Atchafalaya Basin
The largest river swamp in the country, and the channel the Mississippi would take to the Gulf if engineers let it.
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The Atchafalaya is a distributary of the Mississippi and it is shorter and steeper to the Gulf, which means the river has been trying to switch into it for decades - the Old River Control Structure upstream exists to prevent that, and it nearly failed in the 1973 flood. If it goes, the Mississippi changes course and Baton Rouge and New Orleans lose their river. The basin below covers around five and a half thousand square kilometres of bottomland hardwood, cypress-tupelo swamp and bayou, the largest such swamp in the United States. Crawfish, alligators and a very long bird list live in it. Boat tours run from Henderson, and I-10 crosses it on a bridge about thirty kilometres long.
What you actually see
- Cypress-tupelo swamp - the largest river swamp in the country.
- A river trying to change course - held by the control structure upstream.
- A thirty-kilometre bridge - carrying I-10 across the basin.
- Alligators, crawfish and wading birds - through the bayous.
When to go
October to April; summer heat and mosquitoes are severe. A full day.
Honest expectations
Access is by boat - the swamp is not walkable. Tours vary considerably in quality; some feed alligators, which is discouraged. Summer is punishing. Water levels change what is reachable.
Nearby
Breaux Bridge is west; Baton Rouge is east.
What to pack for Atchafalaya Basin
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
