Crawford Landing WMA

Nice and quiet, there was only 1 more person there with a tent except us, perfect signal, just off the highway, a large area so suitable for big rigs. Housing estates around the area so doesn’t have a very “wild” feel, but good for a couple nights as a rest stop if you’re not there for the sights. There’s a big NO PETS sign at the entrance and we saw the other person get a ticket from the rangers for bringing his dog.

It is technically free to stay here, however, you do need to have a Hunting license or a Wild Louisiana Stamp, which you can purchase online at https://la-web.s3licensing.com/. The stamp is $11.50 per person for the year and can be used at many areas in Louisiana.

This particular area was a great visit for us. The area is very well-maintained with level open-space as well as several large, beautiful oak trees. It was very quiet for our duration. The town of Slidell is just wonderful, large enough with all of the amenities. We did drive into New Orleans for a day-trip visit. The Mississippi Welcome Center rest stop about 7 miles to the east has a free dump station. T-Mobile coverage is about the fastest we've found in the whole country.

We couldn't find a place in a state park for Saturday night so stayed here for one night. There were a few tent campers and a family in a small trailer. There are still two portajohns. We got the permit at Walmart, which was a pain. Nobody checked for it though. There are cars in and out during the day for the Honey Island Swamp tours, so it's not completely isolated. It's only a couple miles to gas/groceries. The river was up and swift and it was a bit cold for putting a boat in. There's plenty of sun for solar but also big live oak trees you can park under. I think you may be able to get the permit with a QR, which I will try to post a picture of later. The interstate is pretty loud during the day. I suspect the ground could be soft if it's been raining a lot. There are no trash facilities. You can see one cell tower from the field, which I think is T-Mobile, and Verizon is excellent too.

The place is nice enough with flat fields for parking and lovely old trees with Spanish moss hanging from them, but the bugs were horrendous and the night air thicker than molasses. Try as we may, we couldn’t take it. We headed for the Walmart about 8 miles away, cooled off and then slept in the parking lot.

This place is probably ok winter and early spring but definitely not in the heat of summer.

Also you do need a Wild Louisiana stamp which you can get at Walmart (Natches dr is closest) but if you are over 59 you don’t need it.

The only other negative I would mention is that cars did occasionally drive to the end of this road and then leave....not sure what they were up to.

We camped here for 2 weeks during Mardi Gras and commuted 40 minutes to New Orleans. We were really happy with the site. It was not too crowded, maybe 5 other campers at the time. It's just a big field, so parking and finding your own space isn't difficult.

The water spigot at the campsite is non-potable water. You are supposed to have a Louisiana Wild Stamp (we purchased at Walmart for $20 a person), but there were wildlife agents there everyday and no one asked for ours.

It is close to the I-10, but the trees block out the noise pretty well.

Monday night stay, 5/21/18.

Heading east on I-12, we took Exit 83, then Brownswitch Rd., to get to Crawford's Landing. Location is a bit out of town. As mentioned, it's a big, open grassy area with some large trees. There is a water spigot and two porta-potties. Another camper came over and talked with us, and told us due to my husband's age, we didn't need to get the daily stamp. No one came around to check.

The boat launch consists of a large concrete ramp and a parking lot. Camping is adjacent out on the grass, anywhere you choose. No picnic tables or fire rings, but you could see spots where others had had fires. There were only two other campers when we were there. You can hear some highway noise, but mostly we just listened to the cicadas.