Joyce Wildlife Management Area

Joyce Wildlife Management Area is a nature reserve covering about 42,000 acres of cypress and tupelo forest mixed with freshwater marsh in the Pontchartrain Basin of Louisiana. The site includes multiple waterways where visitors can boat through and explore the landscape.

The reserve was established through a donation by the Joyce Foundation in 1982, which contributed about 13,000 acres. Additional land purchases and donations from other organizations enabled later expansion of the protected area.

The area hosts nearly 200 bird species, including whistling ducks, wood ducks, and hooded mergansers that appear throughout the year. Visitors can watch these birds as they move through and settle in the wetland landscape.

Visitors can access the swamp through multiple boat launches including North Pass, Lee's Landing, and Traino Landing for fishing and wildlife viewing. An elevated boardwalk system also provides land-based access to certain interior wetland areas.

An elevated boardwalk constructed in the 1990s extends into the interior swamp and offers close views of alligators and native plants. This built pathway system allows visitors to watch wildlife from a safe distance.