Cold brews and hiking shoes

Editor’s Note: This is part of a new, occasional series in which weekend travelers Doug Woolfolk and Dave Hanchey share their road-trip photos ?and discoveries.

Abita Springs may be small, but it’s overflowing with options.

Sitting across Pontchartrain Causeway from New Orleans, it was chartered in 1903 on land once occupied by Native American tribes, primarily Choctaw, up to 2,200 years ago. The French were the first white settlers to arrive in the 1700s, attracted by abundant game, good fishing and beautiful springs of mineral water with alleged medicinal qualities.

Other pioneers included the English, the Scots, the Irish and German. Later, when New Orleans families flocked by train to Abita Springs to avoid summer heat and yellow fever, the small town became a prosperous resort area.

After all these years, Abita Springs still has less than 3,000 inhabitants. It features one traffic light, two schools, four churches, many charming raised cottages, a unique multi-use Town Hall, a one-of-a-kind eccentric museum, art galleries, a few restaurants and the Abita Brewing Company.

The Abita Brew Pub is housed in a turn-of-the-century General Merchandise Building, which once served as the original Abita Brewery. Later it became the Abita Brew Pub when the Brewery moved into much larger and more modern facilities. Brewery tours are legendary, and are offered Wednesday through Friday at 2 p.m., and on Saturdays at 1, 2 and 3 p.m.

The Pub, known for its beers and tasty array of incredible burgers, still displays the original Abita Beer brewing equipment. Also of interest is a picture of former Honduran President Carlos Roberto Flores’ presidential airplane, which sported an Abita Beer sticker on the tail. As an LSU student, the future Honduran president fell in love with Abita Beer. Years later when elected president, he permanently displayed the logo on his plane.

Right across Hwy. 59 is the Abita Farmers’ Market, owned by the Charlie Ingram family. “We try to include items such as blueberries, strawberries, melons, Creole tomatoes, jams, jellies, honey—things grown and produced by local folks,” Ingram’s son says, “and some is grown in area backyards.”

On the other side of the Brew Pub is the Tourist Park featuring a large kid-friendly interactive fountain above the original site of what was long ago the springs. I was tempted to jump through it, but I refrained, remembering getting drenched one night at the Shaw Center’s interactive fountain.

The park’s unique entrance boasts a pavilion designed for the 1884 New Orleans Cotton Exposition, which was later dismantled and set up at Abita Springs. Also on site are the Trailhead Museum, which hosts music each Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m., a children’s playground and a statue denoting the legend of an ailing Choctaw princess who evaded death by drinking from the pure spring waters.

Nearby, the Tammany Trace passes through town. This unique, federally-backed Rails-to-Trails Conservancy project converted the area’s old Illinois Central railroad track into a multi-purpose public trail of concrete and asphalt for walkers, joggers, skaters, cyclists and even wheelchair-bound adventurers. With its accompanying equestrian path, Tammany Trace has become a very popular recreational and transportation corridor. It winds for more than 30 miles through woods, towns and countryside, and across 31 bridges built on original trestles over streams, bayous and rivers. Linking isolated parks, it preserves historic landmarks and wetlands as it connects the towns of Covington, Abita Springs, Mandeville, Lacombe and Slidell. Dave shuddered at the thought of bicycling 31 miles.

Down the road is what just might be the most attractive—and certainly the most functional—building in the entire community: the Abita Springs Town Hall. Built in 1903, the whitewashed wooden structure is a true community center. A huge, wooden-floored, cypress-walled room is the heart of the building. It’s used for everything from town hall meetings, planning and zoning committee meetings to school and church fundraisers. It’s the event venue of choice for senior citizens, civic associations, volunteer firemen, garden clubs and parent/teacher organizations. Even weddings and memorials are held here, and Friday Night Bingo has been enjoyed here for more than 70 years. And, yes! Court is held in the open hall, too. They roll out a witness stand, judge’s bench, chairs, tables and jury section.

Finally, one of the area’s most popular entertainment events is held on six Saturday nights in March, April, May, September, October and November, when almost 400 people pack the place for the Abita Springs Opry. It’s a series of music concerts whose mission is to preserve Louisiana roots music in its original form—everything from old-time country to Cajun, bluegrass, gospel and Zydeco. They certainly get their money’s worth from this town hall.

Despite Dave’s deep interest in music, we were ready for lunch. So, we then headed for Abita Brew Pub.

Boy, those hamburgers sure were big! You literally had to mash them down with your hand before you could take a bite. I tried the Hotty Burger, which was topped with lettuce, tomato, pepper-jack cheese, jalapeno peppers, ketchup and hot sauce. It was great and hot … for about two and a half days!

We had one more “must-see” location on our agenda before we could head home: the UCM Museum, also known as the Abita Mystery House. It is surely one of Louisiana’s most eccentric tourist destinations. With more than 50,000 recycled items, artist/owner/creative force John Preble creates his own worlds in a cluster of buildings cobbled together behind a 1910 service station. Awesome!

So, satisfied we had accomplished another successful Louisiana road trip, we headed back to Baton Rouge. Soon we would be bragging about our own photos while slamming each other’s efforts. Another road trip in the bag!

Abita Springs destination details

(Be sure to call ahead for current operating information.)

Abita Brew Pub — 72011 Holly St. — (985) 892-5837 — abitabrewpub.com

Abita Brewing Co. — 21084 Hwy. 36 — (985) 893-3143 — abita.com

Abita Springs Town Hall — 22161 Level St. — (985) 892-0711

Abita Farmers’ Market — 22056 Hwy. 59 — (985) 893-2979

Tammany Trace Abita trailhead—22049 Main St.—985.892.0711—tammanytrace.org.

Abita Tourist Park—Near the intersection of Highways 36 and 59

Abita Springs Opry — 22161 Level St. — abitaopry.com

UCM Museum/Abita Mystery House — 22275 Hwy. 36 — (985) 892-2624 — ucmmuseum.com