Northlake Nature Center

Eagle Trail

Travel from New Orleans is a quick 45 minutes to the Northlake Nature Center in Mandeville, Louisiana. So if you find yourself waking up face down on Bourbon Street with the sweet smell of pee and stale beer you may want to take this short trip just for the fresh air.

The Nature Center is adjacent to St. Tammany's Pelican Park, a huge youth sports center with multiple fields for soccer, baseball, football, basketball and the new skateboarding area.

( http://www.northlakenature.org/ ). It is a mix of habitat with swamp, wetlands, pine savanna and hardwood forest making this small 400 acre track a diamond in the rough. Which is why I like it so much. There are three main trails, North loop, South Loop and Eagle Trail. All are easy trails to manage except when it rains then you might have to don your shrimp boots ( that's white rubber boots, if you don't know). Eagle Trail, a 3/4 mile hike, has some of the prettiest scenery. It begins at the Hwy 190 parking area with a raised walkway over cypress laden swamp and beaver ponds filled with turtles, egrets and wood ducks. This particular day I saw more squirrels than usual jumping from tree to tree as the sounds of birds lingered in the thick humid air. The mud trail narrows to a thin cut through hardwoods and pines with palmetto palms guiding your way. Summer here is not easy, hot humid days and mosquitoes so thick you may need a blood transfusion by the time you leave.

North Loop Trail

It is actually a wide fire road that begins at the Grey Field in Pelican Park. You can make this one even with a hangover. Only a short way in and you feel as though your miles from no where. It feels wild out here in this pine savanna. This area took a big hit during Hurricane Katrina when thousands of pine trees were destroyed and then again as the weakened trees that were left became an easy target for pine beetles. A restoration effort is under way. With more open range you get to see the expanse of this habitat for deer, rabbits, raccoons and a variety of birds. As I walked along I noticed a large amount of animal droppings that appear to be coyote. A great deal of animal fur was in the scat. Paw prints along the muddy trail confirmed my suspicion. I have to admit I was a bit more cautious as I walked along, watching my back now and again. A water moccasin dashed from the warm sun and headed for refuge in Bayou Castine as I quickly jumped back to get out of it's way. Getting bit by a poisonous snake when alone would not be a good thing. I would have to use my pocket knife that I haven't sharpened since, well I hate to admit. So after trying to open the wound with the dull knife I would then have to suck out the venom. The snake bit would likely be at my ankle. I doubt that I am actually flexible enough to bend over to reach the bit site. So it really doesn't matter that the knife is dull, I will likely die from the poison anyway.

By the way there is no entrance fee to the Nature Center.

Cane Bayou

Just a short 2 1/2 mile drive east from Norhlake Nature Center is Cane Bayou. You can put in a flat boat or canoe at the free public launch just at the foot of the bridge that crosses Hwy 190. I really enjoy cruising this bayou. It is a very beautiful natural area that is bounded by Fountainblue State Park (http://www.stateparks.com/fontainebleau.html) on the west side and Big Branch Marsh (http://www.fws.gov/southeast/pubs/facts/bgbcon.pdf) on the east. The bayou empties into Lake Pontchratrain. If you are lucky you may see a wild hog at the water's edge or an Osprey nesting in one of the old growth cypress trees.