Into the Wild

Farmers markets, free boat tours, and fishing tournaments in the Cajun Bayou

Whether by land or water (and all the swamp-covered terrain in between), there’s plenty to explore in the heart of the Bayou State: Lafourche Parish.

Get your daily dose of vitamin D along with heaps of seasonal produce at the Lafourche Central Market, set up every Saturday from 8 am to noon next to the Visitor’s Center. With vendors that include local farmers, fishermen, and artisans selling harvested fruits and vegetables, freshly-caught seafood, homemade jams, and more, you’re guaranteed to get a true taste of the bayou.

While exploring downtown Thibodaux is worthwhile any day of the week, you can enhance the experience via a free walking tour led by the park rangers of the Jean Lafitte Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center. Every Thursday, the park rangers spill the secrets of the historical area’s storied past, bringing those old streets and storefronts to vivid, fascinating life. On Fridays, the Cultural Center also hosts free boat tours of Bayou Lafourche, so you can experience the wealth of wildlife and natural beauty of Louisiana’s Cajun Bayou firsthand.

Craving something a bit more exhilarating? Spend the day charter fishing! Whatever your level of experience, the Cajun Bayou is the perfect place to cast your line. Choose your own adventure: stay inland to catch some speckled trout and redfish, or travel out to the Gulf of Mexico for some deep-sea fishing. Time your visit with the Golden Meadow-Port Fourchon Tarpon Rodeo on July 1–3. For seventy-one years the fishing tournament has offered rich food, music, and seaside fun for those who prefer their seafood pre-scaled. $35 registers an adult for the rodeo and also gives access to the air-conditioned entertainment tent all rodeo long, plus a boiled shrimp dinner (not to mention the chance to win over $15,000 in rodeo awards and door prizes). lacajunbayou.com.