Fairview-Riverside State Park Campground

My husband and I couldn't be more grateful for this park. We ended up having to cancel our reservations at another state park we had booked because my husband works from our camper and we couldn't get any Starlink signal or cell phone connection so we were in a pickle. We looked around and found this one. I called and spoke with Mary (who is a PEACH!). She was super helpful and understanding. I told her our dilemma and that we needed a site that didn't have a lot of tree coverage for our Starlink and she got us in a spot for the night (Site 53) and told us to look around when we got here and write down which sites we thought would work best for us and to bring them to the office the next morning and she would go through them and see if they had any availability for the week for those sites. We ended up getting site 70 for the remainder of our time. There's two different campgrounds. One is the "improved" which is up front by the check-in station. This is the bigger one of the two. The other one is the "premium" which is in the back closer to the river. There was a $5 difference between the two. Some of the in the sites in the premium campground had sewer hookups. Not sure if those were any more expensive than ours. The Otis House museum was closed during our stay due to remodeling/repairs. Each campground has its own bathhouse, laundry, and dumpsite. Its a beautiful campground! For $25 a night this place was a steal! We would definitely stay here again.

We stayed here for 3 days/2 nights. We got the last campsite on the "premium" loop and it was well worth it! The views of the river and all of the moss covered oak trees were amazing! The first night the loop was completely full but amazingly quiet. The site included water and electricity - there are two dump stations. One was in the loop and the other was on the way out of the park. There is a boat ramp, board walk thru the swamp, playground and several pavilions available for family gatherings. Each site included a picnic table, fire ring and small grill. We did not visit the bath house but our neighbors said it was nice, clean and well-maintained. We would definitely stay there again - but in the same area because the other area has mostly tall pine trees and not as much shade. Since the sites are close to the river and swampy areas, mosquito protection is a must as is protection from redbugs/chiggers. Don't ask me how I know! LOL!

The park is very close to the lovely little town of Madisonville, Louisiana. Great to stop for groceries and a good meal at one of their many restaurants.

Leaving Fairview state park. It was ok. A nice FIRST camping trip (on our own) not much to do here- lots of older people in big fancy trailers. Less than a half mile hike on a boardwalk. We stayed in site 26. I believe it was the best one- some shade, and on the end of the row. (No sewer hookups) There was some flooding in the fields around us- had to take the (not so) long way to the VERY nice bathrooms to shower. The bathrooms were excellent.

Paved level sites, clean bath house. Hot showers with heated bh. Very reasonable laundry 2sets. Stayed in the front loop. Still a lot of hurricane damage. Lots of things to do in the surrounding area. There is a 30 mile rail trail that is accessible from many entrances. There is access to the river that the park is on for the kayaker. There is wood available in the close town of Madisonville.

We stayed for eight nights and loved this park along the river. PROS: staff at the office are wonderful. If you have NPS Senior Pass it's a 50% discount (Louisiana State parks policy now). Clean Laundry and Bathrooms. Great walking areas. Level sites. No dog park, but dog friendly. Great adjacency for visiting the French Quarter in New Orleans (About 40 minutes.) Very good cell signal for T-Mobile and AT&T. Speedtest for T-Mobile on 5G phone was 664 Mbps down, 20.6 up. T-Mobile on Pepwave router: 124 Mbps down, 8.3 Mbps up. AT&T on Pepwave Router: 60 Mbps up, 25 Mbps down CONS: Sewer in only a small number of spaces. Standing water in some areas adjacent to sites.

They were clearly impacted by Hurricane Ida in 2021. Almost all of the trees are gone and no firewood for sale (why didn't they keep all the downed trees for firewood?). It's a good location as far as being close to amenities like grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, etc.. It's far enough away from downtown New Orleans to feel secluded, but close enough for a day visit. Their showers are our favorite of any campground so far and we've been on the road for 6 months now. The property gets quite soggy when it rains and there's not much to do within the park, but it's a decent home base.