Weird outdoor & roadside things to do in New Orleans
Looking for weird outdoor & roadside oddities in New Orleans? These 8 are the genuinely strange ones — Dr. Bob's Folk Art, The Tree of Life (Etienne de Boré Oak), Old Man River Statue and more — each hand-vetted and sourced, not pulled from a top-ten list. Great for an unusual date, a weird afternoon, or showing a visitor the side of New Orleans they'd never find on their own.
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Dr. Bob's Folk Art
Self-taught artist Dr. Bob has worked out of this Bywater studio since the 1990s, churning out his instantly…
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The Tree of Life (Etienne de Boré Oak)
This colossal southern live oak sprawls so low and wide that its limbs rest on the ground and rise again like…
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Old Man River Statue
Rising 18 feet from the Mississippi riverfront in Woldenberg Park stands a starkly abstract human figure carv…
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The Singing Oak
A roughly 125-year-old live oak hung with wind chimes the size of small flagpoles, some up to 14 feet long, p…
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Dr. Wagner's Honey Island Swamp Tours
Founded in 1982 by Tulane wetland ecologist Dr. Paul Wagner (now retired), these reservation-only boat tours…
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Insta-Gator Ranch and Hatchery
This working alligator ranch on the north shore is part of Louisiana's wild-gator conservation program, raisi…
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Jungle Gardens (Avery Island Buddha)
Ned McIlhenny, son of the Tabasco founder, spent decades turning this salt-dome island into a 170-acre semi-w…
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Global Wildlife Center
Tucked into the rolling north-shore countryside, this 900-acre free-roaming preserve holds more than 2,000 ex…