Creole Nature Trail
The Creole Nature Trail All-American Road, one of only 43 scenic byways with the All-American Road designation and the only one in the Gulf South, was created in 1979 to stimulate economic development and tourism in the parishes traversed by the trail and to preserve natural, cultural, scenic, recreational, historical and archaeological qualities of the trail, its people and ecology. The trail is 180 miles of Bayous, Marshlands and Beaches along the Gulf of Mexico.
The Creole Nature Trail All-American Road has unveiled two new interpretive kiosks in Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes. The western gateway kiosk, introducing the incredible diversity of the Creole Nature Trail to visitors, was unveiled at the Sulphur location of Stine. In full community support, the Stine family graciously allowed the Creole Nature Trail to place this kiosk in front of their Sulphur stor location which is directly on the trail. A second kiosk was unveiled at Brown's Food Centre in Hackberry highlighting the seafood industry of the Louisiana area. Highly involved in the community and a stop utilised by visitors and locals alike, the location for the Brown's kiosk was generously provided by owners Jimmy and Janie Brown. Jimmy Brown also serves on the Creole Nature Trail District Board of Commissioners.
The Creole Nature Trail interpretive kiosks were designed to both guide and inform travellers by providing interesting facts and tidbits about the Louisiana area in which they are located as well as about the trial in general.
In total, six Creole Nature Trail interpretive kiosks will be installed in areas where visitors can safely pull off to view them and take pictures. In addition to Stine and Brown's, owners Mike and Paula Chesson of Chesson's Grocery (just north of Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge) also kindly allowed a Creole Nature Trail kiosk to be placed at their business. Other kiosk locations are on the byways layby just south of the Wetland Walkway on Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, on the west side of the Cameron Ferry landing on property owned by the Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development and at the Lake Charles / Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau.
For more information on the Creole Nature Trail, and to help plan your adventure, visit creolenaturetrail.org and experience one of America's untamed natural wonders, or click here to download the pdf.
Creole Nature Trail App now available!
Calcasieu and Cameron parishes' Creole Nature Trail All-American Road now has a GPS Ranger handheld video tour and smartphone application. The free app is available for download at the iTunes App Store or Google Play for Android. The Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau headquarters in Lake Charles also lends out GPS units at no cost. The tour is available in English, French, Spanish and German. An English closed-captioned version is also available.
Creole Nature Trail All-American Road Wins Stop on American Detours
The Creole Nature Trail All-American Road will be featured on American Detours, a national video series that features classic American collector cars on classic American routes, stopping at local landmarks along the way.
The Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau encouraged residents, businesses, visitors and fans of the Creole Nature Trail to vote continuously throughout the past week through social media endeavors.
The CNT competed against scenic routes from all over the country including Mount Charleston to the Las Vegas Strip; Witchita Mountains, Oklahoma; Housatonic River Run, Connecticut; Booneville from Orem, Utah and Neah Bay, Washington.
American Detours has stated they will showcase historic spots and popular eateries along the scenic route to share icons of American history with the viewership. For more information visit the Creole Nature Trail website.
