Two Saturdays remain in Fairview-Riverside State Park's Halloween season. Trick-or-treating comes first, on October 24, and a campground movie follows on Halloween night. Each costs the standard day-use fee of $3 a person. The low price traces back to a summer resident who owned this stretch of the Tchefuncte River and, in 1962, left it to the public rather than to an heir or a buyer. Knowing who gave the ground, and which parts Ida damaged, makes the last two Saturdays of October easier to plan.
What the Remaining Saturdays Cost
The park lists three October events. The first, Halloween Crafts on October 17, had families making nature-inspired animal masks and decorating a haunted house with a ranger. Two are still ahead.
| Date | Event | What the park lists | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Oct. 24 | Trick-or-Treating | Fall arts and crafts, hayrides, live music | $3 per person |
| Saturday, Oct. 31 | Movie Night | Held in the campground; bring camp chairs or blankets | $3 per person |
Children 3 and under and adults 62 and over get in free to both, and the park is open for day use from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. So a family of four with two school-age children pays $12 to get in, and if a grandparent comes along, the total stays the same.
Neither event page gives a start time, and the Movie Night listing doesn't name the film. For both details, the park points visitors to its Facebook page or to the office at (985) 845-3318, extension 3.
Why a Riverfront Park Charges $3
The ground under the hayrides started out as a sawmill property. According to NOLA.com, the house in the park was built in 1885 for William Theodore Jay, who owned the mill. In 1906 Jay sold the house and mill to Charles and William Houlton. Frank Otis bought the property in 1936 and used it as a summer home.
When Otis died in 1962, he left the house and 99 acres to the State of Louisiana for public recreation. Today's park covers the same 99 acres. Louisiana State Parks describes it as fronting the Tchefuncte River, with picnic tables, a group pavilion, a playground and comfort stations under the oaks.
The Halloween schedule sits on that footprint. Movie Night uses the campground, which has 101 sites: 22 premium and 59 improved sites with water and electricity, plus 20 unimproved sites without hookups. The single reservable pavilion costs $70 a day and holds up to 60 people. Lighting and grills or fire rings are included, and every reservation carries a $4.50 non-refundable transaction fee. That fee matters for anyone planning a birthday or a neighborhood gathering around the October 24 event. For a group of 60, the pavilion works out to just under $1.25 a person before the gate fee.
The House Costs More Than the Park
The Otis House is the one part of the gift that charges more than the gate. Guided tours cost $10 for ages 7 to 61 and $8 for ages 62 and over, and children 6 and under go free. A tour of the house runs more than three times the $3 a person it takes to spend a day under the oaks it overlooks.
The schedule depends on which state page you read. The Otis House's own page lists Saturday tours at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The main park page lists tours at those same times on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, notes that the schedule can change, and asks visitors to confirm by calling 985-845-3318. Both pages agree on Saturdays, so a Halloween-season visit can pair a tour with the park's evening programs:
- Take the 11 a.m. or 1 p.m. Otis House tour on Saturday, October 24 or 31.
- Spend the afternoon on the grounds, which are already paid for with the day-use fee.
- Stay for the evening program, trick-or-treating on the 24th or the campground movie on the 31st.
The house closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
The River Edge Ida Took
Otis left a riverfront, and the river edge is the part of the gift Ida hit hardest. In a report on the park's recovery after the storm, NOLA.com said the boardwalk along the Tchefuncte had remained closed since Hurricane Ida damaged it in 2021, and that a stronger replacement was being designed.
On June 3, 2024, Sen. John Kennedy's office announced a $2,247,179 FEMA grant to replace the park's Ida-damaged dock, pier and fish-cleaning station. The announcement gave no construction timeline. That's roughly $22,700 for each of the park's 99 acres, all of it aimed at three structures on the shoreline.
The park still offers a lot along the river. State Parks says visitors can fish from the bank or from a boat, and that crabbing is popular in the river and the lake. The reservation system tells overnight guests the boat launch is available to them. The park lists a quarter-mile nature trail, and it's ADA accessible. If the plan is a walk along the water before the hayrides, call the office first to check which riverfront structures are open.
Halloween Week Across the River Towns
The park's two Saturdays fall in a busy week in Covington. Go Covington's calendar lists Rockin' the Rails at 5:30 p.m. this Thursday, October 22, with Yeah You Right, and again on Thursday, October 29, with Rocket Men. The Columbia Street Block Party October Trunk or Treat runs Friday, October 30, from 6 to 9 p.m. It's free, and the block-party streets close at 5 p.m.
Put together, that's a Thursday concert downtown, a free Friday trunk-or-treat on Columbia Street, and then Saturday, October 31 at the state park, with a morning Otis House tour and a film in the campground that night. The whole Saturday stays on the 99 acres Frank Otis left to the public, at $3 a person to get in.
Many of my clients in Tchefuncte Estates chose the neighborhood for its place on the Tchefuncte, and Fairview-Riverside is part of that same river. If you'd like to talk about life along this stretch of the river or anything else on your mind this fall, Puddy Robinson would be glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.
