Galva Canal Boatshed and Classroom
The upstairs classroom at our Galva Canal facility is equipped with wi-fi, an LCD projector/screen and computer, and conference room tables and chairs. The location just off of I-55 near the Manchac exit makes this classroom ideal for presentations or discussions before and after field trips or marsh experiments conducted by boat in Pass Manchac, Lake Maurepas, or Lake Pontchartrain.
The Galva Canal Boatshed houses a substantial and ever growing selection of boats, suitable for almost any research or educational endeavor that can be undertaken from the research station. The list of our current vessels includes the following:
- Black Boat (21′ x 8′ Reno Skiff)
- Brown Boat (18′ Reno Skiff)
- Callinectes II (30′ x 9’2″ beam, aluminum cab boat)
- Carolina Skiff (24′ x 7’6″ beam)
- Ridley (22′ x 8’4″ beam aluminum vee, center console)
- Pontoon Boat (40′ x 11’10”, covered)
- White Boat (17′ x 5′ beam Boston Whaler – donated from LUMCON)
- Two 16′ mud boats
- Ten canoes
From Hammond, LA via I-55:
- Between LaPlace and Hammond on I-55, take Exit 15 towards Manchac.
- Turn right (south) onto Hwy 51 (the “low road,” also labeled as “Frontage Road”). Pass Middendorff’s Restaurant on your left.
- Cross the bridge over Pass Manchac.
- After the bridge, travel about 1/4 of a mile and you’ll see a road sign for “Southeastern Turtle Cove ERS” directing you to turn left onto a road that crosses over the railroad tracks (it’s the second left possible after coming off the bridge)–the canal you see in front of you is Galva Canal. Stop and look both ways as you approach and cross the railroad tracks.
- After crossing the tracks, turn right immediately (don’t be fooled by the “Turtle Cove Club” sign on one of the local boatsheds right there across the tracks—that is not us). This road curves and takes you to a yellow iron-pipe gate.
- Enter into the LDWF Manchac Wildlife Management Area/Southeastern Turtle Cove Boat Shed Area at Galva Canal.
- Continue 100+ yards from the gate until you come to the far section of the parking lot—the Southeastern/Turtle Cove section of the property marked with the large “Turtle Cove Environmental Research Station” sign hanging on the upstairs classroom over the boat shed and boats (see green “Parking” signs in front of the boat shed and park there). Overflow parking is against the marsh still further right.
Directions to I-55
Use the following directions to travel to I-55, depending on your approach:
From the South (New Orleans, LA area)
Travel west on I-10 toward Baton Rouge/New Orleans airport. Take Exit 210, merging north onto I-55 toward Hammond. Take Exit 15 toward Manchac.
From the North (Hammond, LA or Jackson, MS areas)
Travel south on I-55 toward New Orleans. Take Exit 15 toward Manchac.
From the East (Covington, LA or Slidell, LA areas)
Travel west on I-12. Take Exit 38A, merging south onto I-55 toward New Orleans. Take Exit 15 toward Manchac.
From the West (Lafayette, LA or Baton Rouge, LA areas)
Travel east on I-10 toward Baton Rouge. Take Exit 159 (left), merging east on I-12 toward Hammond. Take Exit 38A, merging south onto I-55 toward New Orleans. Take Exit 15 toward Manchac.
