Ascension, Livingston, St. John the Baptist, St. James County, Louisiana · 112,615 acres
Maurepas Swamp Wildlife Management Area Hunting 2026: Species & Access
Maurepas Swamp Wildlife Management Area covers 112,615 acres near Sorrento in Ascension, Livingston, St. John the Baptist, St. James County. Flooded cypress-tupelo swamp roughly 25 miles west of New Orleans along Lake Maurepas's south shore, with water levels driven by rainfall, wind and tides — bulltongue, cattail and submerged aquatics fill the understory alongside red maple, American elm, sugarberry and several oak species.
01 — What you can hunt here
| Species | Notes |
|---|---|
| White-tailed deer | Youth seasons available; hunting closes entirely when swamp water levels rise too high — see closures. |
| Squirrel | Also has youth-specific seasons. |
| Rabbit and waterfowl | Present and huntable under statewide LDWF rules. |
| Alligator | Available through the WMA's specific alligator hunting opportunities program. |
02 — Access rules specific to this WMA
- The standard Louisiana WMA Access Permit applies here like every other LDWF WMA.
- 16 self-clearing permit stations are scattered across the property for day-of check-in.
- Boat access runs via the Blind River and the Reserve Flood Relief Canal; foot access comes off I-10, I-55, U.S. 51 and Louisiana 641.
- ATVs are permitted for game retrieval across most of the WMA, but explicitly prohibited on the Crusel Tract.
- Eco-tourism operators need a Wild Louisiana Guide License to run trips here.
03 — Where this WMA differs from the statewide rules
- Deer hunting closes automatically whenever the USGS water-level gauge at Airline Canal/Blind River near Gramercy reads 2.25 feet or higher, and doesn't reopen until levels recede to 1.75 feet — a real-time, water-driven closure rather than a fixed calendar date. Check the USGS gauge (station 07380212) directly before a deer trip.
04 — Facilities
Camping: Two tent-only camping areas, at New River Canal and Reserve Canal. No shooting range on-site.
A half-mile nature trail runs on the east side of U.S. 51 near LaPlace, about half a mile north of Peavine Road — one of the few non-boat, non-hunting ways to see the swamp on foot.
05 — Where to go next
Maurepas Swamp is the rare WMA where the season calendar isn't the final word on whether you can hunt deer — a live USGS water-level gauge is. Above 2.25 feet at the Gramercy gauge, deer hunting shuts down regardless of what the printed season dates say, and doesn't reopen until the swamp drops back to 1.75 feet, so checking that gauge before a trip matters as much as checking the season itself. Access otherwise runs on Louisiana's standard WMA Access Permit system, spread across 16 self-clearing stations for a property this boat-dependent.
Louisiana hunting license costs and permits →
Verified · Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries · Last verified 2026-08-09
Publisher's note. Read from LDWF, retrieved 2026-08-09. Review due 2027-08-01. WMA-specific rules and closures can change between seasons — confirm before you hunt.