ST. MARY PARISH — Communities across St. Mary Parish are working to create a stronger connection between existing and future walking, biking and outdoor recreation projects through the proposed Atchafalaya Gateway Trail.
The initiative aims to bring local trails together under one shared identity while building on St. Mary Parish’s designation as the Gateway to the Atchafalaya. St. Mary Excel Executive Director Monica Mancuso said the effort is about helping residents and visitors experience more of what the parish has to offer.
“Saint Mary Parish is the gateway to the Atchafalaya. So, as we develop our own— let's say, municipal or trails within our parish, it's wonderful to connect them,” Mancuso said.
The Atchafalaya Gateway Trail would not create an entirely new trail system overnight. Instead, it would connect existing and planned projects throughout the parish, creating a larger network that could help promote outdoor recreation, tourism and future development opportunities; Mancuso said St. Mary Excel’s role is helping bring those efforts together under one shared vision.
“We're doing our little part, which is, you know, bringing it all under the same umbrella— making it easier as we become the Atchafalaya National Estuary and Research Reserve,” Mancuso said.
She added that having a connected regional trail network could also strengthen future applications for state and federal grants by showing that communities are working together toward a larger goal. The effort builds on a 2004 designation from the Louisiana Legislature that recognized St. Mary Parish as the Gateway to the Atchafalaya Basin. Mancuso said the trail initiative is one way to embrace that identity while making outdoor spaces more accessible.
“It encompasses getting out to this beautiful outdoors that you see me standing in front of today, and immersing yourself in it. But we want to make it easy and connected and inclusive,” Mancuso said. While walking sections of the existing trail system, community members expressed support for the parish investing more into walkways and outdoor recreation opportunities.
Berwick recently became the first community to support the Atchafalaya Gateway Trail resolution, and Morgan City is expected to consider joining the effort. Organizers hope additional communities across St. Mary Parish will eventually become part of the network.
Mancuso said the long-term vision is to connect communities through existing and future trails, with the Long-Allen Bridge, set to reopen in the fall, serving as a key link between areas like Morgan City and Berwick.
“This is when the bridge actually is open to hiking and biking. And this is what's going to connect us, the Morgan City Trail, the Berwick Trail, the Amelia Trail, pulling it all together,” Mancuso said.
