Entry No. 27 — the New Orleans file — filed under: outdoor

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 a second forest, a crown roughly 160 feet across draped in Spanish moss. Inducted as one of the original members of the Live Oak Society and likely planted around 1740, it sits on land that was once Etienne de Boré's sugarcane plantation, adjacent to Audubon Zoo's giraffe exhibit. Generations of New Orleanians have climbed and sat inside its tangle of low branches, which is exactly what makes it a folk landmark rather than a roped-off relic.

The move: Pack a picnic and claim a spot in the tree's low, climbable limbs at golden hour to watch the moss catch the light.

• 📍 Uptown / Audubon Park
• 💸 Free
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Outdoors

Where: Audubon Park, near Magazine St & the river, New Orleans, LA 70118

Hours: Added 2026-06-22 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4

last checked: 2026-06-22