Whether standing on the bank, walking the trail, paddling or floating in a boat, you're almost guaranteed to see an alligator at Lake Martin. Or two or three.
The 800-acre lake is as much their home as it is the birds that annually roost within the Spanish moss curtains hanging from the mix of tupelo, cypress and hardwood trees at the westernmost point in the Nature Conservancy's Cypress Island Preserve.
Several area outfitters offer guided paddle tours, including Pack & Paddle — and some moonlight tours typically sell out.
And if you're up for a hike, the spring is the best time to see some of the most beautiful birds in the world in the Nature Conservancy's rookery at Lake Martin.
The weeks between March and June are the most active times for bird watching at Lake Martin, especially at the preserve, whose forested wetlands foster a rookery. Birders come from near and far to see the spectacle of birds.
Many cypress trees in Lake Martin's swamp are centuries old, dating between 500 and 1,500 years old.
Lake Martin's rookery supports thousands of nesting birds each spring, including white ibis, anhinga, neotropic cormorants, several types of egrets and herons, roseate spoonbills, according to the conservancy's website, nature.org.
Experienced birders at Lake Martin know that the preserve’s walking levee trail is the place to spot trans-gulf migratory songbirds. They also know to keep an eye out for alligators.
"But," tour Jimmy Blanchard said while navigating the waters, "there haven't been any reports of alligator attacks. We don't feed them, so they don't approach people."
A kayaker glides in the distance on the open water of Lake Martin. The lake is located outside of Breaux Bridge in St. Martin Parish.
Still, that doesn't mean visitors shouldn't exercise caution.
Blanchard operates a motorized boat tour, one of several operated and maintained by Champagne's Swamp Tours at 1151 Rookery Road, which borders Lake Martin.
Since 2016, conversationists and St. Martin Parish officials have lodged concerns and complaints about Champagne's motorized tours, taking the fight to the Louisiana Supreme Court, based on zoning ordinances of the murky waters of a right for the business to operate.
Meanwhile, the tours continue to operate.
Lake Martin spreads just south of Breaux Bridge in St. Martin Parish.
To reach Lake Martin
Visitors driving in from Interstate 10 take Rees Street in Breaux Bridge, then turn right on Bridge Street before driving south on Main Street. After less than a mile, they'll turn right on Lake Martin Road, which ends at Rookery Road.
There, ospreys settle on high branches to watch fishermen reel in their catches, where sunlight reflects the brilliance of a great blue heron's wings as he glides above the water, and turtles don't bother retreating from their logs when boat floats by.
Tourists take in the sights at the front of one of Champagne's Swamp Tour's boats before entering Lake Martin's cypress and tupelo swamp.
Why? Because they're used to tourists snapping photos with smartphones, as is Stella, a mama alligator who maintains a continuous vigil across from her alligator's nest on the edge of la Pointe swamp.
As we pass, Stella doesn't attack the boat nor does she attempt to approach it. But she doesn't move, either. Her eyes are fixed on the boat and the people inside.
"You can take pictures, but keep your hands inside the boat," Blanchard said. "She'll stay here until mating season, when her babies are big enough to leave. Then she'll leave and mate again."
A quick sweep of Lake Martin's moss-draped cypress and tupelo swamp while on a tour with Champagne's Swamp Tours. Staff video by Robin Miller
And though alligators are the stars of Lake Martin's show, they're only part of the experience.
For hikers, there's the five-mile Cypress Island Preserve trail on the lake side opposite from Rookery Road, where birds, flora and fauna are plentiful. And more alligators.
Then there are the hunting, fishing, kayaking and canoeing opportunities, which are free on these public waters as there are no recreation fees are charged.
Turtles can be seen sunning on logs throughout Lake Martin's cypress and tupelo swamp.
Before 1952, the low-area lake would fill with rainwater and backwater from Bayou Teche and the Vermilion River in the fall and winter. The water gradually would drain in springtime, leaving the lake bed dry in summer.
But in 1952, private landowners and a local agency came together to construct a 5-mile levee around the lake and its forested areas to hold water year-round.
The area within the levee was designated as a fish and game preserve for public recreation.
Lake Martin's 800 acres now include some 200 acres of open water. The remaining acreage forms a cypress-tupelo swamp.
A tourist uses her iPhone to snap a photo of Stella, the mama alligator who keeps a continuous vigil near her nest in Lake Martin's swamp while waiting for her hatchlings to grow old enough to leave the area.
But it doesn't stop there.
According to the Atchafalaya Water Heritage Trail website, waterheritage.atchafalaya.org, "Lake Martin is part of the greater Lake Martin Important Bird Area and is situated within The Nature Conservancy’s Cypress Island Preserve, the largest remaining tract of hardwood forest in the Teche-Vermilion watershed."
This preserve protects almost 10,000 acres of wild bottomland hardwood forest habitat and cypress-tupelo swamp.
An osprey perches on a high limb in a cypress tree at Lake Martin.
The tour with Champagne lasts under 3 hours and not only includes the magic of the moss-filled swamp but also the open water, where Blanchard points out massive osprey nests constructed in the tops of ancient cypress trees.
Many who have taken both motorized and paddling tours through the cypress forest argue that paddling is a more enjoyable experience, offering a quiet that's difficult to find in today's world — plus vistas of the largest cypress, which is estimated to be 1,500 years old.
Nesting ospreys and blue herons are easy to spot — as are a pair of bald eagles that nest along the opposite side of Lake Martin.
Champagne's Swamp Tours guide maneuvers the tourists-filled boat through Lake Martin's cypress and tupelo swamp.
There's just something about Lake Martin, something that lures an array of birds, alligators and humans — beckoning all to stay awhile.
Pack & Paddle, 601 E. Pinhook Road in Lafayette, operates guided tours and experiences. (337) 232-5854. Learn more at www.packpaddle.com
Champagne's Swamp Tours, 1151 Rookery Road, Breaux Bridge, opens at 8 a.m. Monday through Sunday. Tours are $25 per person. Children age 2 and younger ride free. Tours must be reserved ahead of time by calling (337) 230-4068 or emailing [email protected]. For more information, visit champagneswamptours.com.
Also available is Cajun Country Swamp Tours, 1209 Rookery Road, Breaux Bridge, are $25 per person. Tours must be booked ahead of time by calling (337) 319-0010 or emailing [email protected]. For more information, visit cajuncountryswamptours.com.
A male alligator, measuring an estimated 11-feet-long, glares at tourists in Champagne's Swamp Tours' boat during an excursion on Lake Martin.
For more information on Lake Martin, visit lafayettetravel.com/things-to-do/outdoors/swamps-bayous/lake-martin.
If you're hungry after leaving the lake, there are plenty of options in Breaux Bridge, including Angelle's, known for its old-fashioned hamburgers serenaded by a Cajun trio on Saturday afternoons, at 110 E. Bridge St; Crazy 'Bout Crawfish, 1905 Rees St.; Le Cafe, 124 Rees St.; and Cafe Sydie Mae, 140 E. Bridge St.