Louisiana--Old Spanish Trail
Date: 2004-11-17
Originally a section of a 19th Century Spanish frontier trail, this 109-mile,
three-hour trip through southern Louisiana Cajun country is best accomplished
in the spring and fall, as summers are hot and humid. Begin in Houma,
the seat of Terrebonne Parish and a center of Cajun culture. Feast on
some of the local etouffe, jambalaya, or gumbo before heading west on Bayou
Black Drive (U.S. 90), skirting the bayou. Colorful operators along the
way offer tours of the Atchafalaya Basin, North America's largest river-basin
swamp. Outside Houma, look for the turnoff on the right for Wildlife Gardens,
which features an alligator farm, trapper's cabin, and swamp tours.
Back on the road, U.S. 90 passes through the heart of the oil industry. Entering St. Mary's Parish along Bayou Boeuf, you'll pass McDermott Shipyard and Morgan City, a major port on the Intracoastal Waterway. Attractions include the 3-1/2 acre Swamp Gardens where the 1917 Tarzan movie was filmed. Next, look for Berwick/Rte. 82, which crosses Berwick Bay and the Atchafalaya River and heads through the state's "sugar bowl," where sugar plantations flourished before the Civil War. Passing Garden City and Franklin, the seat of St. Mary's Parish, the road winds toward Sorrel, where one of the state's 19 active sugar mills still processes cane into raw sugar.
At New Iberia, check out 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 20 miles on Rte. 182 to Lafayette, a colorful hub of Cajun country and a great place to hear zydeco music, or continue the drive by turning right onto Rte. 31 to Martinville, the seat of St. Martin's Parish known as "Petit Paris." Visit the Evangeline Oak in Evangeline Town Park, made famous by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem of the same name, and the Petit Paris Museum. Just south on Rte. 31 is the Longfellow-Evangeline State Commemorative Area with a plantation home, visitors' center, and recreation area. Follow Bayou Teche to the end of the 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:
Wildlife Gardens
Evangeline Oak
Petit Paris Museum
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