Creole Nature Trail Overview

Published on Oct 6, 2003

Whether you join in an authentic Louisiana festival or capture alligators with your camera, when you travel the Creole Nature Trail, you will get an up-close and personal view of Louisiana's unique environment. The trail travels through thousands of acres of untouched wetlands, which reflect an area blessed with some of the most beautiful scenery imaginable. During the summer, between the country homesteads, you'll see pine trees, cattle, and fields of rice and soybeans. In the spring, the water lilies and blossoming water hyacinth growing in the marsh are a photographer's paradise.

If you like to photograph or hunt wildlife, the trail takes you to three different wildlife refuges and a bird sanctuary. See alligators, birds, wildflowers, and all kinds of southwest Louisiana wildlife in this area. If you aren't a duck hunter, you may like to try your hand at a little Louisiana fishing. The combination of fresh and saltwater areas provides a unique habitat for many of the plants and creatures that live along the byway.

For surf fishing, crabbing, and shrimping, the Louisiana coastline can be a lot of fun. In Calcasieu and Cameron parishes, you have access to boat launches, campgrounds, hunting services, recreational facilities, swimming areas, bird-watching, and cabins. At Lake Charles, you can swim or sunbathe on the beach, launch a boat at a nearby facility, or try your luck with Las Vegas-style gaming and horse racing.

Traveling the edge of the Gulf of Mexico, you will be enchanted by the entwining ecosystems of the coastland and the marshland. So drive the trail through Louisiana's very own outback and discover the culture, nature, and history awaiting you there.

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