Also planned is a connection with the Tammany Trace via Pelican Park Road and an expansion of the park to 300 acres, Brantley said. In March, the Center played host to the state's first bird festival, drawing 100 birdwatchers from eight states, Brantley said. The preserve was originally a nine-hole golf course, built 50 years ago to serve as a private country club. In the center of the preserve are the ruins of a brick clubhouse that wasn't completed. The park is open from sunrise to sundown.
Admission is free.
Continue east through Mandeville. The center parking lot is just past the Bayou Castine bridge, on the north side of the highway. Bayou Castine forms the boundary between Mandeville and Fontainebleau State Park.