Flock to the Cajun Coast for Eagle Expo or Lovebirds Getaway
Our annual Eagle Expo includes boat tours into various waterways to view eagles; a raptor show; presentations on the American bald eagle, wildlife, flora, fauna and the culture of the area by wildlife professionals and photographers; and much more. Admission and registration required. See info & register now! Eagle Expo – Feb. 17-19With the Eagle Expo so close to Valentine’s Day, Eagle Expo might also prove the perfect getaway for your lovebird, especially if they fancy birdwatching! Regardless of how serious of a birder you are, spotting these majestic birds out in the waterways of the Cajun Coast is definitely a sight not to be missed! Or if you just want to have a romantic weekend away, there are plenty of luxurious bed & breakfasts, as well as exquisite dining options to pamper your loved one! Find the perfect getaway! Mardi Gras parades also begin Feb. 25, so you can plan for a Mardi Gras getaway instead!
Eagle Expo Highlights
Boat Tours & Field Trips
Boat tours to view American Bald Eagles:
- Fri & Sat-The Atchafalaya Basin with Captain John Burke (Captain Caviar)
- Fri & Sat-Bayou Long with Captain Ivy St. Romain
- Sat-Captain Billy Gaston
Two new field trips have been added for a change to spot eagles and other wildlife:
- Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge
- Green Foundation Property off Cotten Road
Featured Events
- Wings to Soar – Thursday evening features a FREE Wings to Soar Presentation on Thursday at 6pm at the Patterson Civic Center.
- Friday evening will be a social at Lake End Park & Campground.
Why Eagles (and other birds of a feather) Flock to the Cajun Coast
As a part of the Atchafalaya Basin area, the largest overflow swamp in the United States, the marshlands located along the coast serve as the perfect havens for many of the states more unusual species of waterfowl, raptors and songbirds. This paradise is filled with some of nature’s most often sought-after birds. The area also features a designated bird sanctuary and ample opportunities for additional eagle sightings with nearly 300 active nests in the area.
Many locations for birdwatching are also noted along the St. Mary Loop of the America’s Wetlands Birding Trail. Cajun Coast paddling trails also offer many options to observe birds and wildlife up-close.
So, come for Eagle Expo or come any time to see birds, alligators, and other wildlife on the Cajun Coast!
New Year, New Normal
If your resolutions include travel in the new normal, make it a good trip! Come on down to the Cajun Coast, and we’ll help you check off your list of new year, new you adventures! Paddle the Atchafalaya Basin, dance to Cajun Music, and dine on food you can’t pronounce! We’ve got you covered!
We can help you add more adventures to your new year! From outdoor adventure, ecotravel, to dancing to Cajun Music, Check out our menu of activities and get your list started.
That great outdoors thing, we mean it on the Cajun Coast The Atchafalaya Basin Swamp is the largest overflow swamp in the U.S., containing almost one million acres of the nation’s most significant bottomland hardwoods, swamps and bayous. The Atchafalaya Water Heritage Trail features 9 sites within the Cajun Coast including areas only available by boat, rich historic landmarks, and the beauty National Geographic Traveler noted as “hauntingly beautiful land.”
In addition to The Atchafalaya Water Heritage Trail, you can drive along the Bayou Teche Scenic Byway, meandering along this beautiful bayou waterway, taking in more than 100 historic properties along the way as well. You can bike along this byway as well, or Hwy. 182, known as the Old Spanish Trail.
You can take a trail along the 170,000 acres of designated wildlife management areas, spotting an abundance of bird and animal life!
Local swamp tour operators, like Captain Caviar, provide entertaining and educational tours of the beauty and mystery of the Atchafalaya waters. Depending on the time of year, a variety of wildlife and plant life, and yes, alligators, will be spotted.
You may also want to plan your adventure during our Annual Eagle Expo, February 18-20. Find out more about the chance to go on tours into our waterways to spot these majestic creatures.
Add a little learning to your resolutions – Find out more about the many cultures who settled this area, including the Chitimacha, the first settlers of the region. Their basket-weaving skills are legendary, and you can see their work on display at the Chitimacha Museum in Charenton.
Also, in Charenton, is the Cypress Bayou Casino-Hotel, Louisiana’s first land-based casino. In addition to slots and table games, you’ll also find amazing dining. Nearby, Amelia Belle Casino also provides exciting gaming action!
Great dining is all around the Cajun Coast! You’ll want to especially try the dishes you have trouble pronouncing, like étouffée, jambalaya, fricassée, and sauce piquant. Check out the list of dining options, and find Cajun, Creole, Southern and other tasty fare, with seafood that most likely was swimming off the Cajun Coast before breakfast! Get the list and plan your dining adventure at CajunCoast.com/Eat. Make sure to pick up a local cookbook to try your hand at home. We will get you started with Cajun Shrimp Pastalaya and Red Beans & Rice.
We also have a new option to try your hand at candle making. Schedule a Candle Pouring Soiree at FIFOLET Candle Makers in the Franklin Historic District. FIFOLETcandles.com. Our historic districts and main street shops are also great places to shop, just in case treating yourself (or buying what you really wanted for Christmas) is on your list! The new Franklin Pocket Park is also a charming spot to catch your breath while shopping and dining!
Plan to stay awhile with plenty of lodging options, from Cypremort Point State Park to beautiful bed & breakfast, to brand names you know and love. Or, if you’d like for us to do the planning, check out our itineraries.
So, come find a new adventure in the near year, despite the new normal on the Cajun Coast!
Papa Noel Drives a Shrimp Boat!
Papa Noël Drives a Shrimp Boat! It was already a spot for selfies on the Cajun Coast – the Spirit of Morgan City Shrimp Boat on Brashear Avenue – but a few years ago it received quite an upgrade when Santa decided to take it for a spin! Morgan City’s own Lee Romaire, a successful Los Angeles sculpture artist, surprised his hometown by turning the landmark into a Cajun Christmas display for the lighting ceremony in 2018. Since then, it has received a few more additions, with swamp creatures along with a bit of elfin magic joining the story. “Mother Christmas” a Cypress tree was added last year, which according to Romaire is symbolic of the lumber industry once prevalent on the Cajun Coast. More presents have also been added to Santa’s bag of tricks.
Unveiled on Thanksgiving night at the annual lighting of the shrimp boat (along with visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus), this year’s interactive light display will be sure to draw in new crowds, along with those who come each year, to see the Christmas magic on the Cajun Coast.
Be sure to stop in and take a selfie with Papa Noël and Mother Christmas, then plan your route to see more amazing holiday light displays throughout the Cajun Coast! Park and walk along the beautiful Bayou Teche to see the Christmas Lights in Franklin. Tune your radio to 88.9 and enjoy the Centerville Light Show which runs nightly from 5:30 PM – midnight (weather permitting). The Traditional Idlewild Plantation Christmas Lighting in Patterson is a driving tour that runs from 5 to 9 p.m., Sunday through Thursday and 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Kemper Williams Park in Patterson for $2 per car (weather permitting). Download the complete guide.
Then check out the complete list of Christmas shopping spots, parades, and holiday events continuing throughout the holiday season on the Cajun Coast. Download your list so you can check it twice, and plan now to Christmas on the Cajun Coast! Don’t forget, our hotels offer great holiday rates into the new year!
Escape to the Cajun Coast!
The stress of the pandemic on top of the stress of the holidays will make you want to run away! We think that sounds like a great idea! Escape together to the Cajun Coast! We have room to roam and can take the stress out of the holidays! Distance yourselves and/or bring the family together with exploring, swamp tours, Main Street shopping amazing dining, and all the trappings of an idyllic holiday season! We even have great holiday hotel rates to make your holidays even sweeter on the Cajun Coast!
Our beautiful, historic towns dress up for the holidays, featuring lighting ceremonies, tours, celebrations, shopping, and a Santa sighting or two to get you in the holiday spirit! See our complete list of activities for the holiday season!
While some November days may prove a little cool for spotting alligators, tour operators, like Captain Caviar, provide entertaining and educational tours of the beauty and mystery of the Atchafalaya waters. If you prefer to get a little more up-close and personal, he can provide your needs for kayaking, too, and we have plenty of paddling trails for your outing.
Kids love to explore in the great outdoors, but if winter weather does rear its head, you can head indoors to explore the Wedell-Williams Cypress Sawmill and Aviation Museum. Fascinating history of innovation and speed will hold their interest – at least for a little while.
Shopping is as bountiful as a Thanksgiving table, with quaint Main Street offerings throughout the area where you’ll find eclectic gift options to bring home memories or just win at holiday shopping! With holiday shopping events, like Mistletoe & Moss Holiday Market or Moonlight Monday Shopping, you’ll get all your holiday gift-giving knocked out in no time!
If you are looking for ways to entertain your crowd, we’ve made the planning easy with several Staycation options, sorted by style of getaway or things to do, so check them out and make your to-do list! Your time together making memories will be the best part of your escape, so plan to join your family and friends to holiday on the Cajun Coast!
It’s Back! The Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival
One of Louisiana’s most unique and oldest chartered harvest festivals is back on deck for Labor Day Weekend! Beginning more than 80 years ago as a blessing of the shrimp harvest and a celebration of the many who labored in the deep Gulf waters, the petroleum industry was added in 1967 to also honor this important industry. The Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival has grown from a simple event, paying tribute to both of these time-honored industries, to the 5-day extravaganza it is today! It features great food (shrimp just about any way you can cook it), continuous, free live music, arts & crafts, children’s activities, and traditional events, such as the blessing of the fleet and boat parade.
In addition to the unique name, the unique Cajun culture on the Cajun Coast is celebrated at the festival. The Annual Cajun Culinary Classic showcases local “home style” cooking featuring delicious Cajun and Creole dishes as well as a variety of desserts and other cuisines. Artists and crafters from south Louisiana will showcase their unique merchandise and artistic masterpieces. And a street parade, water parade with blessing of the fleet, and fireworks on the Atchafalaya River, mark the joie de vivre, joy of living, so prominent in the Cajun way of life.
The blessing of the fleet is a special part of the festival, and giving thanks for the harvest begins with Mass in the Park under the oaks in Lawrence Park on Sunday. After the water blessings from the Morgan City docks and celebrations on the Atchafalaya River, a Certificate of Blessing and a prayer card of St. Brendan the Navigator, patron Saint of Seafarers is presented to each participant.
The Shrimp & Petroleum Festival has been honored as a Festival of the Year by the Louisiana Fairs & Festivals Association, a Top 100 American Bus Association event and a top 20 Southeast Tourism Society event. It was even noted by Time magazine as “…the best, the most unusual, the most down-home, the most moving and the most fun that the country has to offer.”
Come join in the fun – make your reservations now for Labor Day weekend on the Cajun Coast!
Get Together on the Cajun Coast!
Get together this summer on the Cajun Coast! There’s plenty for the kids (and you!) to do, from fishing to swamp tours, or just splashing by the water’s edge. Go exploring in the Atchafalaya Basin, climb aboard an oil rig, or even rent a houseboat, you’ll have fun and maybe even learn a little something this summer! And, live music is also back – be sure to check the calendar!
Summer on the Cajun Coast also means basking in the sunshine along with ways to beat the heat! Spending time on the water is easy on the coast. There are plenty of options stay and enjoy the waterside, from Cypremort Point State Park to Kemper Williams Park to houseboats to stay directly on the water! Lake End Park has also long been a beautiful haven along Lake Palourde with walking trails and fishing spots, and now they are also offering options for renting kayaks and other water equipment, beach chairs and even beach toys. Check our Stay section to make your reservations.
Experience the Atchafalaya Basin through a swamp tour! From outings with Captain Caviar to excursions through Cajun Experiences R Us, you will be amazed at the unique sights within this vast wetland.
The kids will love all the cool “museums” available on the Cajun Coast as well. They will enjoy learning about the oil industry on this retired oil rig and the many ways oil is used at the International Petroleum Museum & Exposition, the “Mr. Charlie.”
Visit the Wedell-Williams Aviation & Cypress Sawmill Museum (A Louisiana State Museum). Their imaginations will soar with all of the aviation exploration.
Tour the Chitimacha Museum in Charenton. The Chitimacha were the first settlers to the area and lived in and around the Atchafalaya Basin. The museum documents their history, culture and their efforts in preservation.
Or enjoy the Southwest Reef Lighthouse in Berwick.This iconic symbol in Berwick is one of only 3 lighthouses in Louisiana that are easily accessible, and visitors can see the structure up-close for FREE at the Everett S. Berry Memorial Lighthouse Park.
Then burn off that extra energy with a view! Walk the “Great Wall,” a 21-foot seawall. Built for flood protection, visitors can climb up for a bird’s eye view of the traffic in the Atchafalaya River, one of the busiest rivers in the state.
The beauty of this area is also not-to-be-missed. You can drive the National Bayou Teche Scenic Byway or take a trail to bike, hike or paddle your way through the Cajun Coast The Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge and Boardwalk in Franklin will keep your nature-lover happy as well.
Cooling off with a good old fashioned snowball is also a delicious solution! These shaved ice concoctions of sugary syrup and any number of add-ins, from condensed milk to fruits and candies, are a prized commodity on a summer afternoon. Check out our Delis & Bakeries page for updates, but below are a few locations to pick up one of these treats around the Cajun Coast! Tag us on social and let us know your favorite! #cajuncoast
Adams’ Snoballs – 905 Iberia Street, Franklin
Cajun Sneaux Snowballs – 804 Marguerite Street, Morgan City
The Big Chill – 202 Tournament Boulevard Berwick
Regardless how you chill this summer, pack up your crew and have fun in the summer sun on the Cajun Coast!