This tiny, isolated park is deep in the cypress-tupelo swamp lining Bayou Lacassine, just outside Hayes. The park is located at the foot of the Lorrain Bridge, a historic structure crossing the bayou. It was originally constructed around 1895 and restored in 2004. Bayou Lacassine itself is one of the most classically-scenic waterways in the state.
Lorrain Bridge is located at the western terminus of Nibblett Road, one of Louisiana's most celebrated birding drives. The bridge is the only site along Nibblett Road possessing accessible cypress-tupelo swamp and live oak forest habitats.
However, because it traverses private property, birders require permission from landowners to access the lands along Nibblett Road. Still, the viewing from this seldom-traveled agricultural roadway is sufficient to amass a sizable day list. That’s particularly true during the winter, when waterfowl, raptors, sparrows, and other nearctic songbirds end up in big numbers. Birding down Nibblett Road has produced many western U.S. vagrants and rarities.
During migration seasons, the roadside live oak woodlands offer outstanding songbird action. Many migratory species of thrushes, orioles, warblers, tanagers, grosbeaks, and others use north-south rivers and bayous as super-highways of sorts as they move between the tropics and temperate North America.
Amenities at the park include ample parking, identification/interpretive signage, campground, boat launch, fish-cleaning station, playground, and sheltered picnic pavilion. Besides birding, other outdoor activities pursued here include fishing, paddling, and nature photography.
