Where New Orleans Comes to Play - St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana - Brief Article

Travel America, July, 2001 by Chad Kirtland

Charming towns in St. Tammany Parish provide a relaxing escape from the city's hectic pace

New Orleans' scenic side lies just a lake away. A short drive north of the city on the banks of Lake Pontchartrain, St. Tammany Parish nestles Southern culture among woods and waterways. From outdoor recreation to world-class dining, the area known as New Orleans' Northshore offers a soothing alternative to Crescent City commotion.

A century ago, city dwellers traveled to St. Tammany to escape summer's heat. Today, Mandeville's mile-long public lakefront remains a popular place to laze away sunny days. From seafood restaurants facing the water, diners view a tableau of live oaks, sailboats, and sea-wall anglers. At nearby Fontainebleau State Park, the remains of a plantation sugar mill recall Bernard de Marigny de Mandeville, the early New Orleanian who founded this lakeside city.

On the Tchefuncte River, the former boat-building mecca of Madisonville is known for its dockside dining spots and annual Wooden Boat Festival. A few blocks from the river, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum highlights the area's nautical history.

Farther upriver resides Covington, St. Tammany's parish seat. In olden days, the Covington landing swarmed with the hubbub of river traffic. These days, coffee shops, art galleries, and antique stores fill the restored downtown district. Shoppers enjoy quaint Lee Lane and nearby H.J. Smith and Sons, which doubles as both hardware store and local museum. On weekend nights, Covington streets buzz with gallery openings, block parties, and community concerts.

In the rolling hills above Covington, a seemingly out-of-place winery is harvesting a healthy reputation. Pontchartrain Vineyards produces award-winning wines from grapes grown in local soil. Made to accompany Louisiana's full-flavored food, these wines are worth the short drive, especially when live music fills the provincial-styled tasting room.

St. Tammany is famous for another well-known libation: Abita Beer. Brewed in tranquil Abita Springs, where pine forests and pure water drew early visitors to countryside spas, Abita Beer predated--and survived--the micro-brew craze. Brewery tours include a free sample and the brewpub in town serves several flavors of the local favorite.

One of the area's best eateries, Artesia, is housed in a former Abita Springs hotel. Up-and-coming chef John Besh spices up French favorites with local ingredients in an inviting wooded environment. Besh honed his culinary French under chef Chris Kerogeorgiou, whose St. Tammany restaurant La Provence is regarded by many as the Southeast's best for true French.

Abita Springs is also the perfect place to hop on the Tammany Trace, a rails-to-trails project that stretches across the parish. The 31-mile bike and jogging path traverses a variety of habitats including a stretch through Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge.

At the Trace's eastern terminus sits Slidell, St. Tammany's largest city. The Olde Towne here offers shopping, a groovy soda shop, and the Salmen-Fritchie House, a 100-year-old Creole cottage refurbished into a B&B and exquisite restaurant. Slidell's Oak Harbor Golf Club is consistently rated New Orleans' top public range.

Farther east, St. Tammany dissipates into the Honey Island Swamp, where guided swamp tours, complete with tales of the fabled Honey Island Swamp Monster, offer a true Louisiana experience.

From the water's edge, visitors can sometimes spy the New Orleans skyline in the southern distance. But when St. Tammany's tranquil spell takes over, they realize they're really a world away.

For more information, contact the St. Tammany Parish Tourist Commission (TravelAmerica Magazine), 68099 Hwy. 59, Mandeville, LA 70471; (800) 634-9443 or (985) 892-0520. Or visit their web site at www.NewOrleansNorthshore.com.