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Southern Louisiana is home to diverse city culture combined with historic old-America attractions and quaint farm towns. From Lafayette, you’re in the ideal hub spot to make day trips to interesting places. Here are just a few top-tier day trip ideas starting from Lafayette.
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Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge
About 50 minutes northeast of Lafayette, this beautiful bayou nature preserve is named for the Choctaw phrase meaning long river, and the river offers plenty to explore, whether by kayak, canoe, or walking trails. Spotting wildlife is very common, including alligators. Stay within 30 feet of all wildlife, and if you want to take pictures, bring a strong enough camera to shoot from afar.
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Avery Island
Have you ever wondered where Tabasco sauce comes from? A half-hour from Lafayette, Avery Island is a salt dome, a fascinating land structure where a column of minerals shoots up like a hill from an ancient seabed. At this salt dome village in New Iberia, you can tour the Tabasco factory and see how the world’s most popular hot sauce is made. You should also make time for the Rip Van Winkle Gardens, a picturesque mansion and garden with an attached cafe and hotel if you decide to make your trip a little longer.
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Saint Martinville
About 30 minutes southeast of Lafayette, this small suburban city is home to many neat museums, like the Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site and the African American Museum. Saint Martinville also stands out for its comfort food restaurant scene. Enjoy some decadent down-home Southern favorites at The Brown Skillet, spicy Louisiana classics at Kajun King, or a mix of both at St. John Restaurant.
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Lake Martin
This huge lake is only 20 minutes east of Lafayette, and you could have a great time spending an afternoon here. The park offers guided walking swamp tours and kayaking trips on the lake, which take about two hours. Be prepared to see alligators! It’s also a popular spot for hiking, birdwatching, and enjoying the wilder side of Louisiana. If you don’t think a swamp can be beautiful, you haven’t seen Lake Martin’s sunsets through the cypress, or the carpets of green lily pads on pitch-black water.
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Eunice
The small city of Eunice is a 45-minute drive northeast of Lafayette and has a ton of Cajun history and style. One of the major draws is Savoy Music Center, which holds Cajun jam sessions with local musicians from 9 to noon every Saturday. After that and an authentic, spicy lunch, check out the Cajun Music Hall of Fame and Museum, where you’ll discover the nuance and influence of Cajun music on all of the South and beyond. If you have time from there, you can enjoy music, dancing, and free cooking lessons at Prairie Cajun Cultural Center on Saturdays as well.
There is far too much to see and do in Lafayette to describe it all here, so why not get started and venture somewhere you’ve never been? Each of these five places is less than an hour from Lafayette’s center, giving you more time to have fun and less time traveling.
Image via Pixabay | CC 0 | Cropped from original
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