Southwest Louisiana
Home to Louisiana’s Creole cowboys, the prairies of Southwest Louisiana feature a spicy blend of food and Zydeco music. You can enjoy a 180-mile long adventure through “Louisiana’s Outback” along the Creole Nature Trail and experience alligators and a variety of coastal and migratory birds and 26 miles of sandy beaches on the Gulf of Mexico.
Crawfish
Crawfish and rice are not just a classic Louisiana pairing at the dinner table—they are also a perfect match on the farm. Most of the crawfish found in boils and…
Sabine Pass Lighthouse
Efforts are underway to save one of the few remaining historic lighthouses along the Louisiana coast. For the past 170 years, the brick Sabine Pass Lighthouse has stood tall above…
Creole Nature Trail
Louisiana’s Creole Nature Trail is a popular spot for watching migrating birds and spotting a variety waterfowl and wading birds. The trail runs through two wildlife refuges, the Sabine and…
Louisiana Whooping Crane
After a sixty-year absence from Louisiana, the whooping crane is making a comeback thanks to a reintroduction effort. The large white birds are nesting in the wild and raising their…
Holly Beach
Holly Beach on the coast of southwestern Louisiana is getting attention from some out-of-state travelers. They are thrilled to find a large sandy beach on the Gulf of Mexico without…
Coushatta Language
Being able to speak the Coushatta language has been important to Eli Langley since he was a child. So was attending Harvard University, which may have seemed like an impossible…
Cajun Fiddle
Once a year, musicians of all ages face off in a Cajun fiddle contest to crown the best players in southwestern Louisiana. The annual fiddling showdown is called the “Battle…
Cajun Music & Gators
This Interstate-10 rest stop offers a special South Louisiana combo, live Cajun music and live alligators. The popular Gator Chateau in Jennings, know for its small alligators for petting, has…
Sallier Oak
The Sallier Oak is an ancient giant, an old oak tree that has been battered and bruised over the centuries. But the large tree in downtown Lake Charles, Louisiana has…
Sam Houston Jones State Park
The thick forest of longleaf pine trees at Sam Houston Jones State Park was no match for the powerful winds of Hurricane Laura, which pounded southwestern Louisiana in the Fall…
Zydeco in Allen Parish
Zydeco music and the Coushatta people have deep roots in Allen Parish in southwestern Louisiana. And both take center stage at a new cultural center in the town of Kinder.…
Frogs Everywhere
It seems that everywhere you look in the Cajun city of Rayne, you see frogs. They’re on the sidewalks, in front of stores, the police station and fire house, and…
Store Frozen in Time for 40 Years
They were the Super Walmarts of their day, the country general merchandise store where you could buy almost everything you needed, from tools to food, to pots, pans, toys and…
Gator Chateau
It may be one of the more unusual interstate highway rest stops. But if you are traveling Interstate 10 through southwest Louisiana you can take a break at Jennings and…