Rapides Parish (French: Paroisse des Rapides) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 131,613. The parish seat is Alexandria. Rapides is the French spelling of "rapids" and is pronounced ra-PEEDS (I.P.A. [ɹæ.pid͜z]).
The parish was created in 1807 after the United States bought this territory in the Louisiana Purchase.