Commuting with nature
For many years, Bayou St. John served as not more than a sliver of an urban park where people sometimes picnicked or just sat and looked at the water. More recently, residents and visitors have discovered kayaking the bayou as both a pleasant leisure-time activity and a fun alternative way to tour the city. Kayaking will take you through a number of neighborhoods and past the Spanish Custom House; the historic Pitot House, a plantation dating back to the 1700s; City Park; and St. Louis Cemetery No. 3. You’re also likely to see a number of birds, from great blue herons to pelicans, and in the evening, our annoying nutria (see Tip).
A sea of kayaks will jam the bayou for events like the 4th of July Krewe of Kolosos Flotilla Parade. The term “parade” is used loosely, as paddlers in outrageous costumes cluster, meander, and bump into one another’s decorated boats. They are joined on the water by the Disco Amigos dance troupe on their floating barge.
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Address Bayou St. John, New Orleans, LA | Tip Pretty much every body of water in New Orleans will have nutria swimming around. The nutria is a beaver-looking animal with bright orange teeth and a ratlike tail. The females have nipples on their backs for babies to cling to as they swim in murky waters. This unpleasant vermin was brought here from South America for its fur. In an effort to control its population, the state now offers a bounty to hunters of $5 for each nutria tail they deliver.
You can rent kayaks at several places in the city. Bayou Paddlesports (www.bayoupaddlesports.com) meets you at a launch area right on the bayou. The company also hosts events such as moonlight paddles and an annual Earth Day regatta.
For guided tours, Kayak-iti-yat (www.kayakitiyat.com) has become the most popular outfit. They offer three tours for various levels of vigor and experience. Their intermediate three-hour Bayou Bienvenue tour focuses on the waterway’s rich ecosystem, including gators. Their website will lure you in or send you running when they state the tour requires “the type of person to perceive unexpected challenges as added adventure and not a buzzkill. There are no civilized bathrooms, and no breaks or possibility of exiting the kayaks mid-tour.”
Being that it’s New Orleans, any tour can be turned into a booze cruise: they bring the paddle, you bring the booze.
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