Scenic Motorcycle Routes in Lafayette

Route: Lafayette → Breaux Bridge → Lake Martin → St. Martinville → Broussard → Lafayette
Distance: 45 miles
Riding Time: 1 hour 14 minutes without stops
Recommended Time: Half day / full day
Best for: Bayous, wildlife, Acadian history and scenic roads
Notable stops: Lake Martin, Bayou Teche, Acadian Memorial, Longfellow-Evangeline Historic Oak, St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church

Starting at the Lafayette Visitors Center at 1400 NW Evangeline Thruway, head east on Willow St., turn right onto Teurlings Dr., and turn left onto Carmel Drive (Hwy. 94) until you arrive in Breaux Bridge. Stop by the Visitors Center located at 318 East Bridge Street to learn more about the Crawfish Capital of the World and to view Breaux’s Bridge. Take Hwy. 31 to Lake Martin Road, which leads to the Lake Martin boat launch. Turn left to find the Cypress Island Preserve and Visitors Center, operated by The Nature Conservancy of Louisiana. You can stop at the Visitor Center to learn more about Lake Martin and its unique ecosystem and wildlife, hike the trails that surround the lake, or continue on Rookery Road, where you’ll likely spot gators and a wide variety of nesting water birds; Lake Martin is one of Louisiana’s largest nesting bird colonies. 

At Lake Martin Road, take a right to continue down Hwy. 31 to South Main Street toward St. Martinville, a winding road that follows the sleepy Bayou Teche. St. Martinville is the perfect place to learn more about Acadian (Cajun) history. Here, the largest influx of Acadians arrived after the British exiled them from the Maritime Provinces of Canada beginning in 1755. History lessons, artifacts, and special events teach this history at Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site and at St. Martinville’s historic square, where you’ll find the Acadian Memorial, the Evangeline Oak and monument named for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous poem, and the colonial St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church.

To make your way back, take Hwy. 96, which drives through Broussard before taking Hwy. 90 back to Lafayette.

Route: Lafayette → Scott → Rayne → Crowley → Abbeville → Lafayette
Distance: 79 miles
Riding Time: 2 hours 13 minutes without stops
Recommended Time: Half day / full day
Best for: Cajun food, prairie landscapes, small towns, rice and crawfish country
Notable stops: Begnaud House in Scott, Cajun Harley Davidson, Naq’s in Duson, Rayne’s Frog murals, St. Joseph Cemetery, Grand Opera House of the South, JD Miller Music Museum, Vermilion River, Riverfront Restaurant

Head north from Lafayette via Willow Street into the neighboring town of Scott, the Boudin Capital of the World. This route takes you past places like Don’s Specialty Meats and Billy’s Boudin & Cracklin, so feel free to stop for Acadiana’s most famous delicacy before heading to the Begnaud House, which also serves as the town’s visitor center. Note: You’ll find Cajun Harley-Davidson in Scott.

With the arrival of the railroad, Scott was once known as “Where the West begins,” so head west on Cameron Street (Hwy. 90) to follow the railroad to Naq’s in Duson for a quick bite before continuing through farmland until you reach the quaint town of Rayne. This Cajun hamlet is known as the “Frog Capital of the World” because it once exported frog legs to restaurants nationwide. Check out the many frog murals throughout town and the St. Joseph Cemetery, the only American cemetery with graves facing the wrong direction due to what some believe is simple human error.

Further west is Crowley, where the historic downtown includes more than 200 structures listed on the National Historic Register, including the Grand Opera House of the South and the JD Miller Music & Ford Automotive Museums. Turn south on Hwy. 13 to see why Crowley is called the city that’s “Rice and Easy.” The surrounding countryside spawns acres of rice fields, which are also used to grow our famous crawfish.

Turn onto Hwy. 14 through Kaplan, then pause in Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, along the sleepy, beautiful Bayou Vermilion. Abbeville is home to several outstanding Cajun restaurants—Dupuy’s and Riverfront: A Louisiana Grill are just two—serving up fresh bounty from both neighboring wetlands and the Gulf.

Once you head north on Hwy. 167, you’ll arrive back in Lafayette.

Route: Lafayette → Arnaudville → Sunset → Grand Coteau → Lafayette
Distance: 44 miles
Riding Time: 1 hour 18 minutes without stops
Recommended Time: Half day / full day
Best for: Bayou roads, Cajun and Creole culture, local food, art and historic communities
Notable stops: Acadiana Park Nature Station, Bayou Vermilion, Little Big Cup, NuNu’s Arts & Culture Collective, Academy of the Sacred Heart

Start your loop north of Lafayette at Acadiana Park on East Alexander Street, home to the Acadiana Park Nature Station, campground, canoe and kayak launches, and hiking trails. Head east to Lajaunie Road and turn north, which twists and turns along Bayou Vermilion. The small hills in this area were created when the Mississippi River flowed close to where Lafayette is today.

At the road's end, turn right onto Hwy. 98 before taking a left on Hwy. 354. Eventually you’ll hit Hwy. 31, which will take you to Arnaudville, another adorable Cajun and Creole village filled with cultural happenings, restaurants, and shops at the confluence of Bayous Teche and Fuselier. Stop for something to eat and take in the views at The Little Big Cup. After you fuel up, stop by NuNu’s Arts and Culture Collective to check out the exhibits, or, if you’re lucky, catch a French Table or other cultural events.

Continue down Hwy. 93 and you’ll find yourself entering the twin cities of Sunset and Grand Coteau in St. Landry Parish. Both towns offer great restaurants, a wealth of antique shopping, and Grand Coteau’s Church of St. Charles Borromeo and the 1821 Academy of the Sacred Heart.

Use Interstate 49 to head back to Lafayette, or if you’re craving more bayous and backroads, there’s Hwy. 182.