Why this ride
A 231 km loop that starts and ends near Lake Charles, about 4 h 16 of riding. It goes by way of Sulphur, Holly Beach, Cameron and Creole. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Creole Nature Trail from Lake Charles
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 231 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 16
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Creole Nature Trail
Water arrives beside the road and stays for 16 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go — slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 16 km
- Named road
- Creole Nature Trail
Creole Nature Trail
For about 27 km this is Creole Nature Trail, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it. Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 27 km
- Named road
- Creole Nature Trail
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Lake Charles
Lake Charles is the gateway to the Creole Nature Trail, an All-American Road that loops south from the city across the marshes of southwest Louisiana to the Gulf. It is a flat, low, watery place where the horizon is mostly sky and the road often runs on a raised bank between bayou and rice field. This is Cajun country, and you notice it first in the language on the radio and the boudin sold at gas stations, a rice-and-pork sausage that locals eat on the way to work and consider a proper breakfast.
Read the complete Lake Charles write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Lake Charles is where the day begins. Next is Sulphur.
2. Sulphur
Sulphur is the working front door of Louisiana's Cajun coast, a refinery and chemical town in Calcasieu Parish a few minutes from Lake Charles. It may not look like the start of a nature trail, and that is part of the point. The industrial flares and stacks give way, a short ride south, to marsh, bayou, and open Gulf, and the contrast is the story of this corner of Louisiana.
Read the complete Sulphur write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sulphur comes up about 16 km into the recorded legs. Next is Holly Beach.
3. Holly Beach
Holly Beach has the odd distinction of being a beach town without much of a town. It is a long ribbon of sand along the Louisiana Gulf coast, backed by a scattering of raised beach houses and camps on stilts, and it has been called the Cajun Riviera by people with an affectionate sense of humour. The sand is brown, the water is warm and cloudy, and the horizon is full of oil platforms. It is not a postcard, and it is all the more honest for that.
Read the complete Holly Beach write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 76 km into the recorded legs you reach Holly Beach. Next is Cameron.
4. Cameron
Cameron is a small town with a very large story. It sits on the Louisiana coast where the Calcasieu Ship Channel reaches the Gulf, and the first thing most visitors do is cross the water on the free ferry, a short, slightly comic ride that carries cars, trucks, and motorcycles over to the east bank. On a clear day you can see the shipping lanes and the long, low shape of the marsh, and a pelican usually appears as if on cue.
Read the complete Cameron write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cameron, about halfway. Next is Creole.
5. Creole
Creole is a village you ride through almost without noticing, and yet it belongs to one of the most unusual landscapes in the United States. East of the Texas border, along the Louisiana coast, the marsh is broken by low ridges of oak and live oak that rise a metre or two above the flat. These are cheniers, the old beach ridges left behind as the Mississippi's sediment pushed the coast outward. Highway 27 follows some of them, and the live oaks bent by Gulf winds are one of the real sights of the Creole Nature Trail.
Read the complete Creole write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Creole sits at 146 km, late in the day. Next is Lake Charles.
6. Lake Charles
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Lake Charles write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 231 km.
Leg by leg
Lake Charles to Sulphur
Lake Charles → Sulphur is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sulphur to Holly Beach
Sulphur → Holly Beach is 60 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Holly Beach to Cameron
Holly Beach → Cameron is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cameron to Creole
Cameron → Creole is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Creole to Lake Charles
Creole → Lake Charles is 88 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Creole Nature Trail · 265 km