Southport

A string of fishing piers, boat launches, and camps along the Jefferson Parish lakefront east of Bucktown, developed in the 1930s as a recreational fishing destination. The area pulls speckled trout, redfish, and crab from Lake Pontchartrain. It was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina, but the piers and the culture keep coming back. New Orleans was founded in 1718 on a portage — the Native American trade route between Bayou St. John and the Mississippi River that offered access to Lake Pontchartrain. The city's relationship with this lake is old. Southport is where that relationship still plays out at dawn, when retirees and shift workers work the same water. It's a quieter alternative to the busier Bucktown marina. The boat launches stay open. The lines stay in. Sunrise fishing here is a Jefferson Parish tradition, and the tradition survived the storm.