Give Thanks!
You love your family, but let’s face it, hotels were made for when family comes to town! And the Cajun Coast has got you covered this holiday season! Take the stress out of Thanksgiving and find your folks a great rate with Friends & Family Holiday Hotel rates on the Cajun Coast!
While you probably have Thanksgiving Day covered, you’ll need to feed the troops good, Cajun food during their stay. Our mouth-watering choices cover Mom-and-Pop spots to four-star, Mexi-Cajun and everything in between. Check out the Eat pages for all the info.
And once your family is settled in, we have plenty for everyone to do! With the kids out of school, you’ll want to occupy their time with high-flying information at the Wedell-Williams Aviation and Cypress Sawmill Museum. Just don’t tell them it’s educational!
Let them burn off some steam climbing up the “Great Wall,” a 21-foot seawall built for flood protection, where you can get a bird’s eye view of the traffic in the Atchafalaya River, one of the busiest rivers in the state. The Cajun Coast also features 9 sites on the Atchafalaya Water Heritage Trail, including areas only available by boat. The Atchafalaya Basin is also home to the alligators every tourist is dying to see! While some November days may prove a little cool for spotting our swamp friends, 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. And, birding and beauty combine, not far off the beaten path at Morgan City’s Brownell Carillon Bell Tower which features a designated bird sanctuary and has walking paths throughout the swamp, enhanced by the music of the carillon bells that ring every 15 minutes.
History buffs in your crowd can take their pick from grand properties and humble dwellings as well as Civil War sites and awe-inspiring churches, with 400 spots on the National Register of Historic Places in the City of Franklin alone! The Chitimacha Museum in Charenton also chronicles the history of the Sovereign Nation of the Chitimacha on the Cajun Coast.
Our beautiful, historic towns will also 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!
Grown-ups need a night out as well, and our Live Music listings will give you a lot of genres to make everyone happy. Casino-action can also fill your nights, with Cypress Bayou and Amelia Belle promising excitement, if not always a winning hand! And, we promise not to tell if you exaggerate the size of the fish that got away or fudge your score card a little after braving the challenges of the Atchafalaya Golf Course at Idlewild. But, you won’t need to make up tales to tell of the fun your family had and the thanks you received for hosting your family and friends on the Cajun Coast!
Fest Fun and Finding Earl
Fall, like in most parts of the country, signals harvest time! On the Cajun Coast that also means festivals to celebrate!
Not only will you want to visit the Cajun Coast every weekend in October for festival fun, you’ll want to check out the specials and deals section to get a great rate on your hotel! Plus, you have a chance to win a getaway from the Cajun Coast to New Orleans by helping us spot Earl Egret who is lost on the Cajun Coast!
Our October festivals display a microcosm of our culture on the Cajun Coast. From featuring the Berwick Lighthouse and our coastal history, to displaying our beautiful, historic Main Street towns of Patterson and Franklin with showcase our Dutch and English enclaves within the traditionally French Cajun area, to observing our strong Native American heritage at the Chitimacha Pow Wow, these festivals celebrate culture as well as provide a lot of fun, music and food for an entertaining weekend!
Find Specials and Deals for your weekend stay!
October 5-7, 2018 – Berwick Lighthouse Festival, Berwick Riverfront
October 13, 2018 – 3rd Annual Main Street Festival and Historic Walking Tour, Downtown Patterson
October 20, 2018 – 5th Annual Chitimacha Pow Pow, presented by Keta Group, Pavilion, Cypress Bayou Casino Hotel
October 27, 2018 – Harvest Moon Festival, Downtown Franklin
Not only do we have the featured festivals mentioned, but all types of events in October, from creature features and horseshoe hijinks, to petting zoo antics and even a murder mystery to spice things up! Check our calendar and follow us on Facebook to make sure you are getting all the latest info!
Take a Drive Along the Coast
Take a Drive Along the Coast The fall is such a nice time for a drive. As the weather cools a bit, you might even be able to put the top down as you head to the coast for a scenic byway drive along the road less traveled. 
While the Cajun Coast is likely more known for the Atchafalaya Basin and its Paddling Trails, the 125-mile Bayou Teche Scenic Byway contains some spectacular water views of its own! You can even bike along this route.
The Bayou Teche Scenic Byway winds through the Cajun Coast (St. Mary Parish) as well as Iberia and St. Martin Parishes. As the name suggests, (Teche being the Chitimacha word for snake) it follows the snake-like meanderings of the Bayou Teche with incredible, natural landscapes and moss-draped live oaks as well as more than 100 historic properties, many on the National Register of Historic Places. The drive will take you along areas featuring two, distinct cultures, the Cajun French culture of the upper Teche, and the Anglo-Saxon culture of the lower teche. Stop in at area restaurants for amazing dining and take in cultural offerings in both regions. Along the Cajun Coast, we feature everything from historic lighthouses, historic homes and districts, and a state museum to wildlife, wild casino action and the Sovereign Nation of the Chitimacha.
Find out more and take a drive along Louisiana’s Coast!
Top 10 Water Activities on the Cajun Coast
When temperatures rise, we naturally flock to the water’s edge, and luckily, the Cajun Coast has a lot of water to enjoy! And with an abundance of water comes an abundance of diverse water activities. We have organized them into the top ten favorites.
1. Freshwater Fishing – Fishing spots are abundant along the bayous and trails of navigable freshwater waterways. Fishing tournaments are so prevalent here because of the trophy fish found in the bounty of the Atchafalaya Basin! You can even rent a houseboat and fish from the dock! Don’t forget your fishing license!
2. Deep Sea Fishing – You can take your own craft, but we also have charters, such as Blu Rebel, offering deep sea excursions of a lifetime. You could pull in swordfish, giant tuna, huge snappers, speckled trout or redfish, so catch your limit! We also have you covered for all the gear at local marine and tackle shops, like Ivy’s.
3. Swamp Tours – 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.
4. Boating – With more than 30 boat launches in the area, you can put in your craft just about anywhere. Cruising along the river highway is so relaxing and beautiful! And, if you didn’t pull yours along, there are several rental or charter options on the Cajun Coast!
5. Kayaking/Canoeing – Explore our exotic waterways by canoe or kayak. In addition to rich history and unique culture, the Cajun Coast is adorned with the natural beauty of the Atchafalaya Basin, with moss-draped cypress trees and majestic oaks.
6. Atchafalaya Water Heritage Trail – 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.”
7. Sunsets at the water’s edge – There is nothing like watching the last, glorious rays of sunshine dipping below the water’s edge in the evening. And we have a lot of viewing spots – from the “Great Wall” walkway atop the concrete floodwall, to Cypremort Point State Park. You can even stay on the water, if you are so inclined. Many of our parks and campgrounds have cabins or sites right on the water, for a relaxing view of the brilliant colors.
8. Watching water birds and exotic water wildlife (i.e. alligators) – With over 170,000 acres of designated wildlife management areas and an abundance of bird and animal life, wildlife viewing is easily accessible along our secluded waterways.
9. Golf – Even our golf courses have the most beautiful, if treacherous, water features! The Atchafalaya at Idlewild Golf Course, part of the amazing Audubon Golf Trail, is also featuring a golf special through August 31!
10. Water parades. Many of our festivals feature water parades, but the Annual Blessing of the Shrimp Fleet in association with the Shrimp & Petroleum Festival each Labor Day weekend, is a magnificent site from the water’s edge!
So, plan on spending the summer on the Cajun Coast, checking out each of the top 10 water-friendly spots!
Get Fired Up
If you are a motorcycle enthusiast or BBQ aficionado, you will want to set your course for the Cajun Coast in July!
In honor of the 50th anniversary of the movie, Easy Rider, filmed on the Cajun Coast, the Bikers on the Bayou event is hosting some Easy-themed activities as part of their annual event. A Louisiana-worthy festival in downtown Franklin, with food and music will be fun for the whole family. Then, in addition to a car, motorcycle and rat rod show, viewing of Easy Rider at the Teche Theater, and taking in a few locations filmed along the Cajun Coast, Belles on the Bayou will be presenting guided tours, souvenirs and light refreshments at Arlington Plantation House and Gardens in Franklin. Ride or not, it promises to be a good time! Find out more about the Bikers on the Bayou event, and then check out their Facebook page for Easy Rider trivia and more fun leading up to the festival, Sunday, July 15.
And, ride or not, you’ll definitely want to plan to stay the entire weekend, or longer, on the Cajun Coast.
The Bayou BBQ Bash will fire up your taste buds before firing up your engines!
The 7th Annual Bayou BBQ Bash, held July 13-14, promises to be a lip-smacking event, rain or shine, since it’s held under the U.S. 90 Bridge at the corner of Second and Greenwood streets in Morgan City. The event is a Barbecue Competitor Alliance competition along with a Corporate Cooking Team throw down as well.
And, the competition gets fierce (which means extra-yummy BBQ for you!). After all, bragging rights are at stake (steak!) as well as an exclusive $1400, 10-karat gold ring, designed by Klutts Jewelers awaiting the Grand Champion. In addition to the competitive teams, locals can get in on the action. The cost to enter is $165 for competitive and local teams and $250 for corporate teams. The kids can also get in on the barbecue competition at the Cannata’s Kids Q Saturday, with an entry fee of $30.
You can even come and try for the title yourself! If you are known as King of the Coals or Master of the Grill, sign up by July 7th and get in on the competition to earn your chops as the Annual BBQ Champ! There is not only much barbecue available for the tasting, but other festival fare as well as arts & crafts booths Friday and Saturday. There will also be live music with Ruff N Ready Band on Friday and Déjà Vu on Saturday. Get all the details!
There will be a Business After Hours where the public can meet the cooks and sample their fare. The event will be held Thursday, July 12, 2018, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Morgan City to kick off this event. In addition, the Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival will unveil its 2018 poster at the Business After Hours.
There are plenty of places for you to stay for the weekend, and longer, on the Cajun Coast! From hotels offering festival weekend specials to RV Parks and campgrounds, check the list, and make reservations now for a fired up visit along the Cajun Coast!
Summer Fun on the Cajun Coast
When, “Hurray, school is out for the summer,” turns into “I’m bored,” the Cajun Coast has got you covered! Not only are there plenty of outdoor places to roam, we even have some sneaky educational options that are so much fun, they won’t even notice they are learning!
Summer is great for experiencing the great outdoors along our coast and the many inlets that the Atchafalaya Basin affords. 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. Swamp tours to spot alligators and trips to wildlife areas, such as the Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge with its viewing boardwalk, are also popular.
Outdoors play 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.
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.
And if you have an especially avid wildlife fan, history buff or movie critic, there are specialized niche itineraries as well.
We also have many indoor options. From museums and art exhibits, to library performances, bowling and even FREE summer shows at the local cinema, there’s always something fun to do on the Cajun Coast!
So, bring your kiddos to the Cajun Coast and ban “bored” from their vocabulary!