2022 Lake Charles Media Profile Sheet

CASINO RESORTS

Lake Charles is anything but one-dimensional, and our four casino resorts will send you into another dimension of chance and comfort laced with luck and luxury. You can bounce between casino properties on a boardwalk to enjoy the side-by-side resorts for concerts, pool parties, sports betting, spa retreats, lakeside fun, golf getaways, lazy rivers, and more. If you're looking for a more unique gaming experience, you can watch your luck take the lead by placing your bet on thoroughbred horse races.

✦ Delta Downs Racetrack Casino & Hotel ✦ Golden Nugget Lake Charles

✦ L’Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles

✦ Horseshoe Casino Lake Charles (Opening Winter 2022)

CREOLE NATURE TRAIL ALL-AMERICAN ROAD

The Creole Nature Trail All-American Road is a delectable travel treat for road trippers and day trippers seeking Louisiana's ultimate outdoor experiences. You’ll see a variety of wildlife in Louisiana’s Outback, from sunbathing alligators and flocks of migratory birds to Louisiana blue crabs and fish of all kinds. This 180-mile trail stretches along Southwest Louisiana’s gulf shore, where you’ll witness colorful sunsets above the marshlands and seashells lining the beaches while you take in Mother Nature’s glory. There are picture-perfect excursions for photographers but be sure to stop by Creole Nature Trail Adventure Point to hear tips, tricks, and tales along the trail.

✦ Pintail Wildlife Drive ✦ Wetland Walkway

✦ Grosse Savanne Eco-Tours ✦ Gulf of Mexico Beaches

MARDI GRAS CELEBRATIONS

Mardi Gras in Southwest Louisiana is a next-level celebration filled with festive parties, neighborhood parades, king cake-flavored everything, and the pride of people keeping the Louisiana legacy alive. You’ll see more than 60 krewes in flamboyant costumes and festive décor at various restaurants and events around the city. You’ll catch colorful beads and trinkets from parade floats and feel right home with the rest of us. People from various backgrounds and ages line the streets of Lake Charles hoping to score a throw from the float. From small towns to downtown, our Mardi Gras events provide top-tier excitement that keeps the Carnival spirit alive from gumbo cook-offs to Chicken Runs!

✦ Iowa Chicken Run ✦ Children's Mardi Gras Parade

✦ Krewe of Krewes Parade ✦ Mardi Gras Gumbo Cook-off

OUTDOOR ADVENTURES

Expect to fall in love with Southwest Louisiana’s outdoor adventures. You can take in the region’s natural jewels from a bike, boat, fishing pier, kayak, jet ski, boardwalk, beach towel, yoga mat, cabin, golf course, or the comfort of your car. Whether you’re seeking a day trip along the gulf to witness untouched Louisiana, renting watercraft in downtown Lake Charles, enjoying a beachside cocktail at a casino resort, or soaking up the sun from your cabin, there’s more to explore in Louisiana’s Playground.

✦ Creole Nature Trail All-American Road ✦ Lake Area Adventures

✦ Sam Houston Jones State Park ✦ Grosse Savanne Eco-Tours

✦ Lake City Cruisers

CULTURAL TRADITIONS

The identity of Lake Charles and its surrounding areas are deep-rooted in Cajun and Creole heritage, Zydeco/Cajun music, seafood galore, and a bunch of Southern hospitality in Sportsman’s Paradise. There are genuine stories in every nook and cranny of the area. The sounds of Southwest Louisiana were born in musical blends of folk and blues using washboards, silverware, accordions, fiddles, harmonicas, and more. You can blend your favorite pastime with your favorite plate of food by enjoying outdoor excursions for a moment of peace with nature or to catch and release nature’s bounty into the grease for dinner! You can sense the wholesome hearts of locals at every turn. It doesn't take long to understand why there’s no place like Lake Charles.

✦ Henning Cultural Center ✦ Charpentier Historic District

✦ No Man's Land ✦ 1911 Historic City Hall

QUIRKS & CURIOSITIES

Southwest Louisiana is serving up quirks and curiosities for visitors year-round. Don’t believe us? We have a group of local pirates that make our mayor walk the plank. That’s weird, but this is wild. Did you know albino dolphins are pink? We have two of them swimming around the gulf. It gets even wilder and weirder around here, especially during Mardi Gras season. There's a rural neighborhood Mardi Gras parade that includes a live chicken that bounces from house to house. Boudin is available across Louisiana, but our boudin is insane. If these peculiarities didn’t make you scratch your head or question logic, either you’re unusually strange or a Lake Charles local.

✦ Louisiana Pirate Festival ✦ Creole Nature Trail All-American Road

✦ Iowa Chicken Run ✦ Insane Sausages ✦ Panorama Music House

FOOD & DRINK

From our bayous to the soul, right in a piping-hot bowl, you’ll get a traditional taste of Louisiana’s staples, including jambalaya, gumbo, crawfish, muffulettas, étouffée, po’boys, red beans, and rice, bread pudding, and more. In Southwest Louisiana, we’ve excelled the culinary status quo. We have food trails, festivals, and events that offer an authentic taste of Southwest Louisiana year-round. You’ll fall in love with homemade cracklins and boudin at one of our quaint and cultured restaurants. Then wash it all down with a pint of craft beer, rum, or vodka if you really want to tap into the Lake Charles spirits. There’s a genuine taste of Cajun/Creole cuisine and fresh seafood in Louisiana’s Playground, as well as a few other flavors, passed down from generation to generation.

✦ Chuck Eats Restaurant Week ✦ Louisiana Food & Wine Festival

✦ Smoke & Barrel: A Celebration of Bourbon, BBQ & Whiskey

✦ Southwest Louisiana Boudin Trail ✦ Gas Station Eats Trail

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

With more than 75 festivals, fairs, and annual events, Lake Charles has earned its title as the Festival Capital of Louisiana. Whether you’re seeking an extended taste of Mardi Gras celebrations, reveling in Cajun or Zydeco music under a vibrant sunset, multiday Juneteenth festivities, or exploring the surrounding small towns for a charming experience, there’s always a party in Louisiana’s Playground. You can catch regional and national artists at our resort casinos, explore downtown events, or be a spectator at thrilling sporting events.

✦ Downtown at Sundown Concert Series ✦ Live at the Lakefront Concert Series

✦ Chuck Fest Music & Art Festival ✦ Casino Resort Pool Parties

✦ Mardi Gras Parades & Celebrations