In East Baton Rouge Parish, discoveries lead through swamp forests and river landscapes, as well as into museums with very different collections. Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center showcases the diversity of habitats, while historic homes and exhibitions explore rural Louisiana history, its art and its music culture.
Nature Trails and Riverbanks
Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center in East Baton Rouge Parish is a 103-acre facility for conservation, education, recreation and tourism. More than a mile of gravel trails and boardwalks wind through cypress-tupelo swamp, beech-magnolia forest and hardwood forest habitats. The exhibit building features live animals, photographs of flora and fauna, natural artifacts, minerals and waterfowl carvings.
Frenchtown Road Conservation Area covers 495 acres of bottomland hardwood forest, small-stream forest and spruce-pine-hardwood flatwood habitats classified as locally and globally rare or endangered. More than three miles of trails lead to a beach on the Amite River, river overlooks and cypress-tupelo swamp areas. Trees and Trails at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens offers approximately three miles of walking trails for recreation and education, as well as hiking and interpretive activities. The trailhead is behind the Steele Burden Memorial Orangerie near the Burden Museum & Gardens Visitor Information Center.
The trails also differ in design: Kendalwood Conservation Area protects historic native habitats and offers approximately two miles of natural trails. Directional signs, bridges over wet areas and crossings over waterways shape the route. For those who would rather ride than walk, Comite River Conservation Area has the 5.5-mile Comite River Bike Trail along the Comite River and Cypress Bayou. It also has a picnic shelter, a bicycle wash station and restrooms. The Mississippi Riverfront Levee Bike Path is 4.31 miles long, has separate lanes for cyclists, walkers and joggers, and connects to the one-mile riverfront promenade in Downtown Baton Rouge.
Louisiana History in Homes and Collections
The LSU Rural Life Museum preserves and presents materials from the cultures of Louisiana’s rural people in the 18th and 19th centuries. It has Louisiana’s largest collection of vernacular architecture; the 25-acre site includes 32 historic outbuildings. The museum and Windrush Gardens are visited on a self-guided tour. This offers a look at a different past from the one at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum, where a mummy dating to around 300 BCE is displayed in a reconstructed tomb from the Ptolemaic period.
The Capitol Park Museum has two permanent exhibits devoted to Louisiana’s history, industry and culture: “Grounds for Greatness: Louisiana and the Nation” and “The Louisiana Experience: Discovering the Soul of America.” Its interactive music exhibits showcase Cajun, Zydeco, Swamp Pop, Baton Rouge Blues and New Orleans jazz. Louisiana’s Old State Capitol conveys the story of Louisiana and the democratic process through exhibits, programs and art. Guided tours for groups are available Tuesday through Friday; free audio tours are available in four languages, and admission is free.
Art and architecture add their own distinctive touches. The LSU Museum of Art’s permanent collection includes more than 6,500 objects, including Chinese jade and Louisiana art; its program features rotating exhibitions, curator talks, open Art Break sessions and school programs. The Southern University Museum of Art has eight galleries, four of which are dedicated to African American art. Its collections are devoted to pioneering African American artists who affirmed culture and history through their art. The Old Governor’s Mansion is a Georgian-style house where nine governors and their families lived.
River Knowledge and More Discoveries
The Mississippi is the focus at the LSU Center for River Studies, home to the 10,000-square-foot Lower Mississippi River Physical Model. An interactive exhibit area explores the Mississippi River, Louisiana’s disappearing wetlands and ongoing coastal restoration projects. The model and exhibit offer two different ways to explore the river—as a physical model and as a subject of landscape change and restoration.
Other options include Highland Road Park Observatory, with a 20-inch reflecting telescope and an accessible 16-inch reflecting telescope, as well as Baton Rouge Zoo. Its attractions include Realm of the Tiger, a giraffe-feeding experience at Twiga Oasis, and African exhibits featuring pygmy hippos and colobus monkeys. The zoo is home to more than 95 different species and over 900 animals. Knock Knock Children’s Museum has 18 interactive Learning Zones for hands-on learning, including Go Go Garage, I See Food Cafe, Paws and Claws Clinic, Art Garden, Maker Space and the Crawbaby zone for toddlers. BREC offers parks throughout East Baton Rouge Parish for a range of interests, from nature experiences and playgrounds to skateboarding.
Local food is also part of the experience. Red Stick Farmers Market is an open-air producer-only market where local farmers and food artisans offer fruits and vegetables, baked goods and prepared foods. The specific offerings from individual vendors may vary.
Discover more destinations: Baton Rouge, Baker, Zachary, Orleans, Livingston, Caddo, Bossier Parish, Avoyelles Parish.
For the overall travel overview: Louisiana.
