RV travel in Louisiana
Louisiana rewards an RV traveller willing to plan around weather. New Orleans is a destination but a complicated one for big rigs -- park outside and take Uber in. Cajun country (Lafayette, Breaux Bridge, the Atchafalaya Basin) is the cultural heart; the Creole Nature Trail south of Lake Charles is the wildlife loop; Natchitoches is the oldest settlement in the Louisiana Purchase; and the Kisatchie NF gives you the only meaningful public dispersed camping in the state. The Mississippi River parishes and the Great River Road show the antebellum plantation heritage. The catch -- and it is a serious catch -- is that Louisiana is hurricane country (Jun-Nov, peak Aug-Oct), summer humidity is among the worst in the country, mosquitoes are no joke, and a meaningful percentage of the state's overnight options sit at elevations under 10 ft above sea level in coastal flood zones. Plan for Oct-Apr and you have one of the best regional RV destinations in the South.
Last verified: 14 May 2026
Free RV PDF guide to Louisiana
Driving rules, RV-friendly and RV-restricted highways, NPS reservation rules, BLM and NF boondocking, propane, dump stations, weather, and emergency contacts. Save it to your phone for offline use on the road.
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Driving rules
Interstate (cars)70-75 mph (posted)
Interstate (trucks + towing)70 mph
US/State highway (cars)55-65 mph (posted)
US/State highway (towing)55-65 mph (posted)
Built-up areas25-35 mph (posted)
Drive onRight
RV passenger seatbeltsRequired for all front-seat occupants
Cell phone use while drivingTexting banned statewide; hand-held banned for drivers under 18 and in school zones; hands-free strongly recommended
RV-friendly and RV-restricted highways
RV-friendly
I-10Gulf Coast corridor across the state. The Atchafalaya Basin Bridge (18.2 miles, second-longest bridge over water in the US) is fine for any rig but check weight limits (legal load is no issue, oversize loads need permits). High winds shut it down occasionally.
I-12Baton Rouge to Slidell, bypassing New Orleans. Easy. Strongly recommended over driving through New Orleans in a big rig.
I-20Shreveport east through Monroe to Mississippi. Easy.
I-49Lafayette north to Shreveport. Modern four-lane. Easy.
I-55Hammond north to Mississippi. Standard.
US-90Old US-90 (now LA-3052 in stretches) between Lafayette and the New Orleans area runs through Atchafalaya and Houma -- scenic and mostly RV-friendly with multiple swamp-tour-and-RV-park combos.
US-61 (Great River Road)Baton Rouge to St Francisville to the Mississippi line. Two-lane through plantation country; well-paved and rig-friendly.
LA-1Lafourche Parish from Thibodaux down to Grand Isle. The southern stretch crosses Leeville Bridge ($3 toll, well-maintained); the road sits very low and floods in surge conditions.
RV-restricted
French Quarter and CBD streets (New Orleans)Narrow colonial-era streets, frequent low balconies and overhanging signage, no big-rig parking. Use Bayou Segnette State Park (Westwego, full hookups) or French Quarter RV Resort (commercial, technically in Treme) and take Uber into the Quarter.
LA-1 south of LeevilleSits at sea level on a fragile two-lane causeway. Closed during tropical storm warnings; even a king-tide-plus-wind day can flood it.
Grand Isle access (LA-1 terminus)Single road in and out of a barrier island. Hurricane-evac route. Do not be on Grand Isle during an active named-storm forecast.
Avery Island (Tabasco)$1 bridge toll; bridge is rated for standard RVs but tight. Park visitors lot is small -- towed dinghies preferred.
Old US-90 through small Atchafalaya townsSome causeway stretches have weight-limited bridges; stay on I-10 in a 40-ft RV.
National parks and monuments
Jean Lafitte NHP&P (Barataria Preserve)Free entry. Day-use only. Bayou Segnette State Park 8 miles away has full hookups.
Jean Lafitte NHP&P (French Quarter Visitor Center)Free entry. Day-use only. See restrictions on French Quarter parking above.
Jean Lafitte NHP&P (Acadian/Wetlands/Chitimacha sites)Free entry. Day-use only across Cajun country. Multiple state parks and commercial RV parks nearby.
Cane River Creole NHP (Natchitoches)Free entry. Day-use only. Grand Ecore RV Park (commercial) and Kincaid Lake CG (Kisatchie NF) are nearby options.
New Orleans Jazz NHPFree entry. Walking-tour and visitor-center sites in the French Quarter, day-use only.
Poverty Point NM (also UNESCO World Heritage Site)Free entry. Day-use only in northeast LA. Poverty Point Reservoir State Park nearby has hookups.
Vicksburg NMP (Louisiana side)$20/vehicle (7 days). Day-use; main park entrance is across the river in MS. Multiple commercial RV parks in Vicksburg.
Boondocking and dispersed camping
BLM: No significant BLM presence in Louisiana. Public-land dispersed camping is essentially limited to the Kisatchie NF and a handful of WMAs requiring a state hunting / fishing or WMA permit.
National Forests: Kisatchie NF (central/northwest Louisiana, 600,000+ acres -- the only national forest in the state) permits free dispersed camping along forest roads with a 14-day stay limit. Developed campgrounds at Kincaid Lake (full hookups for RVs to 40 ft), Valentine Lake, and Stuart Lake. The Kisatchie Bayou and Longleaf Vista areas have dispersed sites. Watch for high water in spring -- many access roads cross low ground.
Stay limit: typically 14 days per location.
Service stops
Propane: Plentiful in Baton Rouge, New Orleans metro, Lafayette, Shreveport, Lake Charles, and along all interstates. Tractor Supply, U-Haul, and most KOA / Good Sam parks fill on-site. Sparse in the Atchafalaya parishes and along the coastal LA-1 -- fill at Houma or Galliano before heading south.
Dump stations: Reasonable density along I-10 and I-12. Most Louisiana State Parks have free dumps for registered guests. Flying J / Pilot on I-10, I-12, and I-49 have fee dumps. New Orleans area is well-served by commercial parks. Sparse south of US-90 on the coast and in the Atchafalaya Basin.
Fuel: Diesel and gas widely available along all interstates. Rural stretches in the Atchafalaya parishes and along LA-1 south of Larose can run 30-40 miles between stations. Top up at Houma or Lafayette before heading deep into Cajun country or down LA-1. Fuel prices typically among the lowest in the country. Hurricane-season tip: if a named storm is in the Gulf, fuel runs out fast along evacuation routes -- top up days in advance.
Weather windows
Best monthsLate October through April. Daytime highs 60-78 F, mosquitoes manageable, humidity tolerable, festivals (Jazz Fest late Apr-early May, Mardi Gras Feb/Mar) in season.
Avoid monthsJune through September: 90-95 F with 85%+ humidity, daily afternoon thunderstorms, and brutal mosquitoes in the swamps. June through November is hurricane season; August-October is peak. A major landfalling hurricane can shut the state's coast for weeks (post-Katrina, post-Ida) and force inland flooding well beyond the storm track.
If a named storm has a Louisiana cone-of-uncertainty hit 72 hours out, start moving inland or out of state. Mandatory evacuation triggers 48 hours ahead; once it does, fuel runs out, traffic is bumper-to-bumper, and shelters fill. RV Tripgen's hurricane-aware routing will flag this for you, but treat the National Hurricane Center forecast as primary.
Emergency and road conditions
State patrolDial *LSP (*577) from a cell phone, or 225-925-6006 for Louisiana State Police main line