tent camp and have a bonfire and then use the boat launch down the way, it’s fine for a night or two.
