Mile 60.0 LBD — Poverty Point

John Ruskey

26 Apr 2026 � 1 min read

Possible low bar in low water, but not reliable campsite, goes under above 5NO.

Poverty Point makes for a good picnic site in low/med waters, fine for light weight canoes, kayaks or paddleboards, but could prove to be a difficult shallow bank for any larger vessels. Just below the mile marker you will find a small small muddy bar within an eddying place. Also, possible access to LA highway 39 over the levee through thick thorny vines and shrubs. Just below Poverty Point paddlers will find some broad shallow wetlands that would be great birding, but this place is low and close to the water, and looks like it would be a very difficult place to gain access and remain safe from the waves of passing ships. More exploration needed. Anyone who has more information about this location, please share via comments or email. Thank you!

Poverty Point, on the east bank of the Lower Mississippi, was the site of the first French settlement on the river. Located about 38 miles below the present site of the city of New Orleans, the little fort the French built on Poverty Point was called Fort de la Boulaye, or the Fort of the Mississippi. It lay along a low ridge that Indians had assured Bienville would remain beyond the reach of the great floods. The site is believed to have been about one mile north of the present town of Phoenix, Louisiana. (Braggs)

More from this section

Mile 19.0 RBD — Fort Jackson Beach

Best camping along this stretch of river in low/med water, up to 10NO. The levee falls back and the batture becomes wider around Jackson Point, allowing for the return of natural shorelines and good camping for one mile from 19.5 to 18.5 RBD. It is so rare

Mile 22.0 LBD — Bolivar Point

Low/medium water camping, up to 12NO, underwater above that. Best camping is found on the first sandbars located close to main channel on East Bank as you pass mile marker sign 22LBD. This is a beautiful location, with the river making a right angle turn, freighters proudly plowing by,

Mile 23.5 LBD — Neptune Pass

Three openings in rip-rap allow quick exit from storms, waves and wind, and high banks behind might make for good camping. There are three openings around the Neptune Light on the East Bank between 24 and 23 LBD. Paddlers could quickly exit the main channel through any of these small

Mile 29.5 LBD — Point Pleasant

Good low/med water camping on grassy shelves. Paddlers will find several miles of natural wild shoreline below Point Pleasant on the East Bank, from 28 - 31 LBD. If you seek a campsite, stop at the first good-looking place you find. Further down the campsites are corrupted by noise

Mile 33.0 RBD — Sixty-Mile Point

Low water only. Natural wild shoreline with possible low-water camping and picnicking, but shallow approach. Watch for tides and waves from passing ships. Partially due to the bend of the river here, and partially due to the Nairn 1973 Flood Crisis, a widening of the batture is found on the

Mile 68.0 LBD — Will’s Point

Good camping on wooded ridge in low/med water, best between 0 and 8 NO Gage. Will’s Point is one of the few natural places in this long stretch of river where you can stop (at low/med water) and stretch your legs, or make camp. (underwater in high