See marshes, waving prairies, Gulf shoreline, alligators, egrets, Roseate Spoonbills, exceptional shelling, and vintage Victorian architecture.
This 105-mile, 2-1/2 hour route winds through wildlife refuges, prairies, marshes, and Gulf shoreline in southwestern Louisiana and is a favorite of birding and shelling enthusiasts. The leisurely drive is best accomplished fall through spring, and insect repellant is extremely recommended. The drive takes off from Sulphur, just west of Lake Charles on I-10. Its name is taken from the huge mineral deposits found in a nearby salt dome. Going south on Route 27, it goes across the Intercoastal Waterway and passes Calcasieu Lake. Beyond the bridge, the landscape changes dramatically to a brackish tidal marsh, followed by oil fields and a shipping channel. It then continues on through Hackberry where many shrimp boats crisscrosses Calcasieu Lake.
Before long, you’ll enter the 125,000-acre Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, the Gulf Coast’s largest waterfowl refuge with over 250 different species. Four miles beyond, you just might see Roseate Spoonbills, alligators, egrets, and other seasonal fowl on the 1-1/2 mile Marsh Trail. The gulf town of Holly Beach is up next, providing exceptional shelling from October through February. Heading left onto Route 27/82 you’ll turn east. Get a free ferry ride across the shipping channel to Cameron. Views of coastal vegetation mark the trip into Creole, where you’ll turn north on Route 27.
Again, crossing the Intercoastal Waterway, the drive enters the Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge, with its farmlands and grasslands that attract doves, ducks, and rare black rails. Next, turn west onto Route 384 heading through the rice farms, turn north onto Route 385 and continue to the drive’s end in the port of Lake Charles, where the town’s historic Charpentier District displays about twenty blocks of vintage Victorian architecture.
Starting Point:
Sulphur, LA
Distance of Drive:
105 miles
Must Eat:
Pujo Street Cafe
508 Pujo Street, Lake Charles, LA 70601
Phone: 337-439-2054
Call ahead to confirm hours of operation.
Good Stop For: Seafood / Steaks
Best Time of Year for Drive:
Fall to spring
Points of Interest on Drive:
Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge
Sabine National Wildlife Refuge
Tagged with: best time:summer and fall • Louisiana • summer destinations
Filed under: Best Road Trips