City Park Family Attractions

For family fun in New Orleans it doesn’t come much better than it does in City Park. With a wide range of fun activities for kids and their parents spread out over 1,300 acres in the heart of the city, City Park is a treasure chest of things to do that can keep your family busy all day.

Half the fun is getting there. From downtown New Orleans, you can leave your car behind and take the Canal Street streetcar. For only $1.25 per adult or 40 cents for senior citizens 65 and over (free for children under 2) you can ride the rustic, electric-powered vehicles up historic Canal Street to North Carrollton Avenue, then transfer to the North Carrollton Branch, which takes you right to one of the main gates at City Park. Cross the street and you’re in the park.

Once inside the park, you can choose which activities you and your kids want to visit or otherwise participate in. Listed below are some of your best choices.

Hines Carousel Gardens Amusement Park

There was a time not so long ago that carousels (or merry-go-rounds) were a common feature of the American urban landscape. Today there are not that many left, one of which is in New Orleans’ City Park. Since 1906 little kids and kids at heart have enjoyed the "flying horses" of City Park's antique carousel, one of only about 100 antique wooden carousels in the country and the last one in Louisiana. The carousel, featuring the masterwork of famed carousel carvers Looff and Carmel, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was damaged during the flooding from Hurricane Katrina but was painstakingly restored. Its restoration and reopening generated national attention and praise from the National Historic Preservation Society.

The ornately carved horses and other figures on the carousel have brought delight to generations of New Orleanians, and now visitors to the city and their kids can enjoy them also.

Elsewhere in the Carousel Gardens Amusement Park are other rides to keep your kids twisting, turning, whirling and twirling, including the Rockin' Tug, Bumper Cars, Red Baron Mini-plane, Scrambler, Tilt-A-Whirl, 40-foot fun slide, Umbrella Cars, Construction Zone and Live Oak Lady Bug roller coaster. A miniature train tours the park along narrow-gauge tracks, featuring open-air passenger cars and an engine with an authentic, old-time steam whistle. A new larger Ferris wheel is expected to open during 2008.

Weather permitting, the amusement park is open seasonally on Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. There is a $3 entry fee, plus the cost of rides (prices vary).

Storyland

Your kids’ favorite animals, cartoon characters and fairy tale legends come to life in Storyland, a charming fairytale theme park adjacent to Carousel Gardens and the New Orleans Botanical Garden. Brimming with 26 larger-than-life exhibits, this storybook fantasy play area is inhabited by sculpted characters created by New Orleans’ finest Mardi Gras float makers. Your kids can climb aboard Captain Hook’s pirate ship, journey with Pinocchio into the mouth of a whale or scamper up and slide down Jack & Jill’s Hill. They can climb aboard an old fire engine or they can test their agility by crossing a pond on stepping stones.

Storyland is open on weekends only from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Closed Weekdays. Admission $3.00.

New Orleans Botanical Gardens

Families with an appreciation of nature and the beauty of plants and flowers will enjoy the New Orleans Botanical Gardens. Offering over 12 acres of natural beauty and featuring a large collection of plants arranged to appeal to garden enthusiasts and casual observers alike, the grounds feature the recently renovated Conservatory of the Two Sisters, the Historic New Orleans Train Garden, and collections of roses, aquatics, succulents, ornamental trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals. There are also imaginatively designed theme gardens dating from the Art Deco Period of the 1930s when the NOBG opened, including sculptures and other intricate designs. In all, the Gardens’ collections contain over 2,000 varieties of plants from all over the world, set among the nation's largest stand of mature live oaks, some more than 600 years old.

Families can teach their kids more about nature and an appreciation for the world’s diverse and essential flora with a visit to the New Orleans Botanical Gardens. Hours are Tuesday through Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Historic New Orleans Train Garden is open for viewing, however, the trains are currently running only on weekends and during certain special events. Admission is $6 for adults over the age of 12, $3 for children ages 5-12, and free for children under five. The Garden's entrance is located at the Pavilion of the Two Sisters on Victory Avenue in City Park, behind the New Orleans Museum of Art.

Fishing, Hiking and Other Outdoor Activities

City Park lagoon is teeming with different kinds of edible fish. With just a simple, 10-15 pound-test pole and some tempting bait, you and your kids can pull up speckled trout, catfish or other delectable finned critters. No fishing license is necessary for children under 16 or adults over 65.

The park is also a natural sanctuary that is home to dozens of bird species, especially waterfowl. Generations have delighted at the simple pleasure of feeding the menagerie of ducks, geese, swans, seagulls, pelicans, and other aquatic fowl that make their home in the City Park lagoons.

The park has several miles of scenic walking and biking trails that take you through and around the park’s magnificent live oaks and other indigenous vegetation. A handicap-accessible playground is also available, located on Dreyfous Avenue near the Peristyle. It is free and open during daylight hours.