CHEAP and FREE THINGS TO DO WITH KIDS ON THE CAJUN COAST
If the good old summer time means finding stuff for the kids to do without spending a fortune, the Cajun Coast has got you covered! We have put together a Family-friendly itinerary, and a list of the top FREE or Cheap things for kids to do this summer!
EDUCATION & EXPLORATION
Kids 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). Not only will their imaginations soar with all of the aviation exploration, but this summer, they can experience the Water Trails of the Atchafalaya exhibit. 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. 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. See 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. A Fresnel lens and fog bell similar to what would have been used in the lighthouse are displayed in the lobby of Berwick Town Hall, located 2 blocks west of the park on Third Street. If you have a Lighthouse Passport (available from https://uslhs.org/products/items/lighthouse-passport), bring it by the Berwick Town Hall during regular business hours for a stamp!
FESTING & FEASTING
Don’t forget summer festivals for FREE entertainment! 4th of July is always an exciting celebration with Party in the Park and fireworks over the Atchafalaya!
Mid-July features the Bayou BBQ Bash in Morgan City that is just as yummy as it sounds and includes a Kids Q competition. That same weekend, Bikers on the Bayou in Franklin celebrates 50 Years of “Easy Rider” on with music, food & fun on Saturday, and tours of locations from the movie!
OUTDOORS & ACTION
Summer on the Cajun Coast also means basking in the sunshine (FREE!) along with ways to beat the heat! Spending time on the water is easy on the coast along with finding an inland splash pad or swimming pool. Check out a few locations to play in the spray or deeper waters.
- Morgan City Public Pool, 985-380-4652
- Splash Pad and Spray Park in Bayou Vista, 985-395-6552
- Kiddy Pool at Franklin City Park, 337-828-6324
- Lake End Park in Morgan City, 985-380-4623 (beach, fishing)
- Cypremort Point State Park, 337-867-4510 (beach, fishing)
If your adventurer likes to skate, we have a few skate parks as well
- Morgan City Skate Park, 985-380-4600
- Swamp Skate Park in Bayou Vista, 985-395-6552
- Franklin Skate Park, 337-828-3631
With a self-guided driving trail, the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area will take you on an adventure, showcasing the dramatic affect water has had on this area.
Byway drives along with biking, paddling and hiking trails, along with the Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge and Boardwalk in Franklin will keep your nature-lover happy as well.
MOVIES & INDOOR FUN
Indoor fun can also be done on the cheap with FREE Summer shows at Lake Cinema on Ninth Street in Morgan City.
Fairview Cinema on Anthony Street in Bayou Vista also has plenty of movie action.
Bowling, Mini-Golf and other recreation can also be found on the Cajun Coast! Check out the adventures, plus a petting zoo and plan your summer fun!
COOL TREATS & CHEAP EATS
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. Below are a few locations to pick up one of these treats around the Cajun Coast!
- Paw Paw’s Sno Cones – 319 Southeast Blvd, Morgan City, 985-395-6100
- Snocone Depot 505 Railroad Ave, Morgan City, 985-300-3197
- Cajun Sneaux Snowballs – 804 Marguerite Street, Morgan City
- Scoops – 1015 Main St, Franklin, 337-578-4014
- The Big Chill – 202 Tournament Boulevard Berwick, 985-329-2525
And while you can picnic for cheap at playgrounds and parks, Tampico’s Restaurant features special kids’ nights on Mondays!
So, pack up your crew and find fun in the summer sun and fun on the Cajun Coast!
Catch Up This Summer on the Cajun Coast
Have Them Meet You on the Cajun Coast! Picking the perfect location is the easiest part of planning your next family reunion-we’ve got it all right here on the Cajun Coast!
We’re a sampler of everything Louisiana offers, with plenty for your whole crew to enjoy. Swamp tours of the exotic Atchafalaya. Great Cajun food. Festival Fun. Antebellum homes and plantations, museums and two casinos.
Boating and fishing are the most popular water activities, along with paddling along our many paddling trails, but swimming, water skiing, and just playing along the water’s edge at places like Lake End Park are equally popular for families. Fishing excursions can add to the excitement with a local guide. Birding locations abound. Swamp tours to spot alligators and trips to wildlife areas where your wild things can view ours are also popular!
Recreation includes skate parks and mini-golf, along with playgrounds and parks for exploring. There is even a spray park and splash pad to cool off. We also have many indoor options – from museums and art exhibits to summer library performances.
A specialized family itinerary that combines places to play, museums with active-learning adventures, and even a bird’s eye view of the Atchafalaya Basin has been prepared to make your summer planning easy.
Eclectic boutiques will challenge your shoppers to find the best deals, and golf courses and casinos will challenge your golfers and gamers to try their luck (and skill)! History buffs will have no problem finding their niche, with Civil War, cultural, and even aviation history to tempt them. https://www.cajuncoast.com/activities/historic-sites-museums And, finding a place to stay won’t be a problem. We have hotels specializing in groups, RV Parks perfect for your folks or your entire clan to Rally, and even campgrounds – some featuring lodge space for getting together.
So plan for the Fam to meet you on the Cajun Coast and create memories you’ll still be talking about at your next reunion!
Find Your Way to the Great Outdoors!
Whether your great outdoors is paddling on a meandering trail in the vastness of the Atchafalaya Basin, taking a swamp tour cruise with a local character, or simply taking in the beauty of the Bayou Teche Scenic Byway, you can find your path to the great outdoors all across the Cajun Coast!
With the Atchafalaya Basin, the largest wetland and swamp in the country with 800,000 acres of pristine beauty, as our backyard, and the entire Gulf Coast at our feet, there is no shortage of waterway activities here. We developed paddling trails for kayaks and canoes to help you navigate like a pro. The trails are noted in terms of difficulty, so even the novice paddler can explore. Several local outfitters have kayaks or canoes for rental as well.
With local characters, like Captain Caviar, providing as much entertainment as the alligators and beauty during their swamp tours, taking a swamp tour on the Cajun Coast is a must!
Wildlife Watching
The Attakapas Wildlife Management Area features nearly 30,000 acres of swamp and bottomland forest. Accessible only by boat, primitive camping is available.
The Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge and Boardwalk allows you to stroll into the refuge, noted as a habitat for the Louisiana Black Bear and other Louisiana coastal wildlife. Fishing, hiking, boating, canoeing, and kayaking are other options on the refuge.
The Atchafalaya Delta Wildlife Management Area is an active delta and freshwater marsh habitat. Accessible only by boat, boating, fishing, hunting and birding are available.
The Atchafalaya National Heritage Area was designated by Congress as an area of significant, natural, scenic, cultural, historical and recreational resources, and this untainted treasure beckons to be traveled.
Scenic Beauty
Even driving takes you close to nature in the Cajun Coast. The Bayou Teche Scenic Byway winds its way through the area, around Bayou Teche, making its way to the Gulf of Mexico. Aside from the sheer beauty of the land, you’ll see moss-draped live oak trees along the banks of the Bayou Teche to more than 100 historic properties, many on the National Register of Historic Places.
With so many options to get outside on the Cajun Coast, find your path and make your way to the Cajun Coast!
Spring Fests of Saws, and Boats, and Bears, Oh My!
The Cajun Coast Spring Festival Season begins in earnest with three signature festivals and the weekly Rhythms on the River in April!
The Cypress Sawmill Festival opens with the KQKI Country Music Showdown – come see your favorite local talent compete and win! Also, Songs on the Bayou performers will be featured along with 
other, festival favorite musicians. You can find a lot of cypress and other arts & crafts and cheer on competitors in lumberjack and other fun events, honoring the lumber industry, at the Kemper-Williams Park Fairgrounds in Patterson. Find out more.
Come out the weekend of April 12 & 13 for the Bayou Teche Black Bear Festival in beautiful, downtown Franklin! This celebration of the Louisiana’s Black Bear features educational components along with Louisiana, food, music and festival fare. April 12 & 13.
Held Friday, in conjunction with the Bayou Teche Black Bear Festival, the Bayou Teche Wooden Boat Festival celebrates the craftsmanship and long history of vessels made of wood. This festival for wooden boat enthusiasts takes place along the beautiful Bayou Teche in downtown Franklin on April 12.
Get Into the Rhythm with Rhythms on the River every Friday, beginning just after Easter, April 26 for 9 weeks, starting each weekend off right in downtown Morgan City. First in the music line-up for Fridays, April 26-June 7:
April 26th – Deja Vu
May 3rd – Don Rich
Check out the Cajun Coast calendar for a spring full of fun events. Do not miss a moment of fun this spring on the Cajun Coast!
Celebrate on the Cajun Coast
Mardi Gras, or “Fat Tuesday” is a day of feasting and celebration before the traditional observance of Lent, a time of fasting and sacrifice for 40 days leading up to Easter Sunday. The date is based on the spring equinox, so it varies each year. Mardi Gras Day is March 5 in 2019 and will feature not only a long weekend of “Throw Me Something, Mister” parades and family-friendly fun, but also has been marked by weeks of grand balls and parties, where Mardi Gras royalty are celebrated.
The season also brings the long-anticipated King Cake! This cake is shaped in a ring and is usually a cinnamon and sugar-based pastry, but all different types of king cakes exist, such as those filled with cream cheese and fruit.
Check the schedule of Mardi Gras Parades for 2019, get all the info at CajunCoast.com/MardiGras and make your reservations now!
Come Mardi Gras on the Cajun Coast!
CAJUN COAST PARADE SCHEDULE
March 1, 2019
Krewe of Adonis, Morgan City, 7 p.m
March 2, 2019
Krewe of Dionysus Parade, Bayou Vista, 2 p.m.
March 2, 2019
Cypremort Point Parade, Cypremort Point, 1 p.m.
March 2, 2019
Baldwin Mardi Gras Parade, Baldwin, 1 p.m.
March 3, 2019
Krewe of Galatea Parade, Morgan City, 2 p.m.
March 4, 2019
Krewe of Amani Parade, Patterson, 2 p.m.
March 5, 2019
Franklin Mardi Gras Parade, 1 p.m., Franklin
March 5, 2019
Krewe of Hephaestus Parade, Morgan City, 2 p.m.
Flock to the Cajun Coast
Celebrate the eagle and other birds during Eagle Expo February 22-23, and find amazing birding and wildlife viewing on the Cajun Coast any time of year. There will be a dozen tour options to go out into the waterways to see eagles and other birds on Friday and Saturday of the Expo, as well as opportunities to socialize with other birding and nature enthusiasts, be enthralled by the fascinating birds of prey at the Wings to Soar presentation, and find out more about outdoor recreation and preservation at the Water & Nature Expo. As an add-on to the expo, famed photography, C. C. Lockwood offers a photography workshop with an excursion into Bayou Black. The expo and the class fill up fast, register today! A Photo Contest is also underway to capture the best shots, so enter today!
In addition to eagles, the Cajun Coast is home to some of the most awe-inspiring birdwatching opportunities in the country. And because it is located along the Mississippi Flyway, more than 300 species of birds can be particularly spotted during the spring and fall migrations. And, with several distinct aquatic & terrestrial habitats, more than 65 species of reptiles and 46 species of mammals inhabit 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.
Plan your birding and nature watching excursion in an area National Geographic calls “hauntingly beautiful land.