See North America’s largest river-basin swamp, eat etouffe, jambalaya, or gumbo, dance to zydeco music, and visit a restored 1834 sugar plantation home.
Originally a section of a 19th Century Spanish frontier trail, this 109-mile, 3-hour trip through southern Louisiana Cajun country is best accomplished in the spring and fall, as summers are naturally hot and humid. Begin in Houma, the center of Terrebonne Parish and a seat of Cajun tradition. Feast on some of the local etouffe, gumbo, or jambalaya before heading west on Bayou Black Drive (U.S. 90), skirting the bayou. Colorful operators along the way provide tours of the Atchafalaya Basin, North America’s biggest river-basin swamp. Outside Houma, look for the turnoff on the right for Wildlife Gardens, which features swamp tours, an alligator farm, and trapper’s cabin.
Back on the road, U.S. 90 passes through the center of the oil industry. Entering St. Mary’s Parish along Bayou Boeuf, you’ll pass a major port on the Intracoastal Waterway, the McDermott Shipyard and Morgan City. Attractions include the 3-1/2 acre Swamp Gardens where the original 1917 Tarzan movie was filmed. Next, look for Berwick/Route 82, which crosses the Atchafalaya River and Berwick Bay and heads through the state’s “sugar bowl,” where sugar plantations flourished before the Civil War. Passing Franklin and Garden City, the seat of St. Mary’s Parish, the road winds toward Sorrel, where one of the state’s nineteen active sugar mills still processes cane into raw sugar.
At New Iberia, take a look at the Shadows-on-the-Teche, a restored 1834 plantation home and gardens, along with the Conrad Rice Mill, the oldest rice mill in the country, and the Live Oak Gardens. Next, detour twenty miles on Route 182 to Lafayette, a colorful hub of Cajun country and a great place to hear zydeco music, or continue the drive by heading right onto Route 31 to Martinville, the seat of St. Martin’s Parish renowned as “Petit Paris.” Visit the Petit Paris Museum, and the Evangeline Oak in Evangeline Town Park, made famous by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem of the same name. Just south on Route 31 is the Longfellow-Evangeline State Commemorative Area with a plantation home, recreation area, and visitors’ center. Follow Bayou Teche to the final route in Breaux Bridge.
Starting Point:
Houma, LA
Distance of Drive:
109 miles
Must Eat:
Old Tyme Grocery
218 W St. Mary Blvd., Lafayette, LA 70501
Phone: 337-235-8165
Call ahead to confirm hours of operation.
Good Stop For: Great Shrimp
Best Time of Year for Drive:
Year round, but summer can be very hot and humid.
Points of Interest on Drive:
Petit Paris Museum
Evangeline Oak
Wildlife Gardens
Tagged with: best time:yearround • Louisiana
Filed under: Best Road Trips