Barataria Preserve, Marrero: Photos, Reviews & Location

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Rating breakdown

5 ★76%
4 ★15%
3 ★7%
2 ★1%
1 ★1%

6588 Barataria Blvd, Marrero, LA 70072

nps.gov

(504) 589-3882

Photos of Barataria Preserve (168)

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Quick facts

What is the rating of Barataria Preserve?: Barataria Preserve is rated 4.6 out of 5 based on 523 reviews.
Where is Barataria Preserve located?: 6588 Barataria Blvd, Marrero, LA 70072
How can I contact Barataria Preserve?: Phone: (504) 589-3882 · Website: nps.gov

Reviews (14)

Dan Duncan 2024 May 11

Took several short/easy walks and saw two alligators. Great visit on our last day in New Orleans.

Jamie Harness 2024 May 04

Absolutely beautiful! We saw lots of beautiful plant and wildlife. Park staff were very helpful and friendly!

Ben Houle 2024 Apr 04

Needs a lot of work done on the boardwalks. A good 1/3-1/2 of the trails we're closed :( Beautiful place and saw a few gators!

Kama Winnik 2024 Apr 02

Awesome place to see gators in the wild. The trails are wooden, well maintained, the entrance is free.

Akshara Tarkas 2024 Mar 20

This place is wonderful! The place delivers when it says you can see wildlife! The place is so well made and you feel like you’re walking in the marsh itself!

Wildlife spotted: Aligator, rabbit and quite a few squirrels!

Trails: We did two of them, the visitor center trail and Bayou one. The visitor center one had a big alligator and the park ranger told us where to spot him as well! This trail was wonderful because you can see the transition from swamp to marsh clearly thanks to the vegetation! Although it isn’t for pets! So you might want to keep them home

ꪶꫀiꪶꪖꪀi ꪑiᥴꫝꫀꪶꪶꫀ 2024 Feb 17

Absolutely beautiful area. Plenty of parking. The boardwalk isn't long (maybe 10 minutes) but it's very scenic. It's a little unnerving that the boardwalk is actually low enough that the Gators could actually come right up to you. There is absolutely nothing preventing them from coming right up on the boardwalk. Yikes. Definitely worth checking out either way.

Tina Banerjee 2023 Sep 23

When we visited it had not rained in a while and so the wetlands were not that wet. Sadly that meant that the alligators were not really visible, except for one mama one. Despite this, it was a lovely experience. I'll break down my thoughts to help with the information:

Logistics:
- it is a short 25min drive from New Orleans. we recommend hiring a car for a few hours since it doesn't seem like a ride share would be readily available near the swamp (I could be wrong)
- If you want a ranger guided 'wetland walk', they have it daily at 10am and 2pm.
- Carry a hat and wear sunscreen as portions of it are unshaded.

Experience:
- Highly informative. The personal touch of a ranger guiding you is wonderful. We learnt soo much about alligators and spiders.
- The walk is not that long, you can spend about 30mins and be done.
- I preferred this over a swamp tour since it was quicker, we walked through the alligators ecosystem, they were close enough to see them and we could leave whenever we wanted. The entire experience was 1hour. With a swamp tour boat half the day is lost.

Highly recommend!

Greg Cook 2023 Sep 01

While I’d love to give this place 5 stars, I can’t right now after our last visit. It’s only 15 min or so of trail. Seems that the other trails are being repaired. For a decent drive out of the city it’s pretty short time here.

Parking was easy and a free lot was on site. We were the only group there. Restrooms also available.

While only 15 min we still had fun in the short walk! It was perfect for a toddler in the scorching summer. In the short time we saw a great bit of wildlife. Easy 5 stars once fully open.

Sunset Traveler 2023 Jul 31

Great little hidden spot to get back into the swamp, 35 minutes from the French quarter. There is about 10-15 minutes worth of walking that can be done since the trails are mostly closed, but there's a couple other spots close by to do more walking.

Karen Reynolds 2023 Jul 19

This is free to walk around. There is a small museum with a few exhibits to look at. My kids enjoyed it. Most of the boardwalk is closed off and broken. We saw a little of the swamp. Enough to get an idea. It's about 30 min from New Orleans. It was nice to get out of the city, but we did not stay long.

nikki del castillo 2023 Mar 29

Super friendly and informative park ranger at the Visitor Center! Nice boardwalk trails although there were a lot of trails that are closed. Very quiet and peaceful walk.

Ariz Himani 2023 Mar 28

Highly underrated! The staff is knowledgeable and helpful. The alligators are also extremely chill. Most of them just go about their own business. You can see them just off the trails. Note that some of the trails are closed due to damage from hurricanes or recent flooding. Be sure to check the trail closures before you make a trip out here.

Jefferson Santos (Jeff Walker) 2022 Oct 30

This trail is amazing! Visitor center have a Ranger very nice and funny, he explained everything that we needed to know, plus joking very funny, thanks! The hiking is very chill and well maintained! We saw 2 gators almost in thr beginning, no dangerous if you don't try to do something that tou can't or not supposed to, definitely a Yesssss

Jeremiah Johnson 2022 Jul 07

Amazing! Far better than expected. Be ready to walk. All of at least half of it (that we made it through) was boardwalk. We saw 4 different kinds of snakes, some buzzards, and a small alligator on the Palmetto Trail, my wife got tired, and I realized that last trail out was probably the one with more gators so we will be back! I brought the bug spray, but not even sure that we needed it? But well.. it is a swamp. There were tons of giant black grasshoppers out that day doin it all over the place, but they didn't bother us. I want to live here!