Did you know New Orleans has perfectly flat and smooth bike trails?

Prepare yourself for the heat because we’re heading deep south to the gator country of Louisiana. And let me tell you, I thought I was mentally prepared for how hot it was going to be, but I was absolutely not! Coming from dry, chilly Montana the 90 degrees and ridiculous humidity was a shock. Thank goodness there was no elevation gain on the bike trails or I may have pulled a Frosty the Snowman and truly melted away.

I had to travel to New Orleans for a work conference so of course we had to find a bike trail while we were down there. We headed out early-before the hotel breakfast was even served-to try and beat the head and traffic (though as stated earlier we obviously failed at the heat part). The first 5 miles from our hotel in the Warehouse District to Audubon Park was street biking. While there were no designated bike lanes, we were mainly on side streets where traffic was light. But beware, the streets are full of cracks, bumps and large potholes which made the ride a little slower than usual. We then hopped on the Mississippi River Trail for about 12 miles to Kenner, LA. The trail is up on the levee which is an embankment to help with flood control. So the trail was elevated which meant better views of the Mississippi River, swampy greenery and big Southern mansions.

At this point the thigh chafing was real (thanks humidity) so we took a pitstop to Wal-Mart for some longer bike shorts, Gatorade and breakfast goodies. We were planning on getting off the River Trail at this point anyways to avoid getting too close to the airport so we could complete our planned loop. We had 7 miles of street biking to get to our next section of trail. We had to make it through one big, busy intersection plus a few blocks with minimal shoulder. Once we arrived at Veterans Blvd, the shoulder widened, traffic lightened and it was a very doable ride. There was also a frontage road you could use to get further from the cars. I wouldn’t recommend this part of the ride unless you’re a confident street biker and definitely not with kids. Instead make this an out and back trip on the trails listed below.

We successfully made it by Woodlake Park to hop on the Levee Trail for 2 miles before it joins with the Lakefront Trail for the next 10 miles. Now don’t be disappointed by the giant concrete wall blocking any view of Lake Pontchartrain. Keep pedaling, the wall only lasts a few miles before opening up to the vast lake. I really struggled with the heat during these 12 miles. The bridge over Lake Pontchartrain looked so far away. The trail, while perfectly flat, was also perfectly straight. Although the lake views were beautiful, there is zero cover from the sun and no change in scenery to keep your mind distracted from the temperatures. Plan to bring lots of water and/or sports drinks and snacks-or don’t visit Louisiana in mid-summer-that would probably be a smarter plan.

We stopped just past the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway to replenish our water and enjoy a shade break. Then we hit the streets again for 6 miles to City Park. The park offers a golf course, amusement park, mini golf and most importantly Café du Monde! Highly recommend stopping for a beignet break while at the park. It’s possible that we ate our weight in beignets during our week in NOLA. Hot take: although this isn’t the original Café du Monde which is located near Jackson Square, we actually liked this one better. Way less busy, great gift store and an air-conditioned seating area. I couldn’t taste a difference between the two locations.

Thankfully reaching City Park signified that our loop was nearing the end. Just over 1 mile to the Lafitte Greenway and 1.5 miles on this short through-town trail which ends near the Parkway Tavern. Sadly the restaurant was closed when we biked by, but it’s known for delicious po-boys! After 2 more miles we finally made it back to our hotel. Despite the heat, this was a fantastic ride. Great smooth trails and a very easy ride. Just plan for the non-forgiving hear with sunscreen, lots of water breaks and enjoy some well-known New Orleans food along the way. Keep an eye out for gators (there were some warning signs posted) and bring some navigation gear for the off trail sections. Once again we were able to see far more of New Orleans and the surrounding areas than we could have on foot. I wouldn’t recommend walking much, even 2 miles seems never ending in the heat. At least with a bike you can feel some resemblance to a cooling breeze!

Bonus content: the absolute highlight of my trip was a swamp tour by airboat to search for gators. We went with the Ragin Cajun Airboat Tour company and loved it! We saw so many gators of all sizes, including a giant 13-footer. The boat captains are experts at swamp life and give you facts about gators that I had never heard before. Did you know they love to eat marshmallows?? They also know exactly where the gators live so you’re basically guaranteed to see a bunch. Can’t recommend this experience enough!

• New Orleans was established in 1718 as a trading camp
• It’s nickname is Crescent City because the city is shaped around the Mississippi River’s curves
• The highest elevation is 6 feet above sea level. The city is completely surrounded by swaps and marshes, but there are too many gators and snakes in the waters to swim
• The colors of Mardi Gras were chosen in 1872: purple for justice, green for faith and gold for power
• St Louis Cathedral est. 1794, which is in Jackson Square, is the oldest continually operating cathedral in the United States
• The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is the longest continuous bridge over water in the world at 23.86 miles long. Sadly bikes are not allowed on the bridge.