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The Mississippi River Trail in southern Louisiana is a 80.9-mile system of disconnected, paved trails on the levees along both banks of the Mississippi River.
About the Route
The most popular segment, well-used by locals and visitors alike, extends for over 20 miles from Audubon Park in New Orleans to the Bonnet Carré Spillway in St. Charles Parish.
The trail is referred to locally by many other names, including the New Orleans Levee Top Trail, the Levee Bike Path and the Mississippi Levee Trail. The trail also represents the majority of the southern component of a sprawling effort to create a paved biking and walking route along the entire length of the Mississippi River, stretching approximately 3,000 miles from Louisiana to Minnesota.
The Mississippi River Trail has multiple sections between New Orleans and St. James Parish.
Parking is available at:
There are numerous parking options along the route, visit the TrailLink map for all parking options and detailed directions.
Paved. Nice trail ride. There is no shade, but it’s clean & smooth. Following the Mississippi River was pretty! I liked it.
The three best things about this trail are its distance, its surface, and the fact that it’s non-interrupted by any cross-traffic.
It’s a 50 mile trail along the Mississippi that allows you to really stretch your legs or you can turn around at anytime to make it a shorter fitness ride. It’s asphalt surface is very smooth and while there are some driveways over the trail that lead to various marine interests, really you can pedal continuously without stopping. This is an under appreciated jewel of a trail. The only drawback is that when leaving from Audubon Park, bathrooms are scarce; the closest one is 11.5 miles away in Kenner Rivertown. After that they are more frequent.
I live in New Orleans and have this trail several times. It’s a great trail with views of the “Mighty Mississippi” all the way. Watching the huge ships pass by on their way to who knows where is a nice adder. There is NO SHADE so suggest riding early in the morning and BRING WATER.
I rode the east section on north side of river. Trail is smooth with a few low volume driveway crossings. Trail has nice views due to elevation, but is exposed to wind and sun. The section I rode had no shade, water or restrooms. I wish there were mile markers. Parking available at Jefferson Park and across the river road near the flea market.
We rode on 2/1/2020. Original plan was to start at Audubon Park, but was a big traffic backup heading that way. Turned around and parked at Jefferson Park and rode east toward Audubon Park. Plenty of parking on both sides of the road at Jefferson midmorning on cool Saturday.
Nice views over river, mostly flat, with occasional changes from top to bottom of the levee. Steady stream of walkers and bikers, but was not overly crowded. Occasional service road crossings, and one interesting spot were a small number of houses over the river share the bike path as their driveway.
There are many miles to the west that we did not explore due to the stiff wind. As a bonus, some nice restaurants nearby on Oak Street to refuel.
so awesome Trail well maintained and very flat and patrolled by Rangers great people just an awesome ride lots of rest spots. Shady
Rode from the zoo to the spillway and back. Really nice ride with no stopping. Total of 54.2 miles round trip. There is good parking next to the zoo. There is a bathroom about 16 miles north from the start.
Rode the trail in Laplace and then south from the spillway.
Nice and smooth in most areas. Great way to ride
Nice long car free safe ,,, great ride!!!
In town for a bachelor party this weekend. While the crazies slept, I rode from Audubon Park to the end and back. Just under 52 miles...All the trail is paved and some recently updated... Solid trail to log some miles. The ride back sucked a little due to being into the wind, so keep that in mind!
Rode the river levee trail yesterday. There are two sections of it that are closed. One is easy to navigate around and is short. The second is longer and you'll end up walking your bike. The plantations are amazing. Great views of the Mississippi River. Tandyou'll have to
The trail extends from the Audubon Zoo parking lot all the way to the Bonnet Carre Spillway, a total of around 25 miles. It's a great trail, although as ckelleher0 mentioned there is little shade. However, I am a cyclist and find that it is perfect for early morning or evening training rides. There are a few service roads that cross the path, but they are rare and bikers / pedestrians have the right-of-way. It is sooo nice not to have such a stretch of bike trail with absolutely no concern for traffic.
There are plenty of places along River Rd to stop for a break or to refill your water bottles.
The levee construction is definitely a hindrance, but it is due to be complete by the end of 2015, I believe. Check out these two links for more information: http://bit.ly/1rw4mtj and http://bit.ly/1q8zXG8
However, even with the construction there is currently about 20 miles of continuous path open (as of 9/14) in Jefferson and St Charles Parishes.
I left Audubon Park and traveled west along the trail. After 1.5 miles the trail is under construction. I tried to follow the trail along the heavily traveled side road and could not find where the construction ends after 1 more mile. I am not from the area and if someone else knows about the length of the construction please make that information available. I and from the Charlotte, NC area and was excited to travel this entire length only to be disappointed.
Ridden the path for many years,and seen it expand from Audubon Park to the Bonnet Carrie Spillway.Usually ride from Williams Blvd.to the Spillway and back.A 30 mile trip. (My favorite section).The car free, flat straight aways make for a great workout.......
First of all, I went there and Rollerbladed, NOT as a biker or runner, so you may want to take this with a grain of salt. The Trail is not smooth at all. It is very course in many areas, and small pebbles and stones are common. Also, many small repairs are needed due to wear and tear. One section was closed for about a mile down by Audubon Park so be weary of this possibility... You will have to walk the grassy surface. The Trail is also very suseptible to wind due to its elevation and proximity to the Mississippi River. Traffic crossings abound, due to the shipyard ports and employees driving in and out. Also, the smell of toxic waste and/or burning fuel will be noticed from time time.
The only redeeming quality about this trail is its truly spectacular views of the Mississippi, but even the view are diminished because of its industrial ports and smells.
I give the Trail 2 out of five stars out of generosity. In my opinion, you are much better off just going to Audubon Park and doing the 2 mile loop a few times instead.
We rode this trail starting in Audubon park in late May. There is absolutely no shade, except for a huge bridge. It was brutal. There were lots of people on the path - most road bikes - and it did not seem unsafe, but with no shade, keep this ride to the late Fall - Winter - early Spring months.
This paved trail runs from Audubon Park in uptown New Orleans through Jefferson Parish and into St. Charles Parish. It ends in a small town called New Sarpy. The trail itself is very nice but seems to be always very windy going one way or the other. Being higher you catch the wind. If you want to add a couple more miles to the ride, you can go into Audubon Park at one end of the trail and there is a walking/ jogging/riding path that is two miles. You would cross River Road and go onto Magazine Street for about 3 blocks and enter the park. It is very nice - large old Oak trees line the path with a view of some lovely lagoons.
The path itself is very nice. At times you can see the ships and barges on the Mississippi River where the woods dividing the levee and the river are not too thick. Farther up the river into St. Charles Parish you will see grain elevators. I recommend this path. It is close to suburbs and easy to access. This web site mentions a couple of access points, but there are others as well. There is one in Jefferson Parish slightly upriver from Oschner Hospital on River Road behind Jeffeson Playground. There is a small parking lot next door to a Flea Market. And the restrooms across River Road are usually open at Jefferson Playground. Many cyclists and runners use this path. The Levee Police patrol it quite frequently, so it's pretty safe.
See you out there!!
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