Editor’s Note: A New Orleans Secret Spot

Wherever you live, there’s probably a spot you like to go for fun, to relax or even to hide. Maybe it’s not so secret, but it hasn’t yet made the top ten things to do in your city or town. And even if it does make those lists, somehow, inexplicably, it remains a place mostly for people who live nearby, keeping it from being too overrun or posted to social media so much that it turns into something else.

A place like that for me is Bayou St. John. It sits in the middle of Mid-City, nestled near the New Orleans Museum of Art, City Park and Esplanade Avenue. At first glance, it may not seem all that remarkable except for the fact that it’s a bayou in the middle of the city. There are a couple of bridges crossing it,  a few trees here and there.

But, to me, it is a magical place. A calm refuge for people to leave the bustle of work and errands and traffic, Bayou St. John offers a place to stop and sit a spell. To go for a little stroll. Maybe bring a picnic and sit on the banks of the water. On any given morning, you might find a small yoga class or a kayaker gliding by or someone on her morning run. In the evenings, especially around dusk, people walk their dogs, meet for a drink, gather to play music.

During COVID, there were two places that became refuges for me. They were spots where I could see my friends but still keep my distance. One was the New Orleans Jazz Museum — they started holding their Tuesday evening balcony concerts again pretty quickly and all of us, who were starved for music, set up our folding chairs and sat six feet apart, enjoying the vibe. The other place was Bayou St. John. Friends brought their own packed food and drink, sat sufficiently apart, watched the sunset and felt glad for the chance to be together.

Though New Orleans is surrounded by the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, during my day-to-day running around, it still doesn’t feel like there’s much water around me. So any chance I get, I try to find some — be near it, jump in it. While you don’t want to swim in Bayou St. John, you can do just about everything else. Walk, sit, ride, run, kayak. Be.