Jean Lafitte Park Attracts Senior Tourists

Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve protects significant examples of the rich natural and cultural resources of Louisiana’s Mississippi River Delta region. In Jean Lafitte’s day, silver and gold filled a pirate’s treasure chest, but today’s treasures are people, places, and memories.

Senior visitors will discover New Orleans’ rich cultural mix and learn Cajun traditions from people who live them. You will see alligators basking on a bayou’s bank and find yourself walking in the footsteps of the men who fought at 1815’s Battle of New Orleans.

Do you know about Jean Lafitte? He attacked merchant ships as a pirate around Central American ports until he died in 1823. Jean Lafitte National Historical Park encompasses several sites in south Louisiana rather than a single spot.

The visitor center is a good place to start. Rangers can direct you to sites near New Orleans well worth visiting: the Chalmette Battlefield from the War of 1812, and the Barataria Preserve, a lush swamp and trails site. The six different sites of the park are scattered through south Louisiana, from the bayous to the prairies.

The park contains the French Quarter Visitor Center in New Orleans, the Acadian Cultural Center in Lafayette, plus the Wetlands Acadian Center in Thibodeaux.

The Prairie Acadian Center in Eunice interprets the Cajun and Creole cultural histories of the region and the Calmette Battlefield where the 1815 Battle of New Orleans sealed the end of the War of 1812 with a resounding American victory with the help of 1,000 pirates lead by Jean Lafitte.

 Senior Visitors Enjoy The Barataria Preserve

One of the units, just south of New Orleans is the 23,000 acre Barataria Preserve. It preserves bald cypress swamps, live oak/palmetto stands, open sawgrass marshes, and freshwater and brackish lakes. The Preserve just outside Marrero offers a taste of Louisiana’s wild wetland.

The 2-mile long boardwalk trail that leaves from the visitor center gives senior visitors opportunities for great wildlife viewing and getting a closeup glimpse of the wetland ecosystems of South Louisiana. Visitors will want to keep a good eye out for the camouflaged creatures in the forest.

Many of the trees in the Barataria Preserve have the tell-tale signs of damage from Hurricane Katrina. But, you have to know what you are looking for. That is because the bald-cypress have flexible branches and survived it quite well.

The preserve includes bayous, swamps, marshes, forests, alligators, nutrias, (know what they are?) and for you birders, over 200 different species. This senior would consider a swamp tour for a real close up feel.

Jean Lafitte Swamp and Airboat Tours’ escorts senior visitors into the murky waters of the Louisiana swamps where you can get face to face with the beauty and beasts of nature. Seniors, take in the murky waters, the gators and southern Louisiana in several of the Jean Lafitte Parks.  jeb