The Tchefuncte River drains into Lake Pontchartrain

Lake Pontchartrain

Lake Pontchartrain is a brackish estuary located in southeastern Louisiana. It is the second-largest inland saltwater body of water in the United States, after the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and the largest lake in Louisiana. As an estuary, Pontchartrain is not a true lake.It covers an area of with...

 in Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is about 70 miles (112.7 km) long.

In the 19th century it was an important commercial waterway, where building materials and other products of the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain were loaded to be shipped across the Lake to New Orleans

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

.

Course

The Tchefuncte rises in northeastern Tangipahoa Parish

Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana

Tangipahoa Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, one of the Florida Parishes. The parish seat is Amite City, but the major city is Hammond. As of 2006, the population was 113,137...

 and initially flows southward; the river is used to define part of the eastern boundary of Tangipahoa Parish and parts of the western boundaries of Washington

Washington Parish, Louisiana

Washington Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its parish seat is Franklinton. In 2000, its population was 43,926....

 and St. Tammany

St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana

St. Tammany Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, in the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area. The parish seat is Covington....

 Parishes before turning southeastward into St. Tammany Parish, where it passes the city of Covington

Covington, Louisiana

Covington is a city in and the parish seat of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,483 at the 2000 census. It is located at a fork of the Bogue Falaya and the Tchefuncte River....

 and the town of Madisonville

Madisonville, Louisiana

Madisonville is a town in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 677 at the 2000 census. It is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

. It collects its largest tributary, the Bogue Falaya

Bogue Falaya

The Bogue Falaya, also known as the Bogue Falaya River, is a river in southeastern Louisiana in the United States. It is a tributary of the Tchefuncte River, which flows to Lake Pontchartrain...

, at Covington and flows into Lake Pontchartrain about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Madisonville, near the lake's northern extremity.

The Tchefuncte has been designated by the government of Louisiana as a "Natural and Scenic River." Fairview-Riverside State Park

Fairview-Riverside State Park

Fairview-Riverside State Park is a tourist attraction east of Madisonville, Louisiana. Its is set along the banks of the Tchefuncte River. Within the park is the Otis House Museum, built during the 1830s, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. Visitors go to...

is located along the river upstream of Madisonville.