Dedicated for Cemetery Purposes July 2, 1872
Approx. 150 acres.
Metairie Cemetery is located on a high section of ground known as the Metairie Ridge. The Ridge followed the course of Bayou Metairie, which is roughly the path of modern-day Metairie Road. Metairie Ridge was high ground, a rare commodity in the below-sea level areas away from the Mississippi River. In 1838, a group of investors chose this location to build a horse racing track and club, naming it the Metairie Race Course. The race track thrived in the antebellum decades. The track and clubhouse were on the western bank of the New Basin Canal, which connected Uptown with Lake Pontchartrain. New Orleans became the premier horse racing city in the country by the 1850s.
Racing stopped due to the Civil War, and the site turned into a Confederate Camp (Camp Moore) until 1862. After Admiral David Farragut and the Union Navy took possession of the city in 1862, the camp was abandoned. After the Civil War the track was bankrupt.

Directions:
Getting to Metairie Cemetery from downtown New Orleans is simple. If you're driving, just go straight up Canal Street to its end at City Park Avenue. The modern entrance is on Pontchartrain Blvd., just past I-10 exit for City Park Ave. You can also take the Canal streetcar line (the red streetcars) to the Cemeteries terminal at City Park Ave. Be sure to get on one of the streetcars whose rollboard says "CEMETERIES." From the streetcar terminal, walk to the corner of Pontchartrain Blvd and Metairie Road, where you can take the steps up into the original entrance of the cemetery. Cars are allowed inside the cemetery, and you can follow the Louisiana Heritage Trail's markers to view some of the most notable tombs

Pedestrian Entrance open until 3PM
Fountain Gate Main Entrance open until 5:30PM
Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home open 24 hours