Barataria Preserve of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park & Preserve

Details

The Barataria Preserve of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park are open. Due to ongoing maintenance, the Prairie Acadian Cultural Center in Eunice, LA is temporarily closed along with the Loop A of the Plantation Trail at the Barataria Preserve (Marrero).

Consistent with CDC guidance, visitors to Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, regardless of vaccination status, are required to wear a mask inside all park buildings.

The Barataria Preserve is one of six sites comprising Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. The 23,000 acre Louisiana Wetland Preserve interprets the culture of people, past and present, who settled the delta and the unique ecosystem which sustained them. It preserves a representative example of the delta's environment, containing natural levee forests, bayous, swamps, and marshes.

The Preserve features beautiful nature trails, birding trails, and a visitor center featuring a kids activity center, Junior Ranger program, bookstore, and more. Guided tours are offered. Great place for hiking, canoeing, enjoying nature!

Kids can earn a Junior Ranger badge at any of the park's six sites. Admission to all sites is free. Explore the park through scavenger hunts, activities, puzzles, and more. Invent your own national park. Plot a course for Jean Lafitte. Depending on which park site you visit, you can play along with Cajun musicians, travel through history, hunt for spider webs, pack your gear for an 1815 battle, or learn about the foods that made Louisiana cooking famous. Ask at the visitor center information desk for a Junior Ranger booklet and join the Jean Lafitte ranger team!

Visitor center open Wednesday - Sunday 9:30 a.m. - 4:30; closed all federal holidays.
Preserve parking lot gates open for trail access every day from 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. including federal holidays.
Preserve completely closed on Mardi Gras.

Wetlands Walk - 10:00 a.m. every Wednesday through Sunday. Join a ranger for a guided walk on a boardwalk trail through wild Louisiana swamp and marsh. Stop at the visitor center to find out which trail today's walk will explore. No walk on federal holidays when the preserve visitor center is closed. Free.