Audubon Park is Uptown's green jewel — 350 acres of live oaks, lagoons, and open space designed by the Olmsted Brothers firm (sons of Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed Central Park) on land that was once the Foucher and Boré sugar plantations. The park's live oaks are among the most magnificent in the city, with canopies that stretch 100 feet across and trunks so thick that two people can't link hands around them.
The park's 1.8-mile jogging path loops through the oak grove and around the lagoon, and on any given morning it's packed with runners, walkers, and the occasional person doing tai chi under a tree. The Audubon Zoo, occupying the park's river side, is one of the better small zoos in America, with a Louisiana swamp exhibit that recreates the bayou ecosystem — alligators, nutria, egrets — a few feet from the paved paths. The park's golf course, the only public course in uptown New Orleans, winds through the oaks in a setting that makes losing a ball to the rough feel like a privilege.
The park was the site of the 1884 World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition — a world's fair that brought the Olmsted firm to New Orleans and established the park's basic layout. The Exposition Building is long gone, but the oak trees that were planted for the fair are now 140 years old and are the park's greatest architectural achievement. Named for John James Audubon, who painted many of his Birds of America watercolours in Louisiana, the park is the Uptown equivalent of City Park — less destination, more neighbourhood living room.
Verified Facts
Audubon Park covers 350 acres and was designed by the Olmsted Brothers
The park was the site of the 1884 World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition
The park is named for naturalist John James Audubon
The jogging path is approximately 1.8 miles
Get walking directions
6500 Magazine St, Audubon, New Orleans, 70118, United States
