3 Outdoor things to do near New Orleans

Tired of staying in the city and want to get out and do something active? I’ve compiled a list of active and outdoor things to do near New Orleans that are a quick car ride away from town. I’ve had the pleasure of doing a few of these activities – and on a sunny but not-so-humid day, it is a perfect active day trip from New Orleans.

This post is part of our Louisiana series. Here are a few other related posts for your Louisiana trip: 

• One Day of History in Lafayette LA 
• What to do near New Orleans airport for 6 hours or less
• Plantations near New Orleans (or Baton Rouge) 
• Outdoor and active things to do near New Orleans

Zipline through a haunted swamp at ZipNOLA 

Address: 301 Peavine Rd, Laplace, LA 70068

Ever thought you could zipline through a haunted swamp? Here’s your chance to do so! ZipNOLA has 5 zip lines and a few obstacle courses that are fun yet challenging. Throughout the course, the instructors will teach you Zipline tricks, and how to use the carabiners properly to make sure you are secure and are there to make sure you have a great time. 

The first Zipline is the best one: because that’s one of the longest and is your first foray into the course. I was scared, nervous, and jumpy, but I’m glad I did it. Expect to finish the entire zip line course in around an hour. Groups are small to ensure that everyone zips safely and there’s enough space on the platform for everyone. 

If you are planning on doing this activity, book in advance! When we showed up, the closest time was fully booked, and we were a group of 5. We had to wait another hour so they could accommodate our group. 

There is a small gift store in the check-in area so you can buy souvenirs if you wish. You may even bring a GoPro or a camera with you as you zipline, as long as it is attached to your body.

Take a swamp boat tour at Cajun Pride Swamp Tours

Address: 110 Frenier Rd, La Place, LA 70068

Within a 5-minute drive from ZipNola is Cajun Pride Swamp Tours. The company does boat tours an hour long through a bayou, which is a slower-moving river. The land and the pier for the boat are owned privately by the company, so there are no other companies that do tours of that particular area. Your first part of the tour takes you to a small clearing where raccoons are known to hang around. 

The boat guides and captains feed the raccoons dog food so raccoons do come out in droves. These guys are not nocturnal unlike other raccoons, nor do they have rabies. These raccoons just don’t have the need to forage for food in the evenings since they are being fed from the daily boat tours. Not sure if that’s entirely good for the raccoons being fed by humans, but to each their own. 

Swamp boat tours with guaranteed alligator sightings in Louisiana

The second part of the tour is the highlight: alligators. This is the main event of many swamp tours in Louisiana and Florida. Your guide will go to the platforms located on both ends of the boat and feed alligators with chicken. 

If your guide is dating enough, and most of them are, they get really close to the alligator when they feed them. These alligators are not wild and what the guides are doing on every tour they take out is highly dangerous! Do not try to do what they are doing in the wild. It may not end up well for you. 

After the alligators, you will then have a view of the bayou and the nature surrounding it from the boat. Your guide will then find a quiet spot to stop and then he takes out a baby alligator. He will then give everyone a chance to hold the baby alligator after a safety briefing. 

How do you hold a baby alligator? 

Your guide will do a quick lesson on how to hold the alligator for you. However, for folks who have children, hold the baby alligator as you would with a newborn. Cradle them in your arms and as long as you are calm and relaxed, the baby alligator will be too. 

A calm alligator is best for photos than a squirmy one. It also works better for the alligator if they’re calm. People tend to freak out if they hold a squirmy alligator so they have more of a tendency to drop them. Please don’t drop the baby alligator when you get a chance to hold them! The baby alligators will have rubber bands used to keep their mouth closed, so they won’t bite you. Keep calm when you hold them, smile for the camera, and then pass the baby alligator back to your guide. 

Please tip your airboat tour guides 

Given the knowledge of the area and the danger of being close to wild alligators, babies or not, please tip your guides if you enjoyed your tour. These will help show your appreciation to them. If you don’t have cash, some companies now have QR codes you can scan on the way out so you can send gratuities through Venmo or other cash-based apps. 

You can also leave reviews on Google or TripAdvisor if you had a great time on your tour. Leaving reviews helps put the word out about these small businesses and can help other people find and try these companies out on their own tours. 

Hop on an Airboat at Ultimate Swamp Adventures in Westwego 

Address: 450 Laroussini St, Westwego, LA 70094

Located closer to the city of New Orleans, Ultimate Swamp Adventures offers airboat tours as well as regular boat tours around the Bayou Segnette State Park area.  If you can afford it, go for the airboat tour than the regular boat tour. It costs almost twice as much but you won’t regret it. That feeling of your hair flowing through the wind as your driver whips you around the swamps is unreal. 

This boat tour is a bit different than Cajun Pride since Cajun Pride does not feed marshmallows to alligators. This tour does feed marshmallows to the alligators. I’m pretty sure alligators do not eat marshmallows as part of their daily diet given that it is sugary but I’m not surprised they like it. The alligators here are bigger than the ones you can see on Cajun Pride’s tour. 

Should I take different boat tours around the New Orleans area? 

Yes, definitely. Besides touring bodies of water in entirely different areas, the experiences also differ. In my case, Cajun Pride’s boat tour utilizes a regular boat tour, while Ultimate Swamp Adventures has an option to go on a regular boat tour but also an airboat. 

Cajun Pride’s surroundings have trees and forests around the bayou, while Ultimate Swamp is completely open to the elements. Meaning, if it rained, you’re going to be soaked on the airboat, but on the regular boat tour, you should be fine. 

In Lafayette, there are also swamp boat tours, and I’ve met someone who has been to at least 3 in the Lafayette area alone. She mentioned that every single one felt a bit different. There’s one that specializes in sunrise photo trips, while others are more leisurely and relaxed in a different swamp or bayou. As long as you remain open to the experience, you’ll definitely know that every single tour has something different to offer. 

Outdoor things to do near New Orleans

After that long and outdoorsy day you just did, you can spend the remaining time of your vacation relaxing or just enjoying the food scene of New Orleans. Hopefully, this post shows you another side of what you can do near the New Orleans area. If I missed anything, let me know, so I can also add it to my list of things to do and try when I am back in the area!