Lakefront Drive- New Orleans

Lakefront Drive is always an escape for me. It is a quick and easy drive from UNO to West End, and it is easy for me to imagine I am somewhere else. It is a great view of the lake. The line up of cars on the weekends, people showing off and having fun reminds me of much smaller towns and a simple life. I love to bring lunches here, and used to study in the picnic areas during the week when it is less busy. I love the view any time of the year.

Beautiful sunsets! I enjoy going on Wednesday evenings to watch the sailboats on the lake.

I absolutely LOVE the work that has been going on to beautify the Lakefront. I LOVE to come out here and watch the sunset or watch a storm roll through, or sit and drink an adult beverage and people watch. Some folks like it as a great space to do some exercising, like walking, roller skating, running, or biking. Some folks like to sit on the seawall and fish. Some folks like to watch the boats go by or to see how many varieties of birds go past. There is plenty of space to picnic, hang out, play games, or just chill.
YUP, I am a fan of the Lakefront.

The second best lakefront along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain.
By now, if you’ve read a few of my reviews, you know that I am a huge fan of the water. This love was ingrained in my brain long ago as a child and some of my fondest memories are tied to large bodies of water. If you would permit me to do a little reminiscing, I will share a few of them with you.
1. Offshore powerboat races — As a kid my dad used to bring us out to the lake to watch Al Copeland and his buddies haul ass in their big time powerboats. I will never forget seeing those rooster tails flying up behind those boats as they powered on by. It was truly and incredible experience that I was very sad to see go. Another great memory was my young brain trying to understand why my dad had to explain that we may have to run away if a boat decided to careen into the crowd. Luckily it never happened because I have a feeling I would’ve just sat there and yelled «cool».
2. Motorcycles — driving by the lake is pretty incredible, but riding a motorcycle down this road is even cooler. I can never forget the several years I attended the Steel Pony Express motorcycle rally that was held at one end of the lakefront. My friends and I would use Lakefront Drive as the way to get to the rally not because it was the fastest, but because it was the best view. I think there would be far less instances of road rage if people chose their path based on that methodology.
3. Seawall — The seawall here was always a great place to come and feed the birds when I was a kid. Besides that memory, who can forget the images of the seawall during a storm. Those waves smashing into those concrete stairs cause such a blast of water that you’ll never forget it.
4. Police — I can never forget the time after high school that two guys I knew decided to race down this road. The loser was disgusted and decided to do a burnout as he left. Problem was, he did a burnout right in front of a cop. Needless to say, he ended up with quite an expensive citation.
Thanks for letting me share. The end!

Many years as a student at UNO had me frequently taking trips down Lakefront Drive. It’s a quick, easy ride from West End all the way down to UNO, at least it is after all the construction is done.
It’s not only a quick path to UNO, it’s also quite scenic. You get a great view of the Lake, especially when storms are moving in, plus there’s lovely park quality picnic areas as well.
Hopefully the construction will make Lakefront drive truly shine, maybe even more than it used to.

I love the Lakefront. I first started coming here back in high school on weekends. My friends and I would gather and hang out by the car listening to music with a bunch of other high school students who were doing the same thing. I don’t really remember cops patrolling in those days. I guess they didn’t care about high school students potentially falling into Lake Pontchartrain.
Alas, Katrina hit, we all grew up and everything changed. The Lakefront is still really nice and it’s a cool place to hang out on «Sunday Funday» after a Saints game or whenever the weather is nice.
The reason for the three stars is because the cops are INSANE out there. They will pull you over if you don’t look like you work or live in the area and if you are going so much as 3 miles over the limit, you will get a ticket. Trust me, I went to UNO, so I am quite familiar with the «rules» of the Lakefront. Lucky for me, I have never been in any kind of trouble, but I see people getting pulled over all the time. I mean I get it, it’s a residential area, but they do not mess around so be careful.

I love this drive. Driving along the lake is just a great way to enjoy a beautiful day OR to watch a storm blow in. I wish the authorities (or whomever) weren’t such pills about driving around… but if you want to see why they don’t let folks go cruising… check out this video from 1982:
Right now, because of the construction, you can only drive from Pontchartrain Expressway towards UNO. Cannot wait until all the construction is finished. Hoping that it will be 5 stars when it’s done.

I couldn’t resist being the first to review the beautiful Lakefront! Ahh the childhood memories of Filipino picnics, someone coming early to stake out a shelter, everyone coming around 1pm with their homemade dishes even though the party started at noon (Filipinos running late, gotta love it!), rolling down the hill, grown ups playing cards and mahjong! It was a fun time!
More recently I went to the Lakefront even though part of it was closed off because of bad weather. My friends and I brought some crawfish and ate under a shelter watching the sunset. Then of course it got dark and we had finished gorging ourselves at that time so it was time to leave.
In the past I’ve found it’s a great place to ride your bike and enjoy being near the lake, listening to the birds, watching people relax etc. my friend and I biked from the museum to the lakefront and back. Man I was not in good shape but it was a fun ride!
I remember when there used to be a Jeager’s on the lake, when Coconut Beach was right there. Man I’m sounding like an old person. What can I say, I love being near water and the lake is as beautiful a place around town!
Enjoy our lakefront!