Bayou St. John

New Orleans, Louisiana

Bayou St. John was once a four-mile-long natural waterway navigable by canoe and small vessel. Originating some two miles northwest of the Mississippi River, the bayou flowed through cypress swamps to Lake Pontchartrain, training the swampy land of what is now New Orleans. A trail along the bayou was first created by Native Americans, who, in 1699, showed the route to New Orleans founders Bienville and Iberville. The natives knew the waterway as Bayouk Choupic. It then served as navigation from Lake Pontchartrain to the French Quarter when the area was a French territory. Since then, the Bayou has become a picturesque body of water with small earthen levees on either side, forming a narrow park space in the city.

Today the water way is commonly enjoyed by kayakers and utilized for aesthetics and recreation. Bayou St. John offers the opportunity to canoe or kayak the calm water of a scenic waterway and enjoy the scenery right inside the city of New Orleans. The paddling is easy, and this could be a fun little trip for families with kids. If you aren't much of a kayaker, the park is great to lay out near the water and catch some sun, with plenty of amenities nearby in the Midcity and Bayou St. John neighborhoods of New Orleans. It's a beautiful, integral part of New Orleans and worth a visit to see the stunning water wind it's way through the city!

COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is still essential. Only go to the beach if you are able to keep 6 feet or 2 meters away from others. Follow the instructions provided by your local health authorities. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter our efforts to curb the virus’s spread.

Water Quality
  • No data available

  • Current Status
  • This status is based on the latest sample, taken on February 3th, 2022. Pontchartrain Conservancy updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on February 3th, 2022 at 5:32 PM.
For water quality icon legend, click:  
Monitoring Frequency

Bayou St. John is sampled weekly from January 1st to December 31st.

Source Information

The Pontchartrain Conservancy (PC) monitors water quality at sites in the Lake Pontchartrain region. Sampling is conducted year-round, and samples are usually collected on Tuesdays and reported to Swimguide on Fridays. In the event of severe weather or holiday, samples may be collected on Wednesdays. Samples are not collected for the week of Christmas nor Mardi Gras.

Water samples are analyzed at all sites for Fecal coliform and Enterococcus. Water physiochemical parameters are also collected as field measurements. These include: Dissolved Oxygen (DO), water temperature, conductivity, and salinity (parts per thousand). Full weekly results can be viewed at: https://scienceforourcoast.org/pc-programs/water-quality/weekly-data-report/

A location will be marked Green when the average Enterococci in sample does not exceed 35 colonies/100 mL and no more than 10 percent of the individual samples collected shall exceed 130 enterococci colonies/100 mL; AND no more than 25 percent of the total samples collected exceed a fecal coliform density of 2,000/100 mL

A location will be marked Red when the average Enterococci in a sample exceeds 35 colonies/100 mL or 10 percent of the individual samples in the data set exceed 130 enterococci colonies/100 mL; AND if the location exceeds a fecal coliform density of 2,000/100 mL.

A location is marked Grey when there are no current results or there is no available information.

Read more
Water Quality Graph

Bayou St. John

New Orleans, Louisiana

COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is still essential. Only go to the beach if you are able to keep 6 feet or 2 meters away from others. Follow the instructions provided by your local health authorities. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter our efforts to curb the virus’s spread.

Water Quality
  • No data available
  • Current Status
  • This status is based on the latest sample, taken on February 3th, 2022. Pontchartrain Conservancy updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on February 3th, 2022 at 5:32 PM.
For water quality icon legend, click:  

Bayou St. John was once a four-mile-long natural waterway navigable by canoe and small vessel. Originating some two miles northwest of the Mississippi River, the bayou flowed through cypress swamps to Lake Pontchartrain, training the swampy land of what is now New Orleans. A trail along the bayou was first created by Native Americans, who, in 1699, showed the route to New Orleans founders Bienville and Iberville. The natives knew the waterway as Bayouk Choupic. It then served as navigation from Lake Pontchartrain to the French Quarter when the area was a French territory. Since then, the Bayou has become a picturesque body of water with small earthen levees on either side, forming a narrow park space in the city.

Today the water way is commonly enjoyed by kayakers and utilized for aesthetics and recreation. Bayou St. John offers the opportunity to canoe or kayak the calm water of a scenic waterway and enjoy the scenery right inside the city of New Orleans. The paddling is easy, and this could be a fun little trip for families with kids. If you aren't much of a kayaker, the park is great to lay out near the water and catch some sun, with plenty of amenities nearby in the Midcity and Bayou St. John neighborhoods of New Orleans. It's a beautiful, integral part of New Orleans and worth a visit to see the stunning water wind it's way through the city!

Monitoring Frequency

Bayou St. John is sampled weekly from January 1st to December 31st.

Source Information

The Pontchartrain Conservancy (PC) monitors water quality at sites in the Lake Pontchartrain region. Sampling is conducted year-round, and samples are usually collected on Tuesdays and reported to Swimguide on Fridays. In the event of severe weather or holiday, samples may be collected on Wednesdays. Samples are not collected for the week of Christmas nor Mardi Gras.

Water samples are analyzed at all sites for Fecal coliform and Enterococcus. Water physiochemical parameters are also collected as field measurements. These include: Dissolved Oxygen (DO), water temperature, conductivity, and salinity (parts per thousand). Full weekly results can be viewed at: https://scienceforourcoast.org/pc-programs/water-quality/weekly-data-report/

A location will be marked Green when the average Enterococci in sample does not exceed 35 colonies/100 mL and no more than 10 percent of the individual samples collected shall exceed 130 enterococci colonies/100 mL; AND no more than 25 percent of the total samples collected exceed a fecal coliform density of 2,000/100 mL

A location will be marked Red when the average Enterococci in a sample exceeds 35 colonies/100 mL or 10 percent of the individual samples in the data set exceed 130 enterococci colonies/100 mL; AND if the location exceeds a fecal coliform density of 2,000/100 mL.

A location is marked Grey when there are no current results or there is no available information.

Read more
Water Quality Graph

  Beach Location Water Quality
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
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