Audubon Park

Located less than 5 miles from the center of downtown New Orleans, Audubon Park has provided recreational opportunities to city dwellers for over a century. Located on the site of the Bore plantation, where sugar was first refined and granulated, the park was host to the International Sugar Exposition in the 1880's.

The park is administered by a board established by the Louisiana legislature and appointed by the Mayor of New Orleans. In addition to open space, playing fields, and tennis courts, the park features the nationally-recognized Audubon Zoo and an eighteen-hole golf course.

For years this has been one of the city's more popular short-course venues. 2 mile and 5K races can be run on the 1.8 mile front loop of the course with a minimum of wasted manpower and no police protection requirement. The world-class Crescent City Classic uses the park for its last 1.3 miles and the post-race party which may be even more notable than the race itself.

The St. Charles Avenue side of the park is shaded by huge live oaks, dotted with Spanish moss; the river end of the park affords a view of the Mississippi with tugboats (of the pusher variety) and ocean-going vessels passing by. The loop between St. Charles and Magazine street is just over 1.75 miles long, and the larger loop between St. Charles and the river measures a little over 3.1 miles. A great place for a training run.