North Shore Active Circuit: Abita, Big Branch Marsh & Honey Island Swamp

The Tammany Trace is 31 miles of paved rail-trail built on the Illinois Central Railroad's former North Shore line — one of the finest rail-trails in the Gulf South. The Covington to Abita Springs segment (approximately 7 miles one way) passes through longleaf pine forest and under Spanish moss–draped live oaks, crossing several small bayous on restored railroad bridges. Bike rentals are available in Covington from Trailhead Bicycle Shop on the Columbia Street trailhead. The combination of shade, flat terrain, and scenic piney-woods environment makes this one of the most pleasant bike rides in Louisiana.

Bogue Falaya Park sits on the bank of the Bogue Falaya River in downtown Covington — a shaded, unhurried riverside park with a boat launch, picnic tables under live oaks, and good afternoon swimming in the clear blackwater river. The Bogue Falaya ('Bogue' is Choctaw for river) drains the longleaf pine uplands of St. Tammany Parish into Lake Pontchartrain; in summer the water is warm and slow, perfect for post-ride relaxation.

Abita Brewery was founded in 1986 in the piney-woods town of Abita Springs, making it one of the oldest craft breweries in the Deep South — established in the early wave of American craft brewing, seven years before New Orleans had its first craft brewery. The brewery relocated to a larger facility in 1994 but maintains its taproom and visitor center in Abita Springs, offering free guided tours of the brewing operation, a museum of Abita artifacts and Louisiana folk art, and tastings of the full lineup including the ubiquitous Abita Amber, the Turbodog dark brown ale, and the seasonal Purple Haze raspberry lager. The taproom opens at 11 a.m. on weekends; call to confirm tour times.

Big Branch Marsh NWR protects 18,000 acres of brackish marsh, longleaf pine savanna, and freshwater swamp on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain — one of the most ecologically significant and least-visited refuges in the Gulf South. The refuge was established in 1994 to protect critical waterfowl and shorebird habitat along the Lake Pontchartrain flyway; the longleaf pine restoration program is one of the most ambitious in the eastern United States, replanting the pine ecosystem that once dominated the North Shore uplands before 19th-century logging. The refuge's kayak trails wind through 6 miles of brackish marsh channels adjacent to the Lake Pontchartrain shoreline, passing through beds of black needlerush and wax myrtle with views of the lake's open water and the Causeway in the distance.

The Big Branch Marsh paddling trail passes through brackish marsh channels along the Lake Pontchartrain shoreline — a completely different ecosystem from the Barataria swamp, with open vistas across the lake, osprey nesting platforms, and seasonal concentrations of waterfowl including blue-winged teal, pintail, and lesser scaup. Bring or rent a kayak from a Lacombe or Mandeville outfitter; the refuge's main boat launch is at the Fritchie Marsh access point off Highway 190.

Honey Island Swamp, located in the Pearl River Wildlife Management Area between Slidell and the Mississippi border, is one of the most pristine swamp ecosystems in the American South — 70,000 acres of old-growth cypress swamp, freshwater marsh, and bottomland forest that has remained largely undeveloped due to its status as a protected wildlife area. The 2-hour guided boat tours operated by Dr. Wagner's Honey Island Swamp Tours and several other Slidell outfitters navigate the swamp's interior channels, where 12-foot alligators, wood ducks, roseate spoonbills, and river otters are regularly encountered. The cypress trees along the inner Pearl River channels are ancient — some exceeding 500 years — and their size and density create an experience of old-growth forest found almost nowhere else in coastal Louisiana.

Fontainebleau State Park's ruins trail loops through the eastern section of the 2,800-acre park, passing the brick remains of the 1829 Bernard de Marigny sugar plantation — the chimney and mill walls still standing among live oaks and saw palmettos, a 200-year-old ruin being slowly reclaimed by the North Shore forest. De Marigny, the Creole aristocrat who squandered his inheritance and is credited with introducing craps to America, built this plantation as one of many enterprises that failed to reverse his financial decline.

The Fontainebleau State Park beach on Lake Pontchartrain is a sandy, uncommercial stretch of lakeshore with views across 24 miles of open water to the New Orleans skyline on clear days. The park's kayak launch accesses the lake shoreline and the sheltered coves along the park's western boundary. Swim, paddle, or simply picnic under the live oaks before the return drive across the Causeway.

Pack a final picnic from the Rouses Market on Highway 190 in Mandeville — boudin balls, cracklins, and cold drinks for a last lunch on the Lake Pontchartrain shore before heading home.

The Old Mandeville lakefront — a seawall promenade along Lake Pontchartrain's north shore lined with Victorian cottages and live oaks — is the most pleasant afternoon walk on the North Shore. The Tammany Trace connects to the lakefront here; the Mandeville Trailhead Park has a beach and a kayak launch into the lake.