Baton Rouge – Things to do with your Team
Baton Rouge is a city on the Mississippi River, and the capital of Louisiana. The city is a culturally rich center, with settlement by immigrants from numerous European nations and African peoples. It was ruled by seven different governments including the French, British, and Spanish before becoming part of the United States. Steeped in traditions of the old south Antebellum, landmarks include the castle-like Old Louisiana State Capitol, now a museum, and Magnolia Mound Plantation, with its French Creole house. Baton Rouge, which is located just 75 miles northwest of New Orleans, is also home to fabulous Cajun food and fresh gulf seafood. While you team is in the Baton Rouge area, you will find lots of great activities to keep them busy when they are not competing. Here are our suggestions.
Blue Bayou Waterpark and Dixie Landin’ Amusement Park
Blue Bayou Waterpark and its sister park Dixie Landin’ Amusement Park are the epicenter of fun in Baton Rouge. Blue Bayou has 20 attractions including a lazy river, a behemoth bowl, a quadruple aqua loop, a wave pool, a ProSlide Tornado, and many other rides. The newest attraction is “Mambo”, a quadruple aqua loop. The waterpark is also known as “The Land of the Giants”, as it is home to five of the world’s largest water slides, including Voodoo (World’s Largest Dark Behemothbowl), Azuka (World’s Largest Tornado Slide), Racers (World’s Largest Water Racer) and Conja’ (World’s Largest In-Line Water Slide).
Dixie Landin’ was built in 1999. It includes rides for all ages, including kiddie rides and thrill seeker rides. It has 27 attractions, including an S&S combo drop tower, a log flume, four roller coasters, and a variety of flat rides. The Drop Tower, Hot Shot, was originally the O2 Tower from Panama City Beach, Florida’s now defunct Miracle Strip Amusement Park. 18142 Perkins Road Baton Rouge, LA 70810
USS Kidd Veteran’s Museum
The USS Kidd is a Fletcher-class destroyer that was launched in 1943. Nicknamed the “Pirate of the Pacific,” it was named after Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd who died on board the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The USS Kidd saw many battles on the Pacific during World War II and was decommissioned in 1946 only to be re-commissioned in 1951 for use during the Korean War. Decommissioned again, this time in 1964, the USS Kidd was selected as a memorial for World War II veterans from Louisiana. 305 South River Rd., Baton Rouge, LA 70802-6220
Baton Rouge Zoo
The Baton Rouge Zoo opened in 1970 and is home to more than 1,800 animals from all around the world, including amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, and more. If you are wondering what to do in Baton Rouge with kids, this is a great place to visit. Its Otter Pond is a replica of a cabin, and visitors can watch otters as they swim underwater. Another popular exhibit is the Parrot Paradise, a walk-through aviary that is the home of many kinds of birds. The zoo has education programs for children including field trips, day camps, and much more. 3601 Thomas Rd, Baton Rouge, LA 70807
Mall of Louisiana
Escape the sweltering, humid weather of Baton Rouge with a trip to the Mall of Louisiana. Opened in 1997, this mall boasts 178 shops and six anchor stores across two expansive floors. It’s biggest claim to fame is that it houses one of the largest indoor carousels in the world. Between rides on the carousel, shopping, dining, and going to the movies, the Mall of Louisiana can entertain the whole team for hours. 6401 Bluebonnet Blvd, Baton Rouge, LA 70836
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Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center
The Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center is a 103-acre facility dedicated to conservation, education, recreation, and tourism. It houses an award-winning, 9500-square-foot building filled with live animal exhibits; photographic presentations of the site’s flora and fauna; natural artifact and mineral displays; and a sizeable, vintage waterfowl decoy carving collection. Ecology and art exhibits are featured periodically. Over a mile of gravel paths and boardwalks link varied habitats such as the cypress-tupelo swamp, beech-magnolia, and hardwood forests. Wildlife is plentiful at Bluebonnet Swamp, including hundreds of bird species utilizing the site throughout the year. Birders can view seasonal species during peak migrations, as well as year-round residents. While snakes and turtles are commonly seen from the trails, raccoons, rabbits, opossums, armadillos, squirrels, foxes, coyotes, deer, and otter are also known to inhabit the site. 10503 N. Oak Hills Parkway, Baton Rouge, LA 70810
13th Gate Escape & Haunted House
You are trapped in Baton Rouge! At the 13th Gate Escape you have 60 minutes and one goal: escape before time runs out! Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be an adventurer like Indiana Jones or a Tomb Raider like Laura Croft? Or maybe you wondered how it would feel to be trapped in a horror movie like Saw or Silence of the Lambs? Could you escape a maximum security prison or survive a night in a Haunted Asylum? How about go undercover to rescue a secret agent and your country from mass destruction? Imagine you and your team are trapped in a highly realistic, themed series of rooms. With only 60 minutes to escape, you must work together as a team as you race against the clock to explore your surroundings using logic, instinct, and critical thinking to find secret passages, solve puzzles, crack codes, and uncover hidden mysteries that will ultimately lead to your escape. Do you think you have what it takes? 359 Third Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801
13th Gate Haunted House is unlike any Haunted Attraction ever created. Imagine walking through a haunted New Orleans-style Cemetery (meaning crumbling stone & mortar above ground crypts) in the dead of the night. The cemetery takes up an entire city block and is a labyrinth of over 400 dark crypts for you to explore, all the while avoiding the multitudes of the living dead freshly awakened by Baron Samedi, the Voodoo Lord of the Dead. To enter the cemetery you must first descend 13 steps down into an open grave deep into dark underground catacombs. From there it’s a half-mile terror-filled trek to the exit. Don’t miss theVoodoo Fire Show every Friday & Saturday nights at 8pm. 832 St Phillip St. Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Visit the Old and New State Capital Building
The Louisiana’s Old State Capitol is a historic government building which is now a museum. It was the home of the Louisiana State Legislature from the mid-19th century until the 1930s when the current capitol building was constructed. The Old State Capitol building stands on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River and was built in the Gothic style. It is known by several nicknames, including the Castle of Baton Rouge and the Castle on the River. 100 North Boulevard, Baton Rouge, LA 70801
The new Louisiana State Capitol Building, new in 1932 that is, is tallest capitol in the U.S. at 450 feet high with 34 floors. The Observation Deck on the 27th floor overlooks the city of Baton Rouge with views of the gardens that are spectacular. Best of all, admission is free. 900 North Third Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge
The Atchafalaya Basin, or Atchafalaya Swamp, is the largest wetland and swamp in the United States. Located in south central Louisiana, about 30 miles west of Baton Rouge on I-10, it is a combination of wetlands and river delta area where the Atchafalaya River and the Gulf of Mexico converge. The entire basin covers 931 square miles. The many group or family activities available to visitors include water activities like kayak and canoe rentals, watch out for the alligators. Fishing guided swamp tours on Air Boats give you the best up close experience. There are also land based activities like hiking and biking as well as many nature exhibits. Hwy. 190 & I-10, Lottie, LA 70756
Be sure to eat some great seafood while your team is in town, and to enjoy the great southern hospitality you will encounter in the Bayou. And if you run out of things to do in Baton Rouge, don’t hesitate to take the short trek down I-10 to New Orleans.