Day Trippin' › Louisiana › From New Orleans › Within 3 hours
123 places are worth the drive within 3 hours of New Orleans, counted by road time from ZIP 70112: 13 under 1 hour, 37 1 to 2 hours and 73 2 to 3 hours.
The mix leans toward history, wildlife and beaches & lakes, mostly to the northwest and east. Three hours each way makes a long day trip, or an easy overnight if you would rather not drive back the same day.
The headline places are Whitney Plantation, Oak Alley Plantation and Ship Island, and the closest real day trip is St. Bernard State Park (27 min).
Under 1 hour 1 to 2 hours 2 to 3 hours
Photo: Emily Richardson, CC BY-SA 3.0
Historic site · 58 min west
Famous for its quarter-mile tunnel of 300-year-old live oaks leading to the big house. The site also covers the lives of the people enslaved there.
Photo: Frank Kovalchek from Anchorage, Alaska, USA, CC BY 2.0
Small town · 57 min northeast
Laid-back beach town with Old Town shops, a harbor and local restaurants.
Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 3.0
State park · 27 min southeast
A small, quiet park southeast of the city with lagoons, a nature trail, a water playground and good birding.
Photo: Unknown, Public domain
Bike trail · 43 min north
A 31-mile paved rail trail linking Covington, Abita Springs, Mandeville, Lacombe and Slidell. Flat, shady and great for families on bikes.
Photo: Frank Kovalchek from Anchorage, Alaska, USA, CC BY 2.0
Garden · 57 min west
A grand river estate with about 38 acres of gardens, a mansion tour and several restaurants. Good for a slow afternoon.
Photo: Bill Leiser, CC BY-SA 4.0
Museum · 50 min west
A museum focused fully on the history of slavery, with original buildings and memorials. A moving, important visit.
Photo: Zach123abc, CC BY-SA 3.0
Small town · 1 hr 27 min east
Artsy, walkable downtown under live oaks, with galleries, cafes and shops. One of the best small towns on the coast.
Photo: United States Geological Survey, Public domain
Island · 1 hr 23 min east
A ferry ride from Gulfport to clear water, white sand and Fort Massachusetts. The best beach day on the Mississippi coast.
Photo: Hillebrand Steve, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain
Wildlife · 1 hr 36 min northeast
Wet pine savanna that protects rare Mississippi sandhill cranes. Short trails and an observation deck near Gautier.
Photo: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0
Food town · 1 hr 39 min northeast
College town with a walkable downtown, a brewery scene and nearly 200 local places to eat.
Photo: National Park Service, Public domain
National park · 1 hr 41 min east
The only drive-in part of the Mississippi seashore. Bayou trails, bird watching, fishing and ranger programs a few minutes from downtown Ocean Springs.
Photo: Aaron Manning, CC BY 3.0
Bike trail · 1 hr 45 min northeast
A 44-mile paved rail trail from Hattiesburg to Prentiss, with a separate horse trail.
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain
Small town · 2 hr 47 min northwest
Historic river town with antebellum homes, river bluff views and great food.
Photo: Altairisfar, Public domain
Garden · 2 hr 14 min east
A 1930s estate on the Fowl River with big formal gardens, azaleas in spring and a famous holiday lights show. The historic home is open for tours.
Photo: Jodybwiki, CC BY-SA 3.0
State park · 2 hr 59 min east
Two miles of quiet Gulf beach plus Lake Shelby, a fishing and education pier, a nature center and a swimming pool. It is the big outdoor hub of the Alabama coast.
Photo: Pierre5018, CC BY-SA 4.0
Wildlife · 2 hr 12 min west
A cypress lake near Breaux Bridge famous for alligators and huge wading bird rookeries. Swamp tours run from the landing.
Photo: MauraWen, CC0
Museum · 2 hr 4 min northeast
Excellent art museum in Laurel, free since 1923.
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith (1946–), Public domain
Scenic drive · 2 hr 45 min northwest
Slow, scenic parkway that starts in Natchez and runs north across the state. Stop at mounds, swamps and old inns.
Our picks, by drive time, include Oak Alley Plantation (58 min), Bay St. Louis (57 min), St. Bernard State Park (27 min), Tammany Trace (43 min) and Houmas House (57 min). The full list on this page has 123 places, each with its drive time and direction from New Orleans.
50 places within 2 hours, 123 within 3 hours and 181 within 4 hours of New Orleans, by road from ZIP 70112.
27 of the 123 places need no pass or fee, such as Fairhope, Weeks Bay Reserve and Acadian Cultural Center. Fees and passes change, so check each place before you go.
117 places are marked good for kids, including AWF Delta & Bay Conservation Center, Alabama Aquarium at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo.
They are by real roads on a typical day, from the middle of ZIP 70112 to each place (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Traffic, weather and closures can change them. Places under 25 minutes from the city center count as in town, not a day trip, so they are left out.
Yes. Type your ZIP code into Day Trippin' and it shows everything by drive time. Your ZIP is used for that one search and is not saved.
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP <class 'zip'> (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Facts checked against official sites; passes and hours change, so check before you go.