un día / 101 millas / 2 horas 23 minutos
Known as Louisiana's Outback, the Creole Nature Trail meanders through marshes, prairies, and along the Gulf of Mexico. As you loop through Calcasieu and Cameron parishes in Southwest Louisiana, view alligators and birds up close and in the wild, along with colorful wildflowers and rare cheniers shaped by salty winds.
Día 1
9:00 - 15.7 millas / 18 minutos - 9:18
Seafood provides the basis for the major industry of this part of Louisiana's Outback. This is particularly evident in Hackberry, where shrimp and crab houses line the byway. The importance of the waterways to this area is obvious as travelers pass through town. Signs advertising seafood, crab bait, cast nets, hunting and fishing supplies, and local guide services are common sights. Because of the abundance of natural resources, many commercial crabbers, shrimpers, trappers, and fishermen make Hackberry their home.
9:23 - 13.1 millas / 14 minutos - 9:38
Sabine National Wildlife Refuge
One of Southwest Louisiana's popular attractions, the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge has also been considered one of the Gulf Coast’s top birding spots. Comprised of approximately 125,000 acres of protected marshland, 61 miles of levees, and eight major water-control structures, it is the largest coastal marsh refuge on the Gulf of Mexico. An intricate network of canals and levees make up the land that was developed by the previous owner, the Orange-Cameron Land Company, which used the marsh for trapping, hunting, and operating a major fur-pelt processing facility. The property was sold to the federal government and established as a refuge in 1937. Much of the refuge is currently closed due to damage from Hurricane Rita.
9:43 - 7.0 millas / 7 minutos - 9:50
Nicknamed "The Cajun Riviera" by natives and visitors alike, Holly Beach provides sun and fun in a casual atmosphere and boasts of the most accessible, free, natural, sandy Louisiana beach enjoyed by the public. Holly Beach has become a place where thousands come to swim, fish, crab, sunbathe, people watch, collect shells, bird watch, and hunt (in the winter). One of the greatest obstacles to the maintenance of these gulf beaches is erosion. Structural techniques, such as the rock levees and tire and brush fences that lie just offshore, act as a physical barrier between the beach and waves.
9:55 - 8.9 millas / 17 minutos - 10:13
10:18 - 0.3 millas / - 10:19
10:24 - 1.3 millas / 2 minutos - 10:27
Long recognized for its fishing industry, with its menhaden plant, shrimp houses, and easy access to the Gulf for sport fishing, Cameron Parish has had the distinction of being ranked as the leading fishing port in the nation for several years. Menhaden, commonly called the pogey fish, is a small, oily fish that is much sought after. After processing, the oil is extracted and used in cosmetics, paints, medicine, and even margarine. The meal that remains after the oil is extracted is used in poultry, livestock, and swine feed. The bone meal is used for fertilizer. The town of Cameron is the parish seat of government and home of the Cameron Fur and Wildlife Festival. Nicknamed "The Oldest and Coldest Festival in the State," a range of activities such as oyster shucking, duck calling, nutria and muskrat skinning contests, arts and crafts displays, beauty contests, and a parade attract thousands of people each January.
10:57 - 23.0 millas / 29 minutos - 11:26
A 2,500-mile-long ship channel between Brownsville, Texas, and Trenton, New Jersey, the Intracoastal Waterway has served many purposes and provided many advantages to the region. However, it has also allowed saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico to seep into the marsh's freshwater areas. Controlling salinity, or salt content, in the marsh waters has become a major goal of environmental management in Louisiana's Outback. Constructed by the federal government, the channel enabled ships to travel between Texas to New Jersey without having to venture out on the high seas. This was particularly important during World War II, when the route was used as a means of avoiding the submarine menace along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts.
11:31 - 1.0 millas / un minuto - 11:32
11:37 - 1.9 millas / 2 minutos - 11:40
Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge
Consisting of over 9,000 acres of freshwater marsh and coastal prairie, the refuge was previously owned by companies that constructed levees and dikes for controlling water levels in their rice fields. When rice farming became unprofitable, they sold their properties for a refuge, which had in the meantime been identified as being crucial to meeting goals set by the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, an international plan to restore wetlands and waterfowl numbers. Besides wintering waterfowl, the refuge boasts many long-legged waders, including egrets, herons, and Roseate Spoonbills. Rails and shorebirds in season are also attractions. The visitor center at Cameron Prairie opened its doors to the public in 1994. Included among its interpretive exhibits are a diorama, which describes the four types of marsh found in Louisiana, and Tante Marie, an animated exhibit that discusses life on the refuge from her perch in a pirogue, a narrow, flat-bottomed, hand-made version of the canoe.
11:45 - 29.2 millas / 48 minutos - 12:33