The Gem Hunt
America decides what makes the map.
Every state has a spot the algorithms miss — the one locals send strangers to. Name it. Vote on the finalists. The winners get built into Roamward, the scenic road-trip app that proves you actually went. No download required to play.
Nominate
What does Louisiana do better than anywhere?
One hidden gem — a place a chatbot would never know. The most-named spots become finalists, and the crowd votes the winner into Roamward.
Vote
Louisiana gems, most-loved first
- 1Abita Mystery HouseA gloriously weird folk-art museum packed with 50,000-plus found objects, homemade inventions, and oddball Southern dioramas, an easy 40-minute hop north of New Orleans in Abita Springs.
- 2Rayne Frog MuralsThis Acadiana town leaned all the way into being the self-proclaimed Frog Capital of the World, painting vivid frog murals across its downtown brick walls between Lafayette and Lake Charles.
- 3Madonna ChapelBilled as the world's smallest church, this 9-by-9-foot chapel sits along the River Road in tiny Bayou Goula — the key waits in a box by the door, so anyone can let themselves in to peek inside.
- 4Atchafalaya Basin Swamp TourOut of Henderson you can board an airboat into the country's largest river swamp, gliding past moss-draped cypress and resident gators in the heart of Cajun Country.
- 5Poverty PointIn Louisiana's far-northeast corner near Epps stand 3,700-year-old earthen mounds so significant they earned UNESCO World Heritage status, with a small museum and tram tours.
- 6Bonnie and Clyde Ambush MuseumIn tiny Gibsland, the former cafe where the outlaws bought their last sandwiches now displays a "death car" replica, rare photos, and artifacts from their 1934 ambush nearby — a gripping true-crime stop.
- 7The Singing OakIn New Orleans's City Park, artist Jim Hart hung enormous wind chimes throughout a sprawling live oak, so the branches play eerie, beautiful music on the breeze — a free, peaceful moment of magic.
- 8New Orleans Historic Voodoo MuseumIn a cramped, atmospheric French Quarter space once tied to priestess Marie Laveau, this museum unpacks the real history and ritual of Louisiana voodoo — a deeply local detour.
- 9Touchstone Wildlife and Art MuseumNear Haughton, a family's decades-long collection mounts more than a thousand animals against painted habitat backdrops — a surprising, sprawling roadside museum in northwest Louisiana.
- 10Gator Country Adventure ParkLouisiana's largest alligator park is home to hundreds of gators, with feeding shows and the chance to hold a baby alligator under the staff's watch — a hands-on, only-in-the-bayou-state stop.
Not your state’s turn yet?
Want Roamward to map Louisiana next?
Add your vote — the loudest state gets mapped first.
How it works
Nominate
Drop the most underrated spot in your state — the gem an itinerary generator would never surface.
The crowd ranks it
Name a place someone already nominated and it rises. The most-loved gems become the state’s finalists.
Vote the winner in
Finalists go to a public vote. Winners get built into Roamward — credited to the people who found them.
Go verify it
Drive it, GPS-verify the stop, earn the badge, and share the map that proves you were first.
Don’t miss the winners
Be the first to find what the crowd picks.
Join early access and we’ll tell you when your state’s gem wins — and when Roamward opens for iOS testing.
Get early access