Wondering where to stay for Mardi Gras when you’re bringing the RV? Park it about an hour outside the city and drive in for the parades. Fireside RV Resort sits in Ponchatoula, 50 miles from New Orleans with Exit 47 of I-12 about a mile away, with full-hookup RV sites, heated and air-conditioned cabins, and no resort fee. Mardi Gras 2027 falls on Tuesday, Feb. 9.
Honestly, it’s the easiest way to do Carnival with a camper. You come home to a quiet, shaded site and your own bathroom, you light a campfire, and you head back to the floats whenever you’re ready. Nobody enjoys circling a parade route with a 35-foot rig in tow.
Quick answers first:
- Stay: a full-hookup site about an hour outside New Orleans, so you sleep somewhere quiet.
- Park: keep the camper at your site and drive your truck in, because New Orleans tows vehicles off parade routes.
- Save: Fireside’s Mardi Gras holiday add-on is $10 per night, per site, with no resort fee.
- Go local: Hammond’s parade is about 10 minutes from Fireside.
When is Mardi Gras 2027?
Mardi Gras 2027 is Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2027, and Carnival season kicks off on Twelfth Night, Jan. 6, 2027, according to New Orleans & Company’s Mardi Gras guide. Lundi Gras 2027 is Monday, Feb. 8, the day before Fat Tuesday. The biggest New Orleans parades pile into the last few days before Fat Tuesday.
New Orleans & Company’s preliminary 2027 list puts Endymion on Saturday, Feb. 6, Bacchus on Sunday, Feb. 7, Orpheus on Lundi Gras, and both Zulu and Rex on Mardi Gras Day. The same New Orleans & Company list shows Krewe du Vieux on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2027, if you’d like an earlier trip. New Orleans & Company’s parade schedule page also says 2027 parade dates and final routes are “coming soon,” so double-check the night you’re after before you plan around it.
Where should you stay for Mardi Gras in New Orleans?
For Mardi Gras in New Orleans, you’ve really got three choices: a hotel on or near a parade route, an RV park inside the city, or a quieter home base outside town that you drive in from. A route hotel puts you steps from the floats. A base up the interstate trades a longer drive for more space, more sleep and a smaller bill.
The crowds are no joke. Downtown New Orleans logged 2.2 million visits during the two-week Carnival stretch in 2026, the most since 2020, based on Placer.ai data analyzed by the Downtown Development District and reported by Fox 8. Room rates climbed right along with them: CoStar data showed New Orleans’ average daily hotel rate rose 14.4% to $225.77 for the week ending Feb. 21, 2026, Hotel-Online reported. New Orleans & Company’s guide to parade-route hotels puts it plainly: “Hotels on the parade route book up a year in advance.”
What’s the best place to stay for Mardi Gras with an RV?
The best place to stay for Mardi Gras with an RV is a full-hookup site you won’t have to move until it’s time to go home: close enough to drive in for parades, far enough out to sleep. Before you book anywhere, check for fast interstate access, hookups at the site, some breathing room between neighbors, and a nightly price that doesn’t balloon for Carnival.
That checklist is exactly why we think Fireside works so well. Fireside sits near both I-12 and I-55, and all 165 of Fireside’s RV sites come with water, sewer and 30- or 50-amp power, plus a fire ring you can grill over and a picnic table to eat at. Fireside’s sites sit on crushed limestone pads under tall pine shade, and Fireside’s quiet hours begin at 10 p.m. and end at 8 a.m., which you’ll appreciate after a late parade. The Carnival bump stays small, and you won’t pay extra for a resort fee, a site lock or a so-called community impact fee. Browse full-hookup RV sites at Fireside to compare standard sites with the premium pull-throughs.
Traveling without a camper? Fireside’s cabins near New Orleans have heating and AC, a full kitchen and a private bedroom. Nine of Fireside’s 10 cabins sleep six, and its accessible cabin sleeps four. Just bring your own sheets, blankets and towels.
Can you park an RV in New Orleans during Mardi Gras?
Parking an RV on a New Orleans street during Mardi Gras is asking for trouble. The City of New Orleans’ parking rules set a $500 fine for leaving trailers, campers or 18-wheelers on residential streets and a $40 fine for keeping a vehicle longer than 22 feet overnight in the Central Business District. Under the same city rules, any vehicle on a New Orleans parade route is eligible for towing 2 hours before the parade starts, and a tow is a pricey way to end a parade day.
So unhook the truck and leave the camper home. Park well off the route, then walk or ride transit. A New Orleans RTA bus or streetcar ride costs $1.25, and the RTA’s 1-Day Jazzy Pass costs $3 while its 3-Day Jazzy Pass costs $8, per the New Orleans RTA fare chart. One heads-up from last season: during Carnival 2026, the RTA said the St. Charles streetcar line had been “de-energized for the remainder of the parade season,” with buses covering the route until the crowds made it unsafe.
How far are the parades from Fireside?
New Orleans is about an hour from Fireside, but plenty of parade towns are much closer, especially Hammond and the St. Tammany Parish towns east of us along I-12. These are typical no-traffic drive times from the resort, so pad them on parade days.
Which Mardi Gras parades roll near Hammond and Ponchatoula?
Hammond, about 10 minutes from Fireside, hosts its own Mardi Gras parade. Hammond’s Krewe of Omega, conducted with the Hammond Rotary Club, paraded at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, according to WAFB’s 2026 parade schedule. Check the krewe’s site for its 2027 date as Carnival gets closer.
St. Tammany Parish adds plenty more within about an hour. Here’s when some favorites rolled in 2026, per Visit the Northshore’s 2026 schedule, plus a Baton Rouge parade that has already posted its 2027 date:
Visit the Northshore sums up the local scene nicely: “Check out our parade schedule for family-fun entertainment, where to catch the spirit and score some throws!” Carnival doesn’t stop at our front gate, either. Our own things to do near Fireside page puts it this way: “Mardi Gras is huge on the north shore. Fireside hosts its own events, with plenty of family-friendly parades nearby.” Keep an eye on the Fireside events calendar for the 2027 lineup.
Where’s the best spot to watch Mardi Gras with kids?
With kids, we’d skip the densest downtown crowds and start in the suburbs or close to camp. Metairie is a good bet: Jefferson Parish says “over a million revelers looking for family-oriented parades flock to the Veterans Memorial Parade Route in Metairie on Mardi Gras Day” to see the Krewe of Argus, and the free Family Gras festival is set for Jan. 29 and 30, 2027, in Metairie. Closer to Fireside, the Hammond, Covington and Mandeville parades in the table above make for shorter drives with sleepy kids in the back seat.
Plan your spot around the city’s rules. According to NOLA Ready, ladders can’t be taller than 6 feet and must sit at least six feet back from the curb, and personal items can’t go on the public right-of-way earlier than four hours before a parade starts.
What’s the weather like for Mardi Gras in February?
February in New Orleans is usually mild, with an average high of 66.4°F and an average low of 49.7°F at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, based on NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 climate normals. Cold snaps still happen. The National Weather Service notes that “10 out of 152 Mardi Gras Days have had temperatures 32F or less,” and the NWS says rain has occurred on 31.1% of all Mardi Gras Days.
Pack layers and a rain jacket, and plan on cozy nights back at camp. February evenings are made for the fire ring at your site, and Fireside’s golf cart rentals run $75 for a day or $350 for the week if you’d like to cruise the resort. Still picking dates? Our guide on when to visit New Orleans walks through the whole calendar.
What does a Mardi Gras stay at Fireside cost?
From November through March, a Standard RV site at Fireside RV Resort runs $55 nightly, and a Premium site runs $65. Mardi Gras is on Fireside’s holiday list, which adds $10 per night, per site, and Fireside’s nightly price includes as many as four guests. Nothing else gets tacked on at checkout, so what you see on the rates page is what you pay.
A few more ways to save. Fireside’s weekly deal gives RV guests the seventh night free when they book six. Fireside also gives AARP members, Good Sam members, military and guests 65 and older 10% off with a card or ID at check-in, though discounts can’t be combined. The full breakdown lives on the Fireside rates page.
Want the whole season? Fireside’s monthly winter special covers Standard RV sites for $650 a month from Nov. 1 to March 31, with electricity and Wi-Fi included. Monthly stays aren’t sold online, so phone (985) 277-1059 to set one up, or read more on our snowbird RV park page. Plans change, and we get it. Under Fireside’s cancellation policy, canceling more than 72 hours before arrival earns a voucher or credit toward a future stay, good for one year.
Frequently asked questions
Mardi Gras Day is Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2027. Carnival season starts with Twelfth Night on Jan. 6, 2027, and New Orleans & Company’s preliminary list puts Endymion on Saturday, Feb. 6, with final routes still to come.
It’s a bad idea. The City of New Orleans sets a $500 fine for parking a trailer or camper on a residential street, and vehicles on a parade route can be towed starting 2 hours before the parade. Keep the RV at your campsite and drive in with your tow vehicle.
It sure is. Figure on about an hour each way, since Ponchatoula sits roughly 50 miles north of the city and Fireside is right by Exit 47 on I-12. Hammond’s parade route is about 10 minutes from your site.
Only a little. Mardi Gras is on Fireside’s holiday list, which adds $10 per night, per site. Nobody pays a resort fee or a site-lock fee here, either.
Hammond’s Krewe of Omega rolled at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, about 10 minutes from Fireside. Covington, Mandeville, Madisonville and Slidell also host parades within about an hour of the resort.
You sure can. Fireside’s monthly winter special is $650 a month on Standard RV sites from Nov. 1 to March 31, with electricity and Wi-Fi included. Call the office to book a monthly stay, since those aren’t sold online.
We’d start in Metairie or close to camp. Jefferson Parish describes the Veterans Memorial Parade Route in Metairie as a draw for “revelers looking for family-oriented parades” on Mardi Gras Day, and the free Family Gras festival in Metairie is set for Jan. 29 and 30, 2027.
Carnival in southeast Louisiana is a blast, and it’s even better when you’ve got a quiet site waiting at the end of the night. Fireside RV Resort is on Hwy 445 in Ponchatoula, right by Exit 47 on I-12 and about an hour from the New Orleans parade routes. Check open RV sites for Mardi Gras 2027, or ring the front desk at (985) 277-1059. We’ll have the fire ring ready!
