Cypress Lake

A bison wallow turned pigsty turned accidental lake. It flooded during World War II as an emergency water reserve against possible air attacks. It never drained back. Cypress Lake is a two-acre managed wetland at the center of the UL Lafayette campus — the only managed wetland on any U.S. college campus. Eight alligators live here. So does a fifty-pound snapping turtle, garfish, herons, and native irises. The Student Union wraps entirely around it. Students eat lunch with a direct view of the alligators. Each year before Ring Ceremony, the graduating class's rings spend the night on the lake in a metal pirogue. The lake is freely accessible on campus.