As of my writing this, there are 53 reviews of the Gator Chateau and 50 of them are 5 stars. To the three people that gave a 4 star review, here is a quick reminder: When something is free, and amazing, and fun, and unique, and educational, and every person you encounter is incredibly friendly and helpful, we give it 5 stars!!! We drove well out of our way to stop here and even got a hotel for the night because we arrived later than expected. It was 100% worth it! There are other locations in Louisiana where you can hold an alligator, but here it is absolutely free. Every person we came in contact with was warm and friendly. They told us all about the gators, from their ages, to what they feed them and how they live at the Chateau. We learned that they paint their nails and even have a chart so you can tell how old the hatchlings and so much more. The highlight for me was obviously holding the baby gator but for my husband it was seeing the giant snapping turtle they have living there. He must have watched it for 20 minutes. It was like seeing a dinosaur. They have tons of great information about things to see and do in the area and the cutest gift shop area with gator plushies and water bottles that say things like "See you later, alligator!". Everything here was just so cute and fun. I was smiling the whole time. They also had clean restrooms and plenty of parking. Make sure to fill out the visitor log when you stop by, because that is how amazing places like these are funded, and don't forget to give them the amazing 5 star review they deserve! read more

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worth a visit!!! the place itself is cute and welcoming. lots brochure for people from out of town like myself. after holding the alligators, buy a couple gifts. it was not overly expensive which is a plus. there is also a park that is great to walk around and enjoy the scenery. read more

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It was so fun!!! Employees were super friendly. And most importantly, the gators were ADORABLE!!!

We came from vacation to this spot and the service was very kind I got to hold alligators and there bellies were soft and the shop was great it had great stuff for low prices there's a snapping turtle and overall an amazing place to stop read more

Gator Chateau - An alligator tooth necklace - Amusement Parks Near Me - Jennings, Louisiana

For a quick little side trip on a much longer multistate trip was a lot of fun. The staff was very friendly, very knowledgeable and they made it a lot of fun It only took 10 or 15 minutes but stay for 30 and watch the alligators you get the pet one of the babies Very, very cool read more

Gator Chateau - Ya get to pet a baby! - Amusement Parks Near Me - Jennings, Louisiana

Pretty neat! Got to handle little alligators. Even my mother-in-law got involved. We were astonished! She usually doesn't touch anything like that! An inexpensive and unique thing to do. The place functions as sort of a conservatory, so it's educational also. Besides that, there is a large lake nearby swarming with birds to feed. Bring some lettuce for them! read more

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Awesome stop! Got to hold a baby alligator and see a two year old gator and a massive snapping turtle. Friendly staff and great gift shop. Beware of ducks outside messing everywhere, otherwise fun to feed. read more

Gator Chateau - Snapping turtle and gator - Amusement Parks Near Me - Jennings, Louisiana

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So my wife saw the sign on the side of the freeway while we were road tripping and we stopped by. To my surprise, it's free to enter and to touch/handle a baby alligator. They have an enclosure with some gators in the 3-5 ft range as well as a 160 lb snapping turtle. They also have a public restroom, which is a plus in addition to a small gift shop. Definitely stop by for a break and especially if you have kids. read more

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What can I say? From the moment my husband and I walked in, we were greeted with smiles and welcomes. This is a cute, smaller place, but so worth the stop. The little swamp puppies (gators) are the cutest. Staff was very helpful and informative! We visited about a month ago and will likely return. The park and ducks are pretty awesome too! This is so perfect for the kids and for adults too! 10/10 read more

We drove from Texas to visit this place. The staff was awesome, knowledgeable, and very patient. Definitely swing by if you're passing thru! read more

Gator Chateau - Amusement Parks Near Me - Jennings, Louisiana

For my birthday I really wanted to hold an alligator. I found Gator Chateau and they made my dream come true! We stopped off on the way to Nola. This place is a conservation and used to educate people about alligators. They have baby alligator and a pond for juvenile. They let visitors hold one of the babies. It was a nice space with a lot of information. The operate on donations so open up your wallets! read more

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Great little detour to stop, stretch legs and hold a little gator and feed some ducks at the pond. The gators were free to visit and hold, duck food was $1 a bag, restrooms were nice and clean. read more

We stopped by on a road trip and had an excellent experience! Our guide, Seth, was so knowledgeable and shared many interesting alligator facts with us. We were able to hold one of the baby alligators named Boudreaux, which was very cool! read more

Never In a million years did I think I'd hold an alligator but here we are. I had so much fun! The employees were kind and we also got some cute little items from the gift shop. Would recommend if you're traveling through Louisiana! read more

This is a fun place to stop to get out of the car and stretch your legs. The kids can come and learn about gators and hold one. Great opportunity for a city girl like me to learn about gators also. No pictures of me holding the baby gator, why you ask? Because I'm a big chicken. Be sure to wash your hands after holding th gator. They have clean restrooms here also. BTY, if your a Pokemon Go player, there are several Poke Gyms and Poke Stops at this location. read more

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I got to hold a live small alligator! And he had his mouth open like he was going to gum me .

Austin at Gator Chateau is so great. We stopped in for a minute to visit the baby gators on a long drive from New Orleans to Houston, and he was very generous and knowledgeable. Do stop in if you are driving through. read more

This place was suggested by another place I went to and I am glad I came. The place is all decorated for Mardi Gras and even had musicians playing when I visited on a Saturday, evidently that is a regular occurrence on weekends. You could hold a gator if you wanted. They had all sorts of things to purchase as souvenirs and brochures on things to do in the area. Nice little place in a park built up by one of the oil companies. read more

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How is this place free?! Thank you for the experience, lesson about alligators, clean restrooms and courteous staff. We will never forget this memory! read more

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The new facility is really clean and nice! We were surprised at how large the gators are that you hold. We were expecting babies but they were pretty big in size. Still a cool experience! read more

This is my second time visiting this place and it was amazing. The staff was very friendly and super informative. Our tour guide was very lively and answered all questions. It is a very quiet and more of a one on one situation which is very nice. I was able to hold a baby gator and wasn't pressured to pay anything. It is a fun stop for the whole family and their gift shop is full of unique items. It is a must need stop and is worth the time. Cant wait for my next visit. read more

Gator Chateau - Gators there - Amusement Parks Near Me - Jennings, Louisiana

So I saw the sign on my road trip from NOLA back to Los Angeles. I wasn't sure so I checked Yelp. The reviews were amazing so I added a stop to my gps. This place is amazing. It is free to enter and touch baby alligator. The employees were so lovely. They had answers to all my questions. I love when they can educate the public. Holding the gator was so weird- in a good way! I highly recommend this place. It is big and clean and you can tell the animals are well taken care of. Their swim area was super clean. I can't forget to mention alligator snapping turtle. Great place!! Sorry no pics but this was place is legit! read more

We got to hold a baby alligator for free every where else charges, you arm and a leg !!! it's not a big place. It's kind of small, but it's definitely worth going even thing for adults to enjoy read more

Gator Chateau - We got to hold a baby alligator free! - Amusement Parks Near Me - Jennings, Louisiana

This is our third time returning to the Gator Chateau. We are from CA and visit every time we are in Louisiana. Seeing alligators up close and getting to hold the babies is such an amazing experience. The giant snapping turtle is really cool too. The staff is welcoming, informative, great with kids, and makes you feel right at home. They answered all 1 million questions we had with a smile. We will be back! read more

Gator Chateau - Holding the baby - Amusement Parks Near Me - Jennings, Louisiana

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Best and quickest FREE roadside stop! Hold baby gators! Too darn cute! Bring a lunch and sit pondside! Great plays scape for kids! read more

Gator Chateau - 1 year old little girl gator - Amusement Parks Near Me - Jennings, Louisiana

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Excellent pit stop in route from Austin, Texas to Gulf Shores Alabama, especially if you need to walk a couple of dogs. Clean bathrooms, little lake with lots of locals and tourists taking advantage of the open area. Plenty of parking and easy on and off the highway, gas stations nearby so you can get on and off the highway easy. My husband even commented on how nice of a park it was. We walked down the trails and then fed our dogs and gave them water while in the parking lot. Lots of shaded area to park. Very safe and secure! read more

*** It is FREE to come in and experience this place and hold a baby alligator!! They are open Monday through Saturday, 9AM to 5PM, so plan accordingly. Our daughter wanted so badly to hold a baby alligator. We went to another place, but you could only view them. We certainly lucked out when we found this place! To find it, you have to drive through part of the Louisiana Oil & Gas Park. If you input it into your smartphone, you should find it with no problems. It is right off the I-10. It is a nice little space with the most friendly and informative lady working when we came in! The Gator Chateau is run by volunteers. They will not accept monetary donations, so in order to donate, we bought some stuffed alligators and keychains. We didn't really want/need them, but we did want to help this facility out! They have other items for sale also. Gator Chateau is a great teaching/learning center! They have a guideline chart as to what sized gator you can safely hold depending on your age (for children). You are encouraged to hold a baby alligator, if you want. The lady that was talking with us brought out a hatchling and a medium baby. The hatchling just recently hatched and was not for us to hold, she talked about it and put it back. The medium baby was so cute, if that's a description you'd use on a reptile! It was very passive and easy to manage. We were told facts about baby alligators through adulthood. The baby information is cool! We learned a lot about these guys. The kind lady told us that these gators have been rescued. The babies are orphaned and they do have mature gators as well. They foster them until they are able to be released back into their natural habitat. We were fortunate that the bigger alligators were outside, were sunning themselves because they are in hibernation, technically. They had been shielded due to the very cold weather spell that just had rolled through there. It was nice and sunny the one day we went. It was supposed to get cold again that night and they were going to have to shield their area again. When in hibernation, even when they're awake, they are unable to eat and seldom move. They had about 6 gators out there. ( www.yelp.com/biz_photos/gator-chateau-jennings#_aHzvU1A0hABXMlyZIcXcQ ) There are feeding times for you to watch between June & Sept., on Fridays at 3:30PM. That would be pretty interesting, but we were here in March. For my picture taking purposes, the volunteer let me go up close to the opened exhibit where the babies were kept. That was really cool of her! There is the JEFF DAVIS TOURIST INFORMATION CENTER right next door, if you need to find anything else to do. There are little "signs" between the Gator Chateau & the information center. ( www.yelp.com/biz_photos/gator-chateau-jennings#HxJICnLemyYZ2BugPEz09A & www.yelp.com/biz_photos/gator-chateau-jennings#2G20Qcc4WSsI_49CPv8dLg ) I totally recommend coming to take a peek at some alligators & even holding one! The babies are not scary at all! read more

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Very friendly for kids and family fun adventures.. it's one of our favorite places to go to go the kids love playing at the park then going to see the alligators. We have done this since we were kids. ,One of the best friendly places you can go with kids and even adults so much ducks and so much to see. read more

Highly recommend for anyone who has a love for gators, never held a gator, or for kids! While driving to Florida, we saw billboards advertising this place and while I've held gators before, I've never held one for free! We parked our car and right now, Gator Chateau is in the middle of construction for expansion. Currently, the gators are inside a little building and there's someone with them. The guy working the desk was super knowledgeable about alligators and told us about some of the history. All fascinating stuff. If you come, don't forget to leave a donation! read more

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This place is so nice and the staff is so friendly and knowledgeable! Its so wonderful how they take care of these gators then release them when they are old enough to survive on there own. Thank you guys for a wonderful experience highly recommend everyone stops in for a visit! read more

Gator Chateau - Gator. - Amusement Parks Near Me - Jennings, Louisiana

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DUDE!!! This place is epic! holding a gator has been a dream of mine for like years and this place was very cool. They were super nice. I learned a lot and the gators were very friendly. It was 100% free and a great spot. Honestly would come back again, if you're passing by this is definitely a stop you should make! read more

Gator Chateau - Amusement Parks Near Me - Jennings, Louisiana

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So glad we saw their billboard and stopped... no admission fee, just walk in and hold a baby alligator. It's freakin' heaven. The gators are too cute and I nearly exploded with happiness! Visit, learn, love, and bring a picnic while you're at it! They're next to a pretty park area. I wish I could come here every day. read more

I've been to LA many times and never knew about this place. Came here on a work trip with the family and decided to stop by. Glad we did! Kaleb educated us in Aligators and was super nice and patient with our boys. We all got to hold a baby alligator and see several of them interacting with each other. Highly recommend it! read more

Gator Chateau - Baby gator - Amusement Parks Near Me - Jennings, Louisiana

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My entire family thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Gator Chateau. We even were able to hold and pet some baby gators. A sanctuary that is doing a lot of good for Gators. Everyone that works there is so friendly. Gotta love that Southern Hospitality. Don't forget to leave a donation. read more

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We stumbled onto this charming little gator chatue that sits right off the highway. The chatue offers an sprawling park with areas to picnic or just rest outside from a road trip. The baby gators are adorable and the staff if very friendly. The entire area is super clean and there are pleanty of places to take pictures. If I'm ever in the area again I will definitely stop again. I reccomend this cute Gator Chatue to all. read more

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You can hold a gator for free?? Amazing!!!! He was 2 years old I was freaked out to hold him but he was so cute!! And thank you to the friendly handler for telling us all about the exhibits. We def made a donation. read more

Gator Chateau - Amusement Parks Near Me - Jennings, Louisiana

We stopped by here and it was amazing ! Friendly staff and cute little animals ! We're from Texas and we will definitely come back ! Also the ducks are so cute I recommend buying a bag :) read more

Gator Chateau - Ducks - Amusement Parks Near Me - Jennings, Louisiana

Great roadside stop!! This is a little tourist information station and gator rescue. They do not charge but donations are graciously accepted. Come on in and hold a gator. read more

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This place is worth stopping by! Although they are along a stretch of road that doesn't appear to have much around, it was a rather educational and unique experience. First off, it is free to hold and take pictures with the baby gator! Apparently they are fed soy products at the early age to prevent them from being aggressive. We really learned alot from this place and the employees are friendly and knowledgable. It's not a trip to LA without getting a picture with a gator. The information center next door didn't really have any souvenirs but they had alot of brochures of LA attractions. If you like free stuff and friendly locals this is a pit stop must! read more

Gator Chateau - Cute baby gator! - Amusement Parks Near Me - Jennings, Louisiana

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This place takes donations and is free to hold the baby alligator. It was a very cool experience! read more

Gator Chateau - Amusement Parks Near Me - Jennings, Louisiana

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