MARCH 2024

Grand Isle

Where:  southern Louisiana

Directions: Gateway to the Gulf Expressway

Good to Know:

* Dogs are not not allowed on the beach or in the water at Grand Isle State Park.

Why so good:

Miles of tail-friendly beach and Grand Isle tilts just enough to the northeast for splendid beach sunrises.

THE ISLAND.
Grand Isle is Louisiana’s only inhabited barrier island, resting on the eastern tip of deep in the Gulf of Mexico. There are long walks with your dog waiting on the sand beaches of the Gulf and kayaking and exploring along Caminada Bay on the north side of the island which is only a couple of blocks wide. Set out on a easy-going walking tour of the town under the live oaks. Fiddlers Loop Trail takes more punches from nature than just about any other footpath in America. A hurricane arrives, on average, every three years. This century alone Isidore, Lili, Cindy, Katrina, Rita, and Gustav all have visited. Despite the occasional upheavals and the crush of summer visitors a stick’s throw away, this is an exceedingly tranquil canine hike, circling a lagoon for about 2.5 miles. The south side of the loop travels through a tidal marsh and the trail through the grasses can range from slippery under paw to out and out flooded. Those namesake fiddlers crabs are much in evidence as are just about every species of American shorebird. A long wooden boardwalk - a popular roosting spot for brown pelicans - crosses the lagoon and de- posits canine hikers in a long alley of wildflower-bearing bushes. The splashes of year-round color continue all along the northern side of the loop. Following the Fiddlers Loop Trail hike Seaman can climb the six-story park observation tower for views of the gulf and Grand Terre Island to the north where pirate captain Jean Lafitte and his band of salty sea dogs once holed up.

THE WILDLIFE REGUGE.
Looking for rustic and isolated? You and your dog will find no amenities of any kind if you quickstep past the oil pipelines and find your way to smallish Elmer's Island Wildlife Refuge. Make the trip if your dog digs any of these: birdwatching, fishing or beach time.