Pointe-aux-Chenes WMA camping area -- Hwy 665

public land records

Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.

Designated camping area on Pointe-aux-Chenes WMA, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. LDWF's own page (https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/pointeauxchenes, read 2026-09-28) states: "There is a tent-only campground along Hwy 665, north of the headquarters area." TENT ONLY. The 2026-2027 regulations (pamphlet p.65) list a self-clearing permit station at the 'WMA Campground/Pirogue Launch'. About 15 miles southeast of Houma; LDWF notes interior access is 'typically limited to boats', but this campground is on the highway. Symbol sits on Hwy 665 next to the headquarters symbol, matching LDWF's description. LDWF WMA CAMPING RULE (2026-2027 Louisiana Hunting & WMA Regulations, https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/assets/Resources/Publications/Regulations/26LAHD.pdf pamphlet p.52, re-read 2026-09-28): 'Camping on WMAs, including trailers, houseboats, vessels, recreational vehicles and tents, is allowed only in designated areas and for a period not to exceed 16 ... consecutive days, regardless of whether the camp is attended or unattended. At the end of the 16-day period camps must be removed from the area for at least 48 hours.' (The elided words are the Bodcau WMA exception, which does not apply here.) First-come, first-serve unless otherwise specified. Where no public restroom exists, tent campers 'shall have and shall utilize portable waste disposal units and shall remove all human waste from the WMA upon leaving'; campers in a camper/trailer must use an attached disposal system. Burning of trash prohibited; glass containers prohibited on campgrounds; only hunting dogs allowed in WMA camping areas; firearms may not be kept loaded or discharged in a camping area. PERMITS (https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/wmarefugeconservation-area-licenses-and-permits, re-read 2026-09-28): a free Self-Clearing Permit (check-in/check-out) is required for ALL activities on a WMA; a WMA Access Permit is required of users 18+ -- 'Annual permit: $20 for both residents and nonresidents; 5-day permit: $5' -- included with the Sportsman's Paradise, Senior Hunting/Fishing and Lifetime licences. SEPARATELY, 'Camp in a LDWF-operated campground' requires a WMA Camping Permit, '$7/night for up to five adults who are camping together'. LDWF publishes no list of which camping areas count as 'LDWF-operated', so this row is recorded as free-camping-with-access-permit; verify with the region office before advertising it as free. COORDINATE PROVENANCE -- READ BEFORE PUBLISHING: LDWF publishes no GIS layer of camp points (re-checked 2026-09-28 across its whole ArcGIS org and its Outdoor Explorer app). This point was DIGITISED FROM LDWF'S OWN WMA MAP: the map PDF (https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/assets/Conservation/WMAs_Refuges_Conservation_Areas/Files/Pointe_aux_Chenes.pdf) was registered to LDWF's own WMA boundary polygon (layer LOE_LDWF_WMAs_09262025_WGS84_WMAS) and the tent symbol's centre was converted to lat/lon. Map scale ~8.79 m/pixel at 200 dpi; 96% of LDWF's boundary polygon falls within 3 px of the map's red WMA line. ACCURACY: the same method on LDWF's Bodcau WMA map, checked against the Corps of Engineers' own GPS points for the same camps, was off by 20-614 m (median ~216 m, n=12) -- treat this pin as 'within a few hundred metres', NOT as a surveyed spot, and confirm on the ground or against the map before publishing a precise location. The symbol was checked by eye; it is not an OpenStreetMap feature (no OSM campsite lies within 2 km). No drinking water is stated for this site by LDWF. Treat all natural water as non-potable. This is an active hunting area. Check LDWF season dates and area closures before you go and wear hunter orange in season. Nearest town: Montegut ~4.6 mi -- STRAIGHT-LINE distance to the nearest OpenStreetMap place=city/town/village (snapshot 2026-08-15), NOT a driving distance. Ingest 2026-09-28. | nightshift-verified 2026-09-29 (fire 2820): RE-CHECKED. https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/pointeauxchenes re-fetched (HTTP 200) and still says "There is a tent-only campground along Hwy 665, north of the headquarters area.". The WMA map PDF was re-fetched and is byte-identical (sha256) to the 2026-09-28 copy; on it the pin sits on a camping symbol (checked by eye against the map legend). 26LAHD.pdf was re-fetched, is byte-identical, and the p.52 camping rule is unchanged. Live LDWF polygon query (LOE_LDWF_WMAs_09262025_WGS84_WMAS): point is INSIDE 'Pointe aux Chenes WMA'. Nearest published/approved camp 78.8 km ('Maurepas Swamp WMA tent camping area 2'); none within 2 km, so not a duplicate. FEE CORRECTED (was fee=0 / free-camping): the 2026-09-28 note left open whether the $7 WMA Camping Permit applies here, because the regulations say 'LDWF-operated campground'. Two other LDWF pages read today settle it the plain way: the fee list says the permit is 'Required to camp on a WMA (where camping is permitted)', and the public-lands page (https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/visiting-ldwfs-public-lands-nonconsumptive) says 'Are You Camping? Purchase a WMA Camping Permit' with no qualifier. With an access permit also required, this is not free camping under the site rule either; recorded as fee=1, tag paid-camping. The 26LAHD entry says 'All nighttime activities prohibited, EXCEPT that hunters may enter ... or as otherwise specified'. LDWF specifies this campground itself (page, plus the 'WMA Campground/Pirogue Launch' permit station), so the rule is not read as a ban here. On the map the symbol sits just WEST-SOUTHWEST of the HQ symbol on Hwy 665, but the page says 'north of the headquarters area'. The pin follows the map; expect it within a few hundred metres. DECISION: APPROVED -- agency page, agency map and agency regulations agree today. Coordinate is still map-digitised: within a few hundred metres, not a surveyed spot. | Fee 2026-09-29: $7 per night WMA Camping Permit per camping party of up to five adults (17 and under exempt), on top of the WMA Access Permit ($20 a year or $5 for five days, included with some LDWF licences). Source: https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/license-and-permit-fee-list (LDWF fee list, footnote to the WMA Camping Permit: 'Required to camp on a WMA (where camping is permitted)'; figure verified on that page).

On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.