The National WWII Museum sits at 945 Magazine Street in New Orleans, about 50 miles and roughly an hour from Fireside RV Resort in Ponchatoula. You leave the RV set up at camp, take I-12 west to I-55 south, then merge onto I-10 east, and you’re walking the museum floor by mid-morning. The doors are open 9 in the morning until 5 in the evening nearly every day, closed only on Mardi Gras Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day, and Congress named it America’s official National WWII Museum. Plan it right and you’ll see the highlights and still be back at a quiet site by dark.
We get asked about this one a lot. Folks pull in for a week of camping and want a real New Orleans day without the hassle of driving a 40-foot rig into the Warehouse District. Good news: this is about the easiest big-city day trip you can make from the Northshore.
How far is the National WWII Museum from the Northshore?
The National WWII Museum is about 50 miles from Fireside RV Resort, or right around an hour of driving. You hop on I-12 west, drop down I-55 south, cut over to I-10 east, and roll straight into the Warehouse District. No back roads, no guesswork, just three interstates and you’re there.
That short hop is a big part of why the Northshore works so well as a basecamp. You’re close enough for a full day in the city, but you come home to shade trees and peace and quiet instead of downtown noise.
What is there to see at the National WWII Museum?
Plenty, and you could spend anywhere from a quick hour or two to the better part of a full day here. The museum is spread across several pavilions, each one covering a different piece of the war, and general admission gets you into all of them plus the USS Tang Submarine Experience.
So here’s what you’re walking into. The Louisiana Memorial Pavilion covers D-Day and the Home Front. Campaigns of Courage walks you through the Road to Berlin and the Road to Tokyo. The US Freedom Pavilion, also called The Boeing Center, hangs real aircraft overhead and houses the USS Tang submarine experience. There’s also the Liberation Pavilion and the Solomon Victory Theater.
If you want the big cinematic moment, add on Beyond All Boundaries. It’s a 4D film that runs about 48 minutes, it’s narrated by Tom Hanks, and it got a fresh remaster in 2025. There’s also the 30-minute show at the Priddy Family Freedom Theater. When you’re ready to sit down and eat, The American Sector Restaurant and Bar serves daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and BB’s Stage Door Canteen is right there too.
And this isn’t a spot we’re overselling, either. On TripAdvisor it’s ranked the number one thing to do in New Orleans, with a 4.8 out of 5 rating across more than 31,000 reviews. So yeah, build the day around it.
How much are tickets to the National WWII Museum in 2026?
General admission in 2026 is $37 for adults, with a reduced $27 rate for students and military with ID. Kids under 5 get in free, and so do WWII veterans. That base ticket already includes the USS Tang Submarine Experience, so you’re covered for the main museum without any add-ons. You can double-check the current per-category pricing on the museum’s official tickets page before you go.
Want the extras? Beyond All Boundaries is $9 and the Priddy Family Freedom Theater show is $9, and you can bundle them together for a bit less. One heads-up on timing: the museum runs 9 to 5 every day but shuts its doors on Mardi Gras Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day, so plan around those.
Can you park an RV at the National WWII Museum?
No, you can’t. There’s no RV, motorhome, or trailer parking on the museum campus, and the museum garage at 1024 Magazine Street has a height limit of 6 feet 8 inches, so a rig won’t clear it anyway. Garage parking runs $8 to $50 depending on how long you stay.
That’s exactly why we tell guests to leave the RV hooked up at camp and drive the car or tow vehicle in. It’s the whole point of using Fireside as your basecamp. Your site stays set up with full hookups the entire time, and you never have to break camp just to see the city. Try squeezing a big rig through the Warehouse District and you’ll wish you’d left it in Ponchatoula.
Where should you camp near New Orleans in an RV or cabin?
Fireside RV Resort in Ponchatoula makes a calm, easy basecamp for exploring New Orleans, about an hour from downtown with no city traffic to fight when you get home. We’ve got 165 full-hookup RV sites here, every one running 30- and 50-amp power, plus water and sewer, and 10 cabins that sleep six if you didn’t bring a rig. Folks looking for RV resorts near New Orleans or quiet Northshore campgrounds tend to settle right in here.
Our sites are roomy and set far enough apart that you’re not bumping elbows with your neighbor, and they sit level and well-drained so setup’s a breeze. You get free Wi-Fi throughout the resort, clean and well-kept grounds, and the kind of quiet that the big loud resorts just can’t match. There’s a lazy river to float, a family swimming pool, and a swim-up bar over at the adults-only pool, plus sand volleyball, a playground, golf cart rentals, and a camp store.
Looking at cabin rentals near New Orleans instead? Our cabins sleep six and give you a roof and a real bed while you’re still close to everything. Bring your own linens, there’s a small cleaning fee, and we ask that dogs stay out on your RV site rather than inside the cabins.
And now the part we’re proudest of. No resort fee bolted onto your bill, no site-lock charge, no reservation service fee. None of that nonsense. We run this place ourselves, plain and honest, so what the site costs up front is exactly what you pay. No surprises waiting at the end, just camping.
Frequently asked questions
It's about 50 miles, or roughly an hour, on I-12 west to I-55 south then east on I-10 into the Warehouse District.
It can be. Highlights take one to two hours, but if you want to see everything across all the pavilions, plan on the better part of a full day.
Yes! General admission includes the USS Tang Submarine Experience at no extra charge. Films like Beyond All Boundaries are separate add-ons.
No. There's no RV or trailer parking on campus, and the garage height limit is 6 feet 8 inches. Leave your rig at camp and drive your car in.
The museum opens at 9 in the morning and closes at 5 in the evening every day, except Mardi Gras Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.
Adult general admission is $37, with a reduced $27 rate for students and military. Kids under 5 and WWII veterans get in free.
Plan your New Orleans day trip from Fireside
You’re about an hour and 50 miles from the National WWII Museum here at Fireside RV Resort, close enough for a full day in New Orleans and far enough for a quiet night back at your site. Leave the rig hooked up, point the car west on I-12, drop down I-55 south and cut over to I-10, and come home to shade and calm. Come see for yourself. Reserve your spot over at book.firesidervresort.com, and have a peek at our current rates on the pricing page before you head down.
