A small, genuinely swampy lake in the middle of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus, ringed by bald cypress trees and stocked with native alligators. Walkways and footbridges thread the trees on the south and west sides. In spring, irises bloom in the shallows; in summer the alligators sun themselves on the banks just a few metres from passing students.
It is fenced and signed; no swimming, no fishing, but the wildlife is real. Worth a half-hour detour even if you are not in town to see the university.