North America > United States > Louisiana > Abita Springs
Abita Springs is a small town on the Lake Pontchartrain Northshore, close enough to New Orleans for an easy day trip but different in mood. It grew around mineral springs, picked up a Victorian pavilion from the 1884 World's Fair, and now mixes quiet piney-woods streets with one of Louisiana's better-known breweries.
The town is not big, and that is part of the appeal. Start at Abita Springs Tourist Park, where the old pavilion, river, playgrounds, and picnic lawns give the centre a gentle shape. The Abita Springs Trailhead Museum adds local history in a former rail corridor setting.
Abita also has a sense of humour. UCM Museum / Mystery House is the town's oddball stop: folk art, homemade contraptions, and roadside-Americana strangeness arranged with real affection. Add a brewery visit, or drive out to Insta-Gator Ranch & Hatchery, and Abita Springs becomes a compact, worthwhile Northshore detour rather than just a name on a beer label.