wellness
Cycling Routes Safe for Families and Beginners Expand Across New Orleans Parks
Protected paths in City Park and Audubon Park give new riders and parents with kids flat terrain away from vehicle traffic.
How we reported this
New Orleans Parks and Parkways opened two additional family-only segments on existing loops in City Park this month, bringing the total protected mileage for beginner cyclists to 4.3 miles inside the 1,300-acre grounds.
Summer heat and rising interest in low-impact outdoor exercise have pushed more households toward these routes instead of street riding. City residents logged 18,400 bike entries at park gates in June, up from 11,200 the same month in 2024, according to gate-counter data released by the department on July 7.
Two core loops for new riders
The main draw sits inside City Park, where the 1.8-mile Couturie Forest Loop stays shaded by live oaks and stays closed to cars on weekends. Parents with children under 10 favor the adjacent 0.9-mile Storyland spur, which connects directly to the park’s rental kiosk that charges $12 for a child trailer and $18 for an adult hybrid bike by the hour. A second option runs through Audubon Park, where the 2.1-mile levee-adjacent path between the golf course and Magazine Street offers river breezes and water fountains every half mile. Both sites fall under the New Orleans Recreation Department’s NORD Fitness Trails program, which supplies free printed maps at the front desks of the Delgado and Milne facilities.
Local counts from NORD show that 62 percent of riders on these loops in the past year were either first-time cyclists or families with at least one rider under 12. The agency added eight new bike-fix stations along the City Park route in March, each stocked with tools and air pumps that require no coins or app.
Practical steps before heading out
Riders should start before 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m. to avoid peak heat and humidity readings that reached 92 degrees on July 6. Helmets are required for anyone under 16 on NORD property, and the department sells compliant models for $22 at its main office on 1340 Poydras Street. Families can join the free Saturday 9 a.m. group roll that leaves from the City Park Botanical Garden entrance and covers only the protected sections. Trail conditions and any temporary closures appear on the Parks and Parkways website updated each morning by 7 a.m.