Jefferson Parish

Elmer's IslandGrand Isle

1. Elmer's Island

   beginner ok

   Elmer's Island is south Louisiana's lagoon spot, inside a state wildlife refuge just west of Grand Isle.

   intermediateadvanced

   In seasonno month named for this spot

   The model here carries the month's average wind rather than a count of windy days: it reaches 17.7 kt in January, the strongest month it models for this spot.

   Elmer's Island: the long version, the launch and the rules

   More on Elmer's Island

   The lagoon is the reason to come: big, flat, waist deep, 3-5 feet throughout, soft mud bottom, and rideable on almost any wind direction. Walk about 100 yards and you are on the Gulf beach with waves, which is a different session on the same afternoon. Everything around it is salt marsh, dune, tidal flat and back bay. The refuge sets the timetable rather than the wind: you can be there from 30 minutes before official sunrise to 30 minutes after official sunset and no longer, no camping, and the whole place can close for storms or habitat work. Submerged crab traps are the hazard riders actually hit. Nobody has published a wind average or a best-month list for the lagoon, so check what Grand Isle is forecast to do and drive out with a fallback.

   Getting on the water

   Rig and launch around the lagoon and the parking area inside Elmer's Island Wildlife Refuge, inside the posted access hours and around any temporary closure. The Gulf beach is a short walk over the sand.

   If it goes wrong

   No kite rescue, no lifeguard, nobody watching the water. A school operates out of here but its cover does not extend to independent riders. The nearest organised water rescue is the Coast Guard station at the eastern end of Grand Isle, and the way to raise anyone is 911. Ride with someone on the beach, and remember that after the gate hour nobody is left to notice.

   Room to rig

   A large open refuge lagoon and beach, though the exact rigging boundaries and the vehicle and parking controls shift with refuge management.

   Rules and access

   2026: use of the refuge and of its land access routes is permitted only from 30 minutes before official sunrise to 30 minutes after official sunset, and no person or vehicle may remain there outside those hours. No glass bottles or other glass containers. No firearms, bows or crossbows. No commercial fishing, no guiding service, and no hunting or disturbing wildlife beyond the legal recreational harvest. Areas signed as restricted are closed to people and vehicles, vehicle speed is capped at 5 mph, and the department may restrict access to all or part of the refuge to protect the refuge or the public. The instrument is Louisiana Administrative Code title 76 section III-337, promulgated June 2010 and amended 1 June 2022; it carries no kite-specific clause either way.

   Everything on Elmer's Island

2. Grand Isle

   beginner ok

   Grand Isle is a Louisiana barrier island you can drive to, and the riding is the beach itself: seven miles of public sand reached through crossovers.

   intermediateadvanced

   In seasonno month named for this spot

   The model here carries the month's average wind rather than a count of windy days: it reaches 18.9 kt in January, the strongest month it models for this spot.

   Grand Isle: the long version, the launch and the rules

   More on Grand Isle

   The stretch riders point to is mid-island, by the Sureway Supermarket, where intermittent rock jetties break the swell and leave small waves on one side and flatter water on the other. Nobody manages this as a kite beach. You share the sand with fishermen, with crab lines set off the beach, with families, so where you rig matters more than it would elsewhere. The Gulf side runs a longshore current, jellyfish turn up in summer, and hurricane season can close the road or empty the island. Nobody has published which months or which directions locals actually rate; the nearest station gives an annual average of SE at 12 kt with 14 kt gusts, from 2017 observations only. Admission to Grand Isle State Park is $3 per person (2026), gates 7 AM-9 PM.

   Getting on the water

   Use the public crossovers and access points along the island. The mid-island stretch by the Sureway Supermarket is the one riders name, where intermittent rock jetties throw up waves on one side and leave flatter, protected water on the other.

   If it goes wrong

   No lifeguards on the seven miles of public beach. Grand Isle State Park keeps life rings along its own beach and posts rip-current warnings, but there is no patrol, no kite-specific rescue and no safety boat, so plan on self-rescue and a walk back up the sand. Emergencies go through 911.

   Room to rig

   long public beach with variable space around access points, beach users and fishing setups

   Rules and access

   2026: seven miles of public beach, reached by crossovers with parking. Admission to Grand Isle State Park is $3 per person, free for seniors 62 and over and children 3 and under, gates 7 AM-9 PM. Permitted carts and UTVs may drive the beach from 30 minutes before sunrise until 30 minutes after sundown, at 10 mph or less; no ATVs or 4-wheelers. Inside the state park: no glass containers on the beach, no dogs on the beach or in the water, posted swimming warnings must be obeyed and there are no lifeguards. No kite-specific restriction was found.

   Everything on Grand Isle

• Louis Armstrong New Orleans International (MSY), roughly 1.5-2 hours' drive

Kite bag rules for your airline

Type the carrier you are flying: what it charges for a kite bag, and the year of the policy that says so.

Known for USA:Southwest AirlinesDelta / American / United

Every carrier, with limits and what riders report at the counter →

1. The lagoon behind Elmer's Island is the reason people drive down: waist-deep flat water over soft mud, rideable in almost any direction, shallow enough that a first week on a board is realistic.

   consensus×3 riders

2. The hazards named here are human rather than marine: crab traps, cast fishing lines, and trucks moving on the sand.

   consensus×3 riders

3. It is genuinely remote: one highway down, a toll bridge on the way, a gate that gets locked at night, and nothing resembling a kite shop at the end of it.

   consensus×3 riders

4. The Gulf side is a different sport entirely. Anything with north in it pushes you out toward the oil rigs, so the standing advice is to stay in the lagoon.

   majority×2 riders

5. Tide runs the day here. The barrier strip can go under completely at high water, and the riding people rate is at low.

   majority×2 riders

6. Elmer's has the water and Grand Isle, a mile further on, has the food, the bars and the beds — most trips use both.

   majority×2 riders

7. The windy stretch is winter into spring and again in autumn; midsummer is not what anyone comes for.

   majority×2 riders

8. Grand Isle itself sits on a coast that keeps being rebuilt: the state park was shut for close to two years after the 2021 hurricane and beach camping stayed closed even after it reopened.

   majority×2 riders

• Grand Isle has been hit by a tropical storm or hurricane on average every 2.68 years since 1877, with a direct hit roughly every 7.88 years; Hurricane Ida (2021) damaged close to 100% of structures.
• A $52 million artificial levee built in 2010, nicknamed the "Burrito Levee" for its geotextile-tube core, protects the island.

What we could not settle. Ride here? These are the gaps worth filling.

• Is 'Jefferson Parish' the name riders actually use for this area?
• What does lodging cost around Jefferson Parish, and how bad are the mosquitoes and the heat by season?
• Is there a webcam or a wind station at either Jefferson Parish spot?