Louisiana

Louisiana is a water world of bayous, swamps, and the Gulf coast, offering paddling cypress swamps, exceptional fishing, birding, and exploring the vast Atchafalaya Basin. The Atchafalaya (the largest river swamp in the U.S.), the Creole Nature Trail and its marshes, Kisatchie National Forest, and the barrier islands of the Gulf anchor it.

Fall through spring (October–April) is the comfortable, prime season for paddling and birding, with mild temperatures. Summer is hot, humid, and buggy, with hurricane risk peaking in late summer.

Alligators, wading birds, the brown pelican (the state bird), and abundant fish and waterfowl fill the swamps and marshes; the Atchafalaya is one of North America's richest wildlife areas.

Cypress-tupelo swamp, coastal marsh, bottomland hardwood forest, and longleaf pine make up the ecosystems, with the Mississippi flyway making Louisiana a globally important bird wintering ground.

Louisiana is built by the Mississippi River's deposits — a flat delta of bayous, swamps, and marsh — with low rolling hills and pine forest in the north (535-ft Driskill Mountain is the high point). The coast is among the fastest-changing in the world.

The Chitimacha, Houma, Choctaw, and other peoples lived here. Shaped by French, Spanish, African, and Acadian (Cajun) heritage, Louisiana was acquired in the 1803 Purchase and became the 18th state in 1812.

Cajun and Creole culture is inseparable from the land and water — fishing, crawfishing, hunting, and swamp life — and food, music, and the outdoors intertwine.

Coastal land loss is catastrophic — Louisiana loses roughly a football field of wetland every hour — making coastal restoration the state's defining environmental effort.

New Orleans and Baton Rouge are the main gateways. A boat or guided swamp tour is the best way to experience the bayous; a vehicle reaches the parks and coast.

Heat, humidity, mosquitoes, and alligators are constants — never approach gators. Hurricanes, flooding, and getting lost in the swamp maze require respect; use guides for unfamiliar waters.

State parks charge a fee, and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries administers licenses; Kisatchie is the state's only national forest.

Use guides for unfamiliar swamp waters, and heed hurricane forecasts.

Take a guided swamp tour or paddle the Atchafalaya in the cool dry season, bring insect repellent, and pair the outdoors with the food and music of Cajun country.

Louisiana borders Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi, linking the Gulf coast, the great river swamps, and the piney woods of the South.