Covington, Louisiana is a small, quaint town that is part of the greater New Orleans metropolitan area. Covington boasts a great food scene, quirky and unique shops, and a rich culture. It’s a beautiful town to visit and makes for a fun day trip for anyone visiting New Orleans. Among the many things to do are breweries, art galleries, museum, hiking trails, bike rentals, and more. There is even a gator ranch for people to visit.
Abita Brewing Company
The Abita Brewing Company is situated within the piney woods of Covington, about thirty miles to the north from New Orleans. The brewery produces over 151,000 barrels of beers in its state-of-the-art brewing facility, as well as more than 9,000 barrels of root beer. Ales and lagers are brewed in only small batches. Guided tours of the facility are offered, with each tour lasting around thirty minutes and including a tasting of some of Abita’s brews. Guests can learn about the brewing process, the company’s history, and the beer. There is also a Craft Soda Tour and self-guided tours.
21084 LA-36, Covington, LA 70433, Phone: 985-893-3143
Abita Roasting Co. Covington
Abita Roasting Co. Covington is the combination of a great coffee company, the Abita Roasting Company, and an excellent cafe, Abita Springs Cafe. The result is a cafe that boasts quite a diverse menu and the freshest artisan coffee around. The full-service cafe and coffee shop features a menu that is inspired by the Abita Springs Cafe. Since 2006, Abita Roasting Co. has sourced, roasted, and prepared incredible coffee from all over the world. The counter, cafe, and drive thru at Abita Roasting Co. Covington all have slightly different hours of operation during the week, with hours posted on their website.
1011 Village Walk, Covington, LA 70433, Phone: 985-246-3345
Brooks' Bike Shop
Since the shop first opened in the Covington community in 2010, Brooks' Bike Shop has provided visitors and locals alike with bicycle services. The goal of the bike shop is to offer both a tremendous value and excellent customer experience for all customers. Brooks’ Bike Shop is a veteran-owned small business that has a passion for all kinds of bicycles. The shop offers bicycle sales, bicycle rentals, and bicycle services. Tours, as well as parties, are offered of Covington and the surrounding area, including tours that visit local breweries, the historic downtown area, and the Bogue Falaya River.
416 E. Gibson St, Covington, LA 70433, Phone: 985-214-6920
Cafe Du Monde
The original Cafe Du Monde started out as a coffee stand that was founded back in the year 1862 inside of the French Market in New Orleans. The Cafe Du Monde in Covington, Louisiana, while not open twenty-four hours a day like the original, still maintains fairly long hours during the day. A drive thru is also available at the Covington location of Cafe Du Monde. The menu includes dark roasted coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice, and beignets.
70437 LA-21, Covington, LA 70433, Phone: 985-893-0453
Children's Museum of St. Tammany
The mission of the Children's Museum of St. Tammany is to inspire children to create, explore, and imagine within an interactive and fun learning environment. Kids Town at the children’s museum is designed for the smallest visitors. The museum features various exhibits for learning that are primarily geared towards children from toddler age to early childhood, but also offers special programs for older kids. Children can have hands-on fun at the diner exhibit and the supermarket. Other exhibits include a magnetic ball wall, a climbing wall, and a fun exhibit where children can see what it’s like to construct their own roller coaster.
21404 Koop Dr, Mandeville, LA 70471, Phone: 985-888-1555
Columbia Street Tap Room and Grill
Visitors and local alike can stop in the Columbia Street Tap Room and Grill for some of the best food, best local music, and a broad array of beers that range from local brews to more exotic ones. The Columbia Street Tap Room offers thirty different beers on tap, around sixty bottled beers, premium wines visitors can get by the glass, and a full-service bar. This is in addition to a food menu that features a variety of salads, burgers, sandwiches, and daily specials. Live music performances happen on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays in the tap room.
434 North Columbia St, Covington, LA 70433, Phone: 985-898-0899
Lake Ramsay Preserve
Visitors to the Lake Ramsay Preserve can take a stroll along the informative boardwalk that winds its way through parts of this nature preserve, providing views of the area’s high quality forest communities, which include a small stream forest, longleaf flatwoods, and longleaf pine savanna. The preserve is also home to an array of interesting plants, such as orchids and carnivorous pitcher plants. The Lake Ramsay Ramsay Nature Conservancy maintains an interpretive hiking trail known as the Horse Branch Trail that allows visitors to explore the variety of habitats, including one of the Louisiana Florida Parishes’ last remaining habitats of pine savanna.
Horse Branch Rd, Covington, LA 70435, 985-809-1414
Covington Trailhead
The Covington Trailhead signifies the start of the Tammany Trace trail that runs through the area. The paved trail is approximately thirty-one miles long and connects the towns of Covington, Slidell, Lacombe, Mandeville, and Abita Springs. The trailhead is just a short walk away from the restaurants and shops in the downtown area of Covington. The site looks a bit like an old railroad station and features a clock tower, grassy area, an amphitheater, restrooms, a covered marketplace, visitor’s center that includes a museum, and more. A farmers market takes place at the Covington Trailhead on Wednesdays.
419 N New Hampshire St, Covington, LA 70433
Fairview-Riverside State Park
The Fairview-Riverside State Park boasts several picnic tables that are scattered throughout the grounds, shaded by a canopy of massive oak trees. There are also comfort stations, a playground for children, and a pavilion for groups. Visitors can spend the afternoon relaxing by the river or head out into the water for more outdoor recreational activities. The nature trails that runs through the Fairview-Riverside State Park takes guests along the river for some great views. There is also an on-site campground for those who want to stay in the park overnight. Fishing from the river or boats is a popular activity.
119 Fairview Dr, Madisonville, LA 70447, Phone: 985-845-3318
H.J.Smith & Sons General Store
The H.J.Smith & Sons General Store is a family-owned and operated business that has been around in the town of Covington, Louisiana since the year 1876. The General Store is now a museum that contains several hundred various items that date back from 1870 up to the beginning of the 1900’s. Among the items visitors can see in the museum are a cypress dugout boat that measure twenty feet long, historic farming tools, a cast iron casket, a wooden hand-operated washing machine, a gas pump from the 1920’s, and more. H.J. Smith & Sons is open Monday through Saturday.
308 N. Columbia St, Covington, LA 70433, Phone: 985-892-0460
Insta Gator Ranch
The Insta Gator Ranch lets visitors view alligators in the crystal clear water within a climate-controlled environment. Insta Gator Ranch is a working ranch for alligators, and is actually home to over two thousand gators. The guided tours at the ranch offer visitors a rare, first-hand experience with the Louisiana Alligator Industry. The Insta Gator Ranch is open throughout the entire year, rain or shine. There are a few different experiences that guests can choose from, such as The History of the American Alligator, The Alligator Ranching Program, Tour through the Temperature Controlled Barns, and The Anatomy of the American Alligator.
74645 Allen Rd, Covington, LA 70435, Phone: 985-892-3669
Movie Tavern
The Movie Tavern in Covington in the state of Louisiana is a movie cinema that is a combination of a typical movie theater and restaurant that creates a new and delicious way to enjoy a movie on the big screen. The Movie Tavern is a place where people can get margaritas, meals, and movies all in one destination. The cinema is part of the revolution to change the way people experience cinema, drinking, and eating by providing an in-theater dining service. The menu is chef-driven and feature high quality drinks and food that can be enjoyed while sitting in luxurious seating.
201 N Highway 190, Covington, LA 70433, Phone: 985-247-0757
Otis House
The Otis House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and can be found on the grounds of the Fairview-Riverside State Park. Visitors can take a guided tour of the historic house and take a look at a variety of artifacts on display that date back to the 1880’s up until the 1930’s. During the tour, guests will learn about the ties the home has with the city of Madisonville, as well as how it fits into the history of the state of Louisiana. The Otis House is open for guided tours during the week from Tuesday to Saturday.
119 Fairview Dr, Madisonville, LA 70447, Phone: 985-845-4010
St Tammany Art Association
The St Tammany Art Association was established in the year 1958 by a group of several civic-minded people wanting to bring art to the western St. Tammany Parish. The St. Tammany Art Association today has since grown into an arts organization with more than eight hundred members. The association serves as a catalyst in the Covington community for the arts, helping both established and emerging artists and providing exhibitions and arts education to the public. The main art gallery of the art association, the Miriam Barranger Gallery, exhibits a broad array of media and styles through changing exhibitions.
320 N Columbia St, Covington, Louisiana 70433, Phone: 985-892-8650
UCM Museum/Abita Mystery House
The UCM Museum/Abita Mystery House is a bit of a roadside attraction just outside of Covington, Louisiana in Abita Springs. The house museum is an environment of folk art, featuring homemade inventions and thousands of found objects on display. Visitors can view a miniature version of a southern town that has buttons to activate the animated “displays,” along with old arcade machines that can possibly be played, memorabilia, odd collections, and even some stuff that can be considered “pure junk.” Also at the museum is the House of Shards, and a one hundred-year-old Louisiana Creole cottage.
22275 LA-36, Abita Springs, LA 70420, Phone: 985-892-2624
Ridemore Farm
Ridemore Farm in Covington, Louisiana is a U-pick berry farm that offers a family-friendly environment for people of all ages to come visit and pick berries right from the bush, including tasting the berries to make sure they are ripe and taste delicious. Along with berries, such as blackberries and blueberries, the farm also grows a variety of vegetables, such as potatoes, green beans, peppers, tomatoes, corn, green onions, cucumbers, and zucchini. In addition to picking berries, guests can also have a relaxing picnic lunch at Ridemore Farm and kids can visit with the resident goats, chickens, and horses.
22154 John T Prats Rd, Covington, LA 70435, 985-875-1965
Marianne Angeli Rodriguez Gallery
The Marianne Angeli Rodriguez Gallery in Covington, Louisiana is a great place to find unique artwork for the home or a gift for friends and family. Featuring the works of artist Marianne Angeli Rodriguez, the gallery contains numerous examples of her vibrant contemporary paintings that are perfect for anyone obsessed with color. Pieces available for sale at the 2,000-square-foot Marianne Angeli Rodriguez Gallery include unique hand-painted planters, fine art prints, and both small and large contemporary paintings. This colorful gallery can be found in the middle of downtown Covington inside of a historic building that dates back to 1915.
323 N Columbia St, Covington, LA 70433, 985-238-0842
The ICONS Museum
The ICONS Museum offers guests an opportunity to view world-class sculpture and portraits showcasing many of the world’s most pivotal figures in sports, film, fashion, music, and art. All of these works are created by Matthew Montero, a Covington-born artist, who used his bare hands to create one-of-a-kind, freehand portrait paintings of cultural icons with no trace elements or brush marks. Visiting The ICONS Museum is only possible by appointment. This means guests can take in the artwork with viewing privacy and tour the museum with the creator and artist himself, making a visit a more unique art museum experience.
75533 River Rd, Covington, LA 70435, 800-789-5840
