City Park and Bayou St. John

The Lafitte Greenway is a paved 2.6-mile rail-trail connection from near the French Quarter toward Mid-City. Esplanade Avenue is the more shaded alternative. Both can lead riders to Bayou St. John and City Park.

Long before the Greenway, this was the corridor of the Carondelet Canal, begun in the Spanish colonial period to connect navigable Bayou St. John with the rear of the French Quarter. Sailing vessels that struggled against the Mississippi River current could approach the city through Lake Pontchartrain, Bayou St. John, and the hand-dug canal.

The turning basin behind the Quarter gave Basin Street its name. The canal ended near the funerary chapel now known as St. Jude's Catholic Church, built in connection with the nearby cemeteries during the era when yellow fever repeatedly struck New Orleans. Rail lines later occupied the corridor, and the canal was filled in stages during the twentieth century.

The pumping infrastructure helps explain how New Orleans expanded into naturally wet land between the river and Lake Pontchartrain. The pumps were built near what was then the developed edge of the city, with canals carrying water the rest of the way to the lake. Neighborhoods later spread beyond the pumping stations.

Floodwalls were added along the outfall canals as part of the hurricane-protection system. During Hurricane Katrina, storm surge moved from Lake Pontchartrain into the canals. Major sections on the 17th Street and London Avenue canals failed before overtopping, allowing catastrophic flooding. The Orleans Avenue Canal did not breach. The enormous pumping structures now visible at the lake ends of these canals are part of the post-Katrina response.

At the Greenway's bicycle traffic circle, turn right to follow Bayou St. John or continue toward the Alexander Street terminus and use smooth Mid-City streets to reach the City Park Avenue entrance. The initial bayou segment is not shaded, so choose with the heat in mind.

The route passes historic homes including Pitot House, along with grand bayou residences and unusual architectural details. At Orleans Avenue, the former American Can factory is now an apartment complex. Across the bayou is the Music Tree, a live oak that survived Katrina, later died after Hurricane Isaac, and was carved into a memorial featuring local birds.

City Park contains one of the world's great collections of mature live oaks, including trees estimated to be many centuries old. Streets, shared paths, lagoons, gardens, and the sculpture garden make it easy to shape the visit around the time available.

The Marconi path is shaded from City Park Avenue. Across the street is Delgado Community College and the former Higgins Industries City Park plant area, connected to the manufacture of landing craft and PT boats during World War II. Farther north, raised sections of path protect oak roots. In warmer months, attentive riders may see alligators in nearby lagoons.