Barataria Preserve closed nearly all of its trails on February 2, 2026 for a two-year rebuild, which knocked out the boardwalks most people drive to. Four others within an hour of the city are open.
1. Wetland Trace, Jean Lafitte
This is the closest substitute, six miles from the closed preserve. The boardwalk runs behind Lafitte’s Barataria Museum at 4917 City Park Drive, looping through a cypress swamp out to a bayou, rookery, and marsh.
The original boardwalk went up after Hurricane Katrina, and the town later added a three-quarter-mile section that follows a natural ridge alongside a waterway. Sources put the total between 0.9 miles and closer to two, spread across 41 acres of preserve with covered pavilions, benches, and scenic overlooks. Alligators, turtles, herons, and nesting egrets all turn up, and marsh lilies and orchids grow along the edges.
Park rangers displaced by the Barataria construction now work out of this site Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and they lead a guided hike along the Trace at 1 p.m. on both days. The museum runs Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with $6 admission. Dogs are welcome on leash. The bridge from the Black Pearl in Pirates of the Caribbean sits at the trailhead behind the museum.
2. Twin Canals Trail, Barataria Preserve
One trail at Barataria stayed open through construction. The Twin Canals parking lot, trail, and canoe launch all remain accessible while everything else is closed.
The route runs along a narrow, shallow canal with forested wetlands on both banks. Motorized craft including trolling motors are prohibited on the water here, so it stays quiet. Alligators are common, and egrets, herons, and kingfishers work the canal.
Anyone going should check the park’s conditions page first, since trails reopen in phases as each section finishes. Call (504) 589-3882.
3. Joe Madere Marsh Boardwalk, Bayou Sauvage
The Ridge Trail at Bayou Sauvage closed on March 2, 2026 for its own boardwalk replacement, but the Joe Madere site off Chef Menteur Highway stayed open.
The boardwalk here is short, around a quarter mile, running out to a marsh overlook with a picnic pavilion at the trailhead. It is one of the better spots near the city for shorebirds, waterfowl, and alligators. The refuge supports roughly 340 bird species across the year and sits on the Mississippi Flyway.
Two practical notes. The canoe launch has silted in, so paddling from here usually is not possible. And this is inside New Orleans city limits, about twenty minutes from downtown, which makes it the shortest drive on this list.
4. Boy Scout Road Boardwalk, Big Branch Marsh
Across the lake in Lacombe, this trail opens with a well-maintained boardwalk loop running roughly half a mile along a cypress bayou before connecting to Boy Scout Road. Walkers can turn back there or continue about 2.5 miles out to an overlook of Bayou Lacombe, with a lookout across Lake Pontchartrain partway along.
The route crosses pine savanna and oak cheniers, and it is the best place in the area to find the threatened red-cockaded woodpecker in spring and summer. Nesting trees carry a painted white circle, and the bird’s call sounds like a squeaky toy. Migration peaks from late March into early May and again in late September and October. Dogs are welcome.
There are no facilities at the trailhead. Check refuge status before going, since Tropical Storm Arthur closed the Lemieux Center site elsewhere in the refuge this summer. Call (985) 882-2000.
