Biking in Ville Platte Louisiana

Enjoy the beautiful and unique landscapes of Louisiana from your bike. Choose to ride through the green hills of northern Louisiana to the southern marshes along the coastal wetlands. You have your choice of routes, from lightly traveled, paved rural roads to challenging mountain-biking trails to easy, leisurely paths through Louisiana's many state parks. And the mild climate allows for biking almost any time of year.

The thunder of hooves heard in Ville Platte each October would presumably warm the heart of Marcellin Garand, a former cavalry officer in Napoleon's army who is credited with founding this city in the northern reaches of modern day Cajun country. Here, his equestrian legacy is remembered during the Louisiana Tournoi, a one-of-a-kind horseback tournament, where riders wearing capes and costume armor vie to lance the most gold rings while racing along a rustic track. The event is held in conjunction with the Louisiana Cotton Festival, which honors the area's agricultural bounty with a downtown parade, a ball and visits by festival queens. Throughout the year, visitors find Cajun food and swamp pop music galore, a historic district straddling El Camino Real, the Spanish colonial-era trail connecting New Orleans to Natchitoches and easy access to Chicot State Park with its many acres of wooded, rolling hills and meandering, cypress-studded waterways.