Biking in New Orleans can be a cyclist’s dream come true. Whether you’re a local or a tourist, New Orleans bike routes are the best way to take in the city. If you want to check out ancient oak trees, boats on the river, or even the French Quarter itself, grab your wheels and go. The Crescent City offers endless options for both bike paths and road biking. Let’s explore your options!
Road Biking in New Orleans
New Orleans now boasts over 100 miles of bike lanes, giving cyclists a robust variety of options when they want to hit the road. The city has extensively developed its bicycle infrastructure, and took home a silver badge from the American League of Cyclists for its commitment to creating bike-friendly streets.
If you want to bike through the city, many streets like Decatur Street or St. Claude Avenue feature bike lanes. Bike lanes are exclusively for cyclist use and enable bikers to travel on the road next to traffic. If you’re just starting to acclimate to biking with traffic, seek out buffered bike lanes, which feature a designated buffer space between the bicycle lane and traffic.
New Orleans also offers many shared lanes, which are open to both cyclists and motor vehicles. The position of the shared line demarcates where cyclists should ride in the lane. For example, Orleans Avenue and Esplanade Avenue both provide shared lanes.
Biking can be one of the most efficient ways to move around the city. In addition to providing convenient, eco-friendly transportation, cycling offers a unique view of the city that you can’t get any other way.
To see the most popular routes to bike through the city, check out this map.
Bike Trails
New Orleans offers excellent bike paths all over the city. Many of the city’s bike paths are shared use paths, meaning that they are shared by pedestrians, wheelchair users, cyclists, skaters, and runners.
No matter what you’re looking for in a trail, New Orleans has you covered. Today, we’ll take a look at our top five short and sweet rides.
Top 5 Short New Orleans Bike Trails
No matter if you’re uptown or downtown, you’ll find a trail to suit your taste. Here’s a list of the city’s best short and sweet rides, ranked by distance:
1. Big Lake Trail at City Park (¾ of a mile)
Located in Mid City, this trail jogs around the lake at City Park. Founded in 1854, City Park is a 1,300-acre public park filled with massive oak trees that are up to 600 years old. Pack some bread to feed the ducks, geese, and swans who will be cheering you on, and stop to take in the Singing Oak, a giant tree covered in chimes that ring out on a pentatonic scale.
2. River Walk at Woldenberg Riverfront Park (1.3 miles)
If you’d like a low-impact ride on the edge of the French Quarter, this path is for you. Also known as the “Moon Walk,” this trail is a great place for boat-watching while you take in tunes performed by talented buskers. And if you’re having a cheat day, beignets are right nearby.
2. Crescent Park Trail (1.4 miles)
This trail snakes along the Mississippi River and will take you all the way to the Bywater. One point of access to this trail is the Rusty Rainbow, a bridge at the intersection of Piety and Charter streets that will carry you over the train tracks and into the park itself. On the other side of the bridge is a massive observation deck that takes you right over the water.
4. Audobon Park Loop (1.9 miles)
Located in historic Uptown, Audobon Park is also full of ancient oak trees. This trail circles the perimeter of the park and provides a view of the lagoon. You can bike on the blacktop trail, or for a more rustic experience, you can bike on the dirt trail that users have worn in next to the pavement.
5. Lafitte Greenway (2.6 miles)
Take a trip from one park to another on the Lafitte Greenway. Completed in 2015, this new trail connects City Park and Louis Armstrong Park. If you’d like to take a breather along the way, the Greenway features native plant meadows and nearly 500 shade trees.
More To Come
If you’re working up to longer rides, try out the short and sweet trails on our list, or contact All Inclusive Health to find out how we can help you reach your fitness goals. Whether you’re seeking to overcome a limitation or just trying to up your game to the next level, our trainers have you covered. Check out our studio today!