Louisiana Lost Lands Environmental Tours, L3C

My wife and I visited New Orleans in November 2015. Both of us are nature buffs and we wanted a genuine bayou wildlife tour.
Neither of us was looking for something involving an amphibious boat that holds 20+ tourists, each provided with a bag of marshmallows for the gators! Oh yeah, and something without the souvenir stand selling plastic alligators and small bottles of hot sauce.
What we found on Unilocal was Lost Lands Environmental tours and it was perfect. Their forays into the bayou are done in small groups using kayaks. Our group consisted of 3 guests and one guide, Katya… she deftly led us thru a swampy water trail for about 2+ hours. The place was teeming with birds, turtles, plants and one little gator who came out to catch some sun on a log. Because they don’t feed gators with sugary jet puffed marshmallows, its more likely that these creatures will see you but you won’t see them… given their shy nature. Thank god because I was in no mood to «wrastle» that day. Most amazing was the pleasure of seeing several large barred owls up close hooting their way thru the swamp along with a few piliated woodpeckers. Rare sights indeed… Katyas narrative along the way was perfect and she new just how to balance it with silence when appropriate. She was also extremely knowledgable about the environment… and some great tips for places to eat in New Orleans neighborhoods where the locals eat!
Tours begin at their office which is in a residential area where you are shown a brief presentation regarding the bayous and the mississipi delta and how work is being done to restore these diminishing bayous that are crucial to the louisiana coast (thus lost lands). It’s very good … the owner Marie Gould and her husband Bob are Pulitzer prize winning writers who are working to save /​restore these beautiful «lost lands»…
If you like nature and an on the ground tour that involves exercise paddling and helping to launch the kayaks… you’ll loves this. All equipment was in A1 condition!

I was admittedly a little nervous to go kayaking with alligators, but I absolutely loved my experience with Lost Land Tours. The guide was very knowledgable, and the scenery was gorgeous. I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a more unique (and challenging) alternative to your typical swamp tour.

A truly memorable experience on so many levels; it was educational, eye opening, tranquil and beautiful. It is probably best described as bittersweet. The purpose of the tour is to help us better understand our natural environment and how/​why it is at risk. Before we left the city we received an brief and excellent education on coastal erosion that created a context for our kayaking adventure. This was my first experience kayaking and I was a bit apprehensive. I need not have worried, once in the kayak and on the water I was not only completely at ease, I was at peace. After ten minutes we were away from all the noise and distraction of civilization and it was just us and nature, calm, quiet, peaceful and oh so beautiful. If I could I would go out every week, I enjoyed it so much. Lindsay was a great guide, helping us to appreciate our environs and to realize that we are at risk of losing this natural beauty. A maya trip with Lost Lands is time well spent!

Beautiful trip. Would never have had an opportunity to see such an amazing ecosystem if I hadn’t gone on this trip. I am not an experienced kayaker but with the instruction and help of the guides I felt safe and comfortable. I have recommended this trip to everyone who comes to visit the New Orleans area.