Venice Live Cam

There are so many spectacular gardens and flowers to enjoy in Louisiana! Camellias, azaleas, gardenias, roses...to pick just a few. And if you're here August through September, seek out the orange and yellow Carolina lily -- one of Louisiana's showiest wildflowers.

Roses bloom April through October at the 118-acre Gardens of the American Rose Center near Shreveport. Native and tropical plants fill a huge domed botanical conservatory at Shreveport's riverfront Barnwell Garden and Art Center. Near Toledo Bend Reservoir, 4,700-acre Hodges Gardens features four seasons of blooms amid waterfalls and rocky bluffs, and the exquisite courtyard gardens, called ELsong, adorn a mansion near downtown Monroe.

Wooded acres of wildflowers nurtured by Caroline Dormon, founder of Kisatchie National Forest, still surround her cabin home called Briarwood in northern Natchitoches Parish. The Louisiana State Arboretum near Ville Platte features native trees in a natural forest setting. The blooming trees and shrubs of Southeast Louisiana's Zemurray Gardens add color to nature trails that wind around the gardens' scenic lake near Hammond.

Near the Bayou Teche town of New Iberia, two exotic gardens are perched atop geological formations called salt domes that protrude like islands above the surrounding swamps and marshlands: lovely Rip Van Winkle Gardens on Jefferson Island and the nearby Jungle Gardens of Avery Island.

The tiny, formal "parterre" gardens of early plantations can still be seen at Kent House in Alexandria and Oakley House in St. Francisville. The major plantation gardens of Afton Villa and Rosedown are also clustered near St. Francisville. Nearby, Baton Rouge offers Windrush Gardens at the Rural Life Museum.

In the heart of New Orleans itself, Longue Vue House and Gardens features a series of English and Spanish formal gardens surrounding a dominant Spanish courtyard complete with fountains. In historic City Park, New Orleans Botanical Gardens features ten acres of Art Deco garden design, architecture and sculpture. Arrange some time in your schedule to enjoy the flowers of Louisiana.

Migrate to Louisiana for Birdwatching

There's a reason John James Audubon created many of his Birds of America paintings in Louisiana -- the feathered creatures simply flock to the Pelican State.

Louisiana is the southern terminus of the central and Mississippi flyways. More than half the birds of America are permanent residents or come calling each year as their migratory patterns permit. Louisiana's State Parks, Commemorative Areas and State Preservation Area offer excellent birding opportunities. (Make a point to stop at the Audubon State Commemorative Area near St. Francisville where Audubon did much of his painting.) Information is also available at the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge in Southwest Louisiana and at other preserves in key birdwatching regions. For more specific information, contact any Tourist Information Center or State Welcome Center.

Pair Up for a Round of Golf

Don't forget your clubs! Golf is a year-round sport in Louisiana. Many of our courses were designed by golfing greats like Arnold Palmer, Robert Trent Jones and Jack Nicklaus. Whether you choose to play at the site of an 1812 battlefield or on the former grounds of a plantation, you're sure to have a great time.

Pitch a Tent for Adventure

Got your gear? We've got the sites! In Louisiana, you can camp on hills, bluffs, flatlands or at the seaside. You can surround yourself with forests, cities, swamps or beaches. Tent, trailer and RV camping is available all over Louisiana, convenient to interesting attractions and activities.

Some Louisiana State Parks offer rustic or modern cabins that sleep up to eight people, as well as RV spaces and tent camping opportunities.

Watch the early-morning mist rise up in the swamp at Lake Fausse Pointe State Park. Search for a 15-pound bass at Chicot or North Toledo Bend State Parks. Learn about one of the oldest cultures ever discovered in the United States at Poverty Point State Commemorative Area. At Port Hudson State Commemorative Area, imagine what it must have been like to be one of 6,800 Confederate soldiers waiting for 30,000 Union troops to attack Fort Desperate. If you're looking to get away from it all--and to learn a little bit about history along the way--Louisiana's State Parks, Commemorative Areas and Preservation Area are a natural choice.

Hike, bike and swim under the tall pines. Watch snowy egrets wade in the marshes along our nature trails. All Louisiana State Parks feature a beautiful waterfront location, shady campsites and lovely picnic areas. Several have cabins and/or group camps (all air-conditioned) and four have conference centers, perfect for business retreats.

Tour Oakley House at Audubon State Commemorative Area, where John James Audubon painted many of his famous Birds of America. Hear how a doctor's wife convinced Grant not to burn their antebellum home, now Winter Quarters State Commemorative Area. Take the kids to the wave pool at Bayou Segnette State Park. Feel the suffering of the unknown Confederate soldier buried at Rebel State Commemorative Area. Listen closely to see if you can hear the ghosts of Cajun lovers, whispering under the ancient oak at Longfellow-Evangeline State Commemorative Area. Our Commemorative Areas are selected for their historical, cultural or archaeological significance. Artifacts, outdoor displays and interpretive programs are some of the ways each area tells its story. Louisiana State Arboretum State Preservation Area is the oldest state supported arboretum in the country.

Louisiana State Parks are open 365 days a year, and Commemorative Areas are closed only on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

Go Outside and Play at our National Parks

A national treasure is named for pirate Jean Lafitte here in Louisiana. The Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve is made up of nine unique sites throughout the state--each with its own special intrigue.

See the 20,000 acres of wetlands once traversed by Lafitte and his band of buccaneers. Stand on the site of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans where Lafitte and Andrew Jackson fought the British. From the legendary French Quarter to colorful Cajun country, from the fascinating Chitimacha and Tunica-Biloxi reservations to the beautiful bayou swamps of the Isles, there's something for everyone at Jean Lafitte National Park and Preserve Sites.

Hunting in Louisiana: It's the Limit

Deer, quail, dove, teal, rail, gallinule, turkey, snipe, woodcock...is it any wonder Teddy Roosevelt, Joseph Pulitzer and others came to Louisiana to hunt? Statewide, hunters take more than 150,000 whitetail deer per year as well as abundant small game. Louisiana has four million acres of waterfowl-rich marshlands which support unrivaled populations of migratory birds. The flatlands north of these marshlands also offer outstanding goose hunting.

You can hunt eight months of the year in Louisiana -- beginning with dove in early September and ending with turkey in April. Give Louisiana your best shot.

Climate

Louisiana's subtropical weather is as diverse as its people. Spring and fall are simply paradise here and winters can be downright balmy. Cool drinks and cool clothing are recommended June through August.

Bring shorts in the summer, a coat in winter and an umbrella just in case. Snow rarely falls in the southern sections, with only light snowfall recorded in the northern regions.

Whatever the temperature, you'll find Louisiana has the perfect climate for fun year-round.

Fishing and Boating: The Lure of Louisiana

It doesn't take much to lure fishermen to Louisiana. There's water, water everywhere and the fish practically jump into your ice chest.

The Gulf of Mexico and its brackish-water coastal marsh region have made Louisiana famous for shrimp, blue crab, oysters and other seafood. And folks are looking for more than oil out at the rigs in the Gulf--they're a fisherman's paradise. Whether you choose to troll around the rigs or to anchor for some casting, you'll bring in brag-size lemon fish, cobia, snapper, yellowfin tuna, speckled trout, Spanish and king mackerel, sailfish, wahoo and even pompano. If you don't have a boat, relax. You'll find charters in many coastal cities including Cocodrie and Grand Isle. And there are plenty of piers, wharves, bridges and jetties like those at Grand Isle State Park to give you easy access to many of the same species caught further out.

There are as many ways to catch fish in Louisiana as there are to cook them! Top spots include the Atchafalaya Basin, our magnificent 800,000-plus-acre natural swampland with facilities at Lake Fausse Pointe State Park; Toledo Bend Reservoir, a 186,000-acre bass fishing paradise; numerous "oxbow lakes" like False River and Lake Bruin near the Mississippi; scenic swampy backwaters like Lake Bistineau and Black Lake; marshlands like those surrounding Big Lake; and Caney Lake, where many state-record bass have been caught. Teeming with fish and shaded by moss-draped cypress, these swamps and lakes offer easy access and great action. Fishing guide services are available in many areas around the state.

Trailblaze Through the South

Wild for wildflowers? Looking for a great place to hike or ride your bike? Louisiana's many Nature Trails lead to a greater appreciation of our unique beauty.

Several areas in Louisiana are planning Rails to Trails programs whereby old railroad tracks have been converted into multi-use trails for biking, skating, walking or horseback riding. Spend a morning on the Tammany Trace, the first of these trails in Louisiana, located in the Abita Springs/Mandeville area. There are trails in abundance in State Parks, the Louisiana State Arboretum and The Kisatchie National Forest.

For more specific information about Nature Trails, contact any Tourist Information Center or State Welcome Center. Keep in mind that if you choose a trail in one of our several designated Wildlife Management Areas and do not have a hunting or fishing license, it is necessary to purchase a "Wild Louisiana" stamp (even if you don't plan to hunt or fish). This permit is available at sheriff's offices and at the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Headquarters in Baton Rouge and its district offices.