The Louisiana Outback: Good times await visitors to Lake Charles
Home to the finest hunting and fishing in the United States and the second largest Mardi Gras in Louisiana, southwest Louisiana has more than 75 annual festivals, numerous casinos and top golf courses, wildlife refuges, and nature trails with more than 400 different species of birds. You can glide through the marshes on an airboat and take guided hunting trips, cast off from many of the marinas, soar the skies, or drive through the parish and take in the nightlife, casinos, and great restaurants. No matter how you get there, the good times will roll.
Lake Charles, which is the hub city in southwest Louisiana’s Calcasieu Parish, boasts a Mardi Gras Museum that houses the most extensive selection of Carnival costumes of any museum in the world. Visitors can learn about king cake baking, costume making, and can climb aboard the floats. From excellent spa facilities and children’s activities to great Cajun restaurants where live music is performed nightly, Lake Charles has it all.
In January, Lake Charles starts to celebrate Carnival season in style. January 6 brings the annual Twelfth Night Celebration at the Lake Charles Civic Center. The 2010 royal courts of the more than 50 krewes make their last promenade in full costumes to usher in the 2011 season. After a festive community dance the following night, krewe balls and festivities pack the calendar, such as the Mardi Gras Queen’s Pageant January 15, where the 2011 Miss Mardi Gras is selected.
February brings the Krewe of Golden Years Ball on the 28th. Celebrations continue through Carnival weekend in March, which is filled with numerous parades and events for everyone, including children. The Taste of Louisiana and the return of the Lighted Boat Parade along the lake and the Children’s Day and the Children’s Parade festivities on March 6 leads up to the Cinderella moment of the season on Lundi Gras, March 7, as the 2011 royal courts of more than 50 krewes parade to the public in full regalia during the Royal Gala. Fat Tuesday, March 8, is a day filled with parades and festivities.
If you want to experience Carnival any time of the year, stop by the Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu, which contains talking, animated mannequins that tell the story of Mardi Gras, with more than 250 costumes on display.
The rhythm of Zydeco, blues, Cajun music, and soul are sure to make you tap your feet and get on the dance floor on any given night at the various hot spots in Lake Charles, which lays claim to musicians such as the late Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, the late jazz great Nellie Lutcher, and “Queen Ida” Guillory, the first female accordion player to lead a Zydeco band. Dolly Parton, at the age of 13, recorded her first single in Lake Charles at Goldband Studios, as did many other greats including Freddy Fender, Jo-El Sonnier, and “Count Rockin Sidney” Simien.
The food is legendary in these parts, and the numerous restaurants and modest mom-and-pop storefronts turn out great dishes such as crawfish étouffée, oyster po-boys, fried catfish, and big breakfast biscuits with gravy. Boudin is the specialty of the region.
In Lake Charles, you will find delicious handmade king cakes with over 18 flavors (try the specialty, pecan praline) at Delicious Donuts and Bakery on Country Club Road, where king cake demonstrations are available (337-479-2986). Big Daddy’s Sports Grill on West Sale Road serves Cajun comfort foods, seafood, and steaks. Stick around Friday and Saturday evenings for live music (337-477-9033). Billedeaux’s Cajun Kitchen on Fruge Street offers great boudin and Cajun fare (they prepare boudin to be shipped; 337-439-9944). Stop in at the nearby Adventure Cove, which is a fun place for kids. OB’s Bar and Grill is a local hot spot on Ryan Street in Lake Charles with a bar and live music 3-4 days a week (must be 18 years or older to enter; open until 2 am weekends; 337-494-7336). Leonard’s Food Quarters (337-493-0618), and Famous Foods (337-439-7000) boast superb, meaty boudin with just the right spice.
Check out the barbecue crabs and boiled crawfish (seasonal) in Basile, about 55 miles northeast of Lake Charles, at D.I.’s Cajun Restaurant, which offers seafood, steaks, and live Cajun music. There is a dance floor and a waiting area with games for the children (337-432-5141). Sulphur, 12 miles west of Lake Charles, is home to some of Louisiana’s best amateur sporting complexes. Join the locals for some of the best boudin in the area at the Sausage Link (337-474-3731), or for a complete seafood menu try the Boiling Point (337-625-9282). In Moss Bluff, north of Lake Charles off of Louisiana 14, you can find delicious steaming boudin at Peto’s Meat Market; then take a walk out to Sam Houston Jones State Park where you can see wildlife, swampland, and lagoons (bring some bread to feed the geese).
In Lake Charles, you can start the day by touring the Charpentier Historic District and see such sites as the Old Central School built in 1912 or the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, both created by noted New Orleans architects Favrot and Livaudais. You will find Victorian mansions and Lake Charles-style architecture listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Enjoy a visit at the historic 1911 City Hall, featuring rotating visual arts and cultural exhibits, presentations, and festivals. There are more than 100 cemeteries throughout Calcasieu Parish, including the Bilbo Cemetery in downtown Lake Charles that has been maintained for over 200 years.
There are five museums in the area, including the Imperial Calcasieu Museum that has rotating exhibits as well as artifacts of historic significance to the area. Further north in DeQuincy, learn about the roots of a railroad town while viewing a 1913 steam locomotive passenger car, caboose, and other railroad artifacts on display. The DeQuincy Railroad Days festival is held here each April. Other museums in Lake Charles include the Children’s Museum with hands-on exhibits and the Brimstone Museum Complex featuring rotating exhibits.
For golfers, there are great greens in the area including Graywood (on the Audubon Golf Trail), L’Auberge du Lac Casino Resort’s Contraband Bayou Golf Course (designed by the acclaimed Tom Fazio), Frasch Park and Bayou Oaks in Sulphur, and Mallard Cove and Pine Shadows in Lake Charles.
Delta Downs Racetrack, Casino, and Hotel in Vinton offers live thoroughbred racing and off-track betting options in addition to round-the-clock gaming and concerts by top entertainers. On the shores of Lake Charles, the Isle of Capri Casino and Hotel has an outdoor pool area complete with a hot tub and water slide, plus luxurious accommodations and restaurants. L’Auberge du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles features the wonderful Spa du Lac and headline entertainers in addition to elegant dining. The beauty of it all is experiencing Las Vegas-style gambling without all the traffic jams, and doing so within a close proximity to nature. You can alternate between seeing birds and alligators on nature trails and enjoying the glitz and glamour of the casinos.
With the Creole Nature Trail running through the heart of the Mississippi flyway, birding is a top priority for nature lovers visiting the area. Migration season is the time to spot hundreds upon thousands of birds. The Lake Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau has a very detailed birding guide for enthusiasts.
The 180-mile Creole Nature Trail follows a vast topography known as Louisiana’s Outback. It has earned the distinction of becoming the first National Scenic Byway in the Gulf South. In 2008, the Creole Nature Trail celebrated its grand re-opening (in the wake of hurricane Rita) after two and a half years of repairs. The marsh and swamp explode in a galaxy of sights and sounds, alligators, turtles, and migrating birds. The southwest corner offers nationally recognized birding, fishing, photography, and the only white-sand inland beach along the entire Louisiana Gulf Coast.
Located along the southeastern side of the lake, a trip down Shell Beach Drive gives visitors a view of some of the most luxurious homes in the area. In addition to outdoor recreation and casinos, there is a thriving arts community in southwest Louisiana, and various theatre groups, the Lake Charles Symphony, and nightlife acts performing Cajun and Zydeco music throughout the area. For more information on attractions, places to stay, and the numerous fishing and professional hunting guides (the duck hunting season lasts until January 30), contact the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau at 800-456-7952 or online at visitlakecharles.org. ✦
