Acadiana Park Nature Station

150 acres of mature forest, bottomland hardwoods, and cypress swamp hold 180 bird species on the northeastern edge of Lafayette. Over 30 warbler species pass through during spring and fall migration. Environmental education programs have run here since 1974. The three-story interpretive center overlooks the canopy. More than three miles of trail wind through the forest, including a wheelchair-accessible boardwalk section that puts you at eye level with the hardwoods. The kayak and canoe launch accesses Bayou Vermilion directly — a natural float downstream to Vermilionville. This is Cajun Heartland, USA — Lafayette Parish and its seven surrounding parishes officially designated as the core of Acadiana. The Acadians who settled in French Louisiana after the British expelled them from Canada at the end of the Seven Years' War intermarried with other settlers and formed what became Cajun culture. Most trace their ancestry to approximately fifty families who once lived in Port Royal, Acadia — now Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. The nature station offers a piece of what they found: bottomland forest threading into bayou, cypress swamp holding water and birds. Free. Open year-round.