Affordable Family Activities in Kid Friendly Lake Charles, LA

photo courtesy Creole Nature Trail

Local mom, Katie Harrington, tells us about Lake Charles/Southwest Lousiana as a destination for families. Most of the activities listed below are either free or have a very low admission price.

We are located about 45 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico and perhaps the most exciting attraction for families is the Creole Nature Trail All-American Road. The 180 mile driving trail, recently named a top 5 destination by Scholastic Parent and Child, offers an up close look at nature, including the King of the Marsh, the American alligator.   You will also see other wildlife like turtles, herrons, ducks and geese. A drive further south on the trail offers up some of the most beautiful uninterrupted beaches.  Families can enjoy shelling and crabbing on the sandy shores.

We are also the Festival Capital of Louisiana with more than 75 annual fairs and festivals. We have the second largest Mardi Gras in the state behind New Orleans and are proud to offer up a family-friendly version of the popular Mardi Gras festival. During the summer, festivals such as the Cajun Food and Music Festival and the Marshland Festival keep families busy.

Several wonderful museums offer up wonderful, educational fun rain or shine. A three-story Children’s Museum is sure to excite the child and child at heart! A six-room Mardi Gras Musuem (809 Kirby/In the Central School Arts & Humanities Center) boasting the largest Mardi Gras Costume display in the world transports visitors to revelry only found during the Carnival Season.

The newly redesigned Prien Lake Park and Sulphur Aquatic Center offer up of some cool, wet fun.

Adventure Cove, (3200 Power Centre Parkway, Lake Charles, LA  70601) the area’s first barrier-free playground, is one of only a handful of parks in the nation to offer up swings and equipment for children of all abilities.

For more information and pictures of these attractions, please visit www.visitlakecharles.org.

Katie Harrington is the public relations manager at the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau. She is also the mother of two little girls, eight and four, and loves being able to take in all of the area’s great attractions with her own family.

Lake Charles is about halfway between Houston, TX and New Orleans, LA. Find great rates on hotels in Lake Charles, LA using our secure hotel reservations system.