★★★
Budget
Holiday Inn NEW ORLEANS-DOWNTOWN SUPERDOME by IHG
From $84 / night
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Things to Do in Houma in September
September weather, activities, events & insider tips
Low Season · Budget Friendly
September Weather in Houma
Temperature, rainfall and humidity at a glance
86°F (30°C)
High Temp
73°F (23°C)
Low Temp
0.2 inches (5 mm)
Rainfall
70%
Humidity
⚠ Fear lightning on open water? Airboats and bayou boats race dockside at first thunder. Tours end early. Skies flare. Captains bolt. Book mornings. Avoid drama.
Is September Right for You?
Weigh the advantages and considerations before booking
Advantages
- + September sits in the sweet spot between brutal summer and packed festival months - hotel rates drop 25-30% from July peaks while the weather stays warm enough for swamp tours without the June misery
- + Crabbing season peaks in September - you'll see locals dropping chicken-neck lines off the Twin Span Bridge at dawn, and restaurants run blue crab specials that don't appear any other month
- + Mosquito pressure drops noticeably after Labor Day - the parish sprays aggressively in late August, so September evenings on Bayou Terrebonne are pleasant without constant repellent
- + High school football kicks off Friday nights - the stadium lights at Vandebilt Catholic create that small-town Friday Night Lights atmosphere visitors rarely experience, complete with marching bands versions of zydeco classics
Considerations
- − Afternoon thunderstorms roll in fast and loud - they're brief, usually 20-30 minutes, but they'll flood the streets like someone turned on a tap, so plan indoor backup between 2pm-5pm
- − Alligator hunting season opens the first Wednesday in September - airboats gun across the marshes before sunrise, which means some swamp tour operators cancel trips last-minute if their guides are out hunting
- − Humidity still hangs at 70% - your shirt will stick to the car seat, and anything leather will grow mold if you leave it in a guest room overnight
Best Activities in September
Top things to do during your visit
Swamp Airboat Tours
September mornings deliver mirror-calm bayous before the storms build. The water is still warm enough that gators sun on logs until 10am, and roseate spoonbills haven't migrated yet so you'll see pink flashes against cypress needles. Operators run smaller groups after Labor Day, so you get longer stops at places like Lake De Cade where the cypress knees look like broken church steeples.
Booking Tip: Book the first slot after sunrise - 7am tours beat both the heat and the afternoon storms. Licensed captains display a Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries decal on the windshield. If you don't see it, walk away.
Downtown Cajun Dance Halls
Thursday nights at the Jolly Inn feel like someone's oversized family reunion. The band starts with a two-step at 8pm sharp, grandmothers in sequined sneakers teach visitors the basic step, and by 9:30 the floor is packed with couples dancing so close their beers almost touch. September crowds are mostly locals - no tour buses - so you'll get pulled into conversations about whose grandfather trapped the biggest gator in 1972.
Booking Tip: Cover is cash-only at the door, no advance tickets needed. Arrive by 7:30 to snag a table and order a plate of boudin balls before the kitchen sells out.
Crabbing & Shrimping Charter
September is when the white shrimp run hits its stride - captains leave from Cocodrie before dawn and return by noon with coolers of 40-count shrimp that still jump. You'll haul a trawl net, sort shrimp from by-catch, and learn why locals call the small ones 'sea bugs' with affection. Blue crabs are heavy in the traps too. The captain steams a dozen on the boat dock while you hose off the marsh mud.
Booking Tip: Trips fill fast once word gets out the shrimp are running - call 10 days ahead and ask specifically for a 'double-rig' boat (two nets) to maximize catch.
Plantation House & Sugarcane Museum
September is grinding season - the smell of boiled cane drifts across Highway 24 like burnt caramel. At Southdown Plantation, guides walk you through the 1828 sugar mill, still operational for demonstrations, and let you taste raw cane juice that tastes like grassy molasses. The on-site museum explains why Houma's sugar is sand-colored, not white, and how that shaped local desserts like syrup cake.
Booking Tip: Tours run hourly but the 10am slot includes a fresh praline sample while it's still soft enough to burn your tongue - worth timing for.
Bayou Black Kayak Trails
Paddle the natural levee bayous before noon and you'll drift under live oaks so old their branches meet overhead like a tunnel. September water levels are still high from summer rain, so you can squeeze into side channels that dry out by October and spot juvenile gators sunning on cypress knees. The current is lazy - more like floating than paddling - and the only sound is the slap of redfish tails in the shallows.
Booking Tip: Rentals include sit-on-tops with scupper holes so rainwater drains; still, bring a dry bag for phones because afternoon storms appear fast. Launch from the public dock at 6am to beat both heat and airboats.
Where to Stay in Houma in September
Hand-picked hotels across price tiers for September travellers.
★★★
Budget
Hampton Inn & Suites New Orleans Canal St. French Quarter
From $109 / night
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September Events & Festivals
What's happening during your visit
Early September (Labor Day weekend)
Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival
Held in nearby Morgan City (40 minutes west), this is the oldest state festival - started 1937 - celebrating the two industries that built the region. Friday night boat parade lights up the Atchafalaya River, Saturday races include shrimp-peeling contests judged by speed and least meat wasted, and the smell of cayenne-sp boiled shrimp drifts for blocks. Locals drive over from Houma for Sunday mass at St. Mary's followed by beer booths on the levee.
Late September (third weekend)
Cajun Food & Music Festival
Terrebonne Parish Fairgrounds hosts this two-day event where every booth is run by a church or civic group fundraising for the year. You'll eat rabbit sauce piquante ladled by someone's auntie, dance to washboard-driven zydeco, and hear French spoken unironically by teenagers. The highlight is Saturday afternoon's boudin cook-off - tasters walk table to table with plastic spoons, voting for 'best link' by dropping beans in mason jars.
Packing Checklist
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Climate-specific gear, brand recommendations, and what to leave at home.
View Houma Packing List →Essential Tips
Insider knowledge and common pitfalls to avoid
Insider Knowledge
Hear thunder at lunch? Duck into the Bayou Terrebonne Waterlife Museum. It's free. It's cool. The 40-minute film on 1985's Hurricane Juan explains every raised house on stilts you'll see later. Context beats humidity.
Order your po-boy 'dressed.' That means lettuce, tomato, mayo, pickles. Say 'everything' and you get mayo only. Locals will correct you. Loudly. Speak right. Eat happy.
The best boudin hides in a cooler at the back of Bour Market on Park Avenue. No sign. Ask the counter. They grind and stuff Tuesday and Friday mornings. Arrive after 10am. Gone.
Friday after 3pm the drawbridge on LA-24 lifts for tugboats pushing chemical barges. Traffic stalls for 20 minutes. Heading to Cocodrie or Grand Isle? Wait or detour. Plan now.
Avoid These Mistakes
Don't call Houma 'New Orleans lite.' The food burns hotter. French rolls off tongues. Ask for a Hurricane cocktail and you'll earn side-eye. Respect the difference.
Skip swamp tours booked after 2pm in September. Storms stack over the marsh. Operators scrub more afternoons than they sail. Morning runs stay safer.
Never wear flip-flops on boat docks. Fish slime slicks every plank. One slide drops you into brackish water. Gators wait. Wear grip. Stay dry.
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Top-rated things to do in Houma this September
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