Urban Rivers: Southeast

The bayou near New Orleans (Corbis)

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Paddling off the edge of the big easy

The Mississippi flows through the Great Plains in a determined, sinuous ribbon. When it hits the Louisiana delta, the long ribbon frays into a tangled network of rivers, bayous and vast wetlands. New Orleans rests at the very tip of the delta. The riverfront, which was formerly a warren of decaying warehouses and docks, has recently been spruced up, lined with hotels and sidewalks. You won't find a lot of small craft on the big river, but right outside of town is a wilderness of wetlands aching to be explored.