Minimum through maximum custody, plus death row (men) · State Prison · DPS&C

Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola)

Angola, West Feliciana County, Louisiana

Visiting schedules change without notice. Always call before traveling.

Call Visiting Office: (225) 655-4411 Info last verified: June 2026

The largest maximum-security prison in the country — an 18,000-acre former plantation at the end of a dead-end Delta road, holding lifers and the state's death row, with a nationally known prison hospice.

Statewide rules that apply at every Louisiana state prison

These rules are set by DPS&C and apply at every unit. The full list — including all permitted and prohibited items and the approval process — is in Visiting in Louisiana.

Dress code

No denim or chambray, no gray, blue, or white sweatshirts, and no white t-shirts (these resemble inmate clothing); no camouflage or BDU-style clothing that resembles officer dress.
Undergarments required and not visible. Nothing transparent; no swimsuits, strapless, tube, halter, or tank tops, low-cut or midriff-baring tops, or spandex, Lycra, or leggings.
Skirts, shorts, and dresses no shorter than one inch above the knee, with no revealing slits or holes.
No house slippers, shower shoes, or flip-flops — footwear stays on. No hats or head coverings except for religious reasons; nothing gang-related or obscene.

ID: Bring a valid photo ID for every visitor 15 and older — a driver's license, state ID, military ID, or passport. (A statewide notice says 18 and older, but facility pages say 15, so bring ID for anyone 15 or older.)
What to bring: Leave wallets, purses, phones, and cash in your locked vehicle. Each prison allows limited items into the visit — at Angola, up to $300 cash per family and specified baby items; some prisons allow vending change and one debit card for the JPay kiosk.
Scheduling: The incarcerated person starts the application — the visitor mails or emails it to the facility (faxes are not accepted), and approval follows a background check. Each person keeps up to 10 approved visitors, changeable every four months; the approved-visitor list is usually not in place during the first 30 days of intake (though immediate family may be able to visit sooner); and two visits a month is the statewide norm.

Full statewide rules: Visiting in Louisiana

Overview

The Louisiana State Penitentiary — universally called Angola, after the former plantation on the site — has operated as the state prison since 1901, on roughly 18,000 acres bounded on three sides by the Mississippi River. It is the largest maximum-security prison in the country, holding more than 5,000 men across the Main Prison and a set of out-camps, with custody levels from minimum through maximum. Most of its population is serving a life sentence, and the prison has an aging population and a full medical mission: the on-site R.E. Barrow Treatment Center provides round-the-clock care and serves several other state facilities. Angola also runs one of the country’s earliest and best-known prison hospice programs, staffed by trained incarcerated volunteers.

Angola holds Louisiana’s men’s death row and the state execution chamber. After a roughly 15-year pause, Louisiana resumed executions in March 2025. The state’s one woman under a death sentence is held at the women’s prison, not here.

What Makes Angola Different

The scale and the distance are the story. One road in, more than 20 miles past the nearest town, an hour and a half from Baton Rouge — and once on the grounds, visitors are bused to the visiting area. Families routinely plan a full day.
It is a place where most people will grow old. The high share of life sentences, the on-site hospice, and a dedicated treatment center shape daily life here in ways most prisons don’t.
Death row and executions. Angola houses the men’s death row and the execution chamber; Louisiana resumed executions in March 2025 after a roughly 15-year pause.
The rodeo. The Angola Prison Rodeo and craft fair, held in April and on October Sundays, draw the public to the grounds — these are ticketed events, separate from personal visits.

Conditions and Federal Oversight

Conditions at Angola, especially heat, have been the subject of federal litigation. In Ball v. LeBlanc, a court found that extreme heat on death row amounted to cruel and unusual punishment, leading to a 2019 settlement requiring cooling measures. In VOTE v. LeBlanc, a federal judge ordered heat protections — shade, water, rest breaks, and a lower heat-alert threshold — for men doing outdoor “farm line” field labor in 2024 and 2025; the litigation has continued into 2026, so its current status is worth checking. Extreme summer heat is a recurring condition across Louisiana prisons; the channels for raising a concern are in Medical & Mental Health.

Visiting

The statewide DPS&C rules above — the approved-list application, the dress code, ID, and search rules — apply at Angola.

The statewide dress code, ID rules, and the $300-per-family cash limit are in the rules card above.

Angola does not publish a separate death-row visiting schedule online, and the camp a person is housed in can affect the day and area. The full approval process is in Visiting in Louisiana.

Getting There and Parking

Angola is at the end of Highway 66, reached from U.S. 61 north through St. Francisville.

Distances are approximate, based on map routing. Visitors park at the front entrance and ride a bus to the visiting area; the last bus leaves at 2:00 p.m.

Nearby Services

St. Francisville, more than 20 miles south on U.S. 61, is the nearest town with services, including the Best Western St. Francisville Hotel, plus restaurants and fuel along the highway. West Feliciana Hospital at 5266 Commerce Street in St. Francisville runs a 24/7 emergency room — (225) 635-3811 — the closest ER to the prison; larger hospitals are in Baton Rouge.

Learn More

For detailed information about visiting and communicating with someone in a Louisiana state prison:

Visiting in Louisiana — the application, dress code, and search rules
Mail & Packages — letters only, addressed with the DOC number
Phone & Video Calls — the Securus and JPay systems
Sending Money — depositing to a spending account
Medical & Mental Health — healthcare, hospice, and raising a concern
Transfers — intake, parish jails, and finding someone

Sources

This page is compiled from the following publicly available sources. Policies change without notice — confirm current details with the facility before relying on them.