As I drove across the Atchafalaya Basin, cypress knees and moss-draped trees covered the landscape as far as the eye could see. I was only 130 miles from New Orleans but may as well have been in another world.

While Lafayette has often been an unknown backwater to many New Orleanians (some even confuse it with Lafitte), it has long drawn tourists from around the world. As the gateway to Cajun Country, it often serves as a base for exploring the Atchafalaya Basin and the dozens of small tow...