Mile 20.1 - LBD - Fort St. Philip

20.1 LBD - Fort St. Philip

Make landing and look for the remains of the Old Fort St. Philip site (downstream of Bolivar Point). The high ground here would make for great low/med water camping -- if not for all the cattle running around this point and the East Bank shoreline for several miles downstream. Oh yeah, and also the muddy landings in low/med water. We camped on a pile of cattle dung on the last night of Brett Roger’s 2009 Old Man River Project Expedition. Hopefully other paddlers avoid this place unless in emergency. Regardless of present condition, Fort Philip plays an defensive role in the development of New Orleans:

Originally built by the Spanish Governor at the same time as Fort Bourbon, Fort St. Phillip (Fort San Felipe) commanded the eastern side of the Mississippi River entrance, and was used through the Civil War. It, like its West Bank counterpart, Fort Jackson, was declared surplus after World War I. Fort St. Phillip is accessible only by boat, because it is several miles south of the end of LA Highway 39, in East Plaquemine Parish.