The Welcome Center at Grosse Tete (French for “big head”) was constructed in 2008 through a partnership between DNR’s Atchafalaya Basin Program and Iberville Parish Government. The Welcome Center lies along the banks of Bayou Grosse Tete and exhibits spectacular local wood carvings and must-see old growth cypress. This area is historically important as one of the gateways to the Atchafalaya River Basin, and the bayou itself served as the main means of transportation in and around the area until the late 1800s. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Bayou Gross Tete was connected to both the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers– and ultimately to the Attakapas district beyond – through a series of interconnected waterway systems. These “highways” were called the Attakapas Routes, which like many place names in Louisiana is derived from a rich Native American history. The Attakapas Routes served as the main routes for trade, commerce, and transportation and connected New Orleans to southwest Louisiana and beyond. The northernmost and most direct Attakapas Route included Bayou Grosse Tete, which meandered approximately 40 miles from its origin in Pointe Coupee Parish to Bayou Plaquemine and ultimately to the Mississippi River. This continued to be the principal means of transportation in this area until the construction of the Texas and Pacific Railroad in the late 1800s. The Village of Grosse Tete, which grew up around Bayou Grosse Tete, became incorporated in 1906 and then re-incorporated in 1952. It continues to serve as a gateway to the Atchafalaya.
Hours of operation: Daily from 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.