beaches

Hi there! My husband and I are traveling down to New Orleans in August and are considering several different side-trips, Lake Charles area being one of them. Can anyone tell me about the beaches in this area? Is the water clean and good for swimming?

We were also considering the Biloxi area but I have found most people don%26#39;t recommend swimming in the water! That kind of defeats the purpose of going to the beach.

Thanks for your info.

beaches

You%26#39;re kidding. Please tell me you%26#39;re kidding about swimming in Lake Charles. Lake Charles would make Biloxi look like the emerald waters of the Caribbean.

I don%26#39;t mean to offend anyone from Lake Charles, but it%26#39;s one of the last places I%26#39;d recommend you visit while in LA. It%26#39;s too far from NOLA and there are plenty of other more interesting sites to see between NOLA and Lafayette.

For clear water in the GOM, you%26#39;ll need to make the 3 hour drive over to the Florida Panhandle. Gulf Shores, AL can be nice at certain times of the year, but at times the water there is kind of muddy just like along the MS coast.

beaches

Lake Charles has some of the most friendly people and the best food. Come visit our town.

I%26#39;ll second the facts that Lake Charles has great people and good food. My mother%26#39;s family is from there. But I have to agree also, that the beach is not exactly paradise. It%26#39;s pretty surrounded by highyways and industrial plants. Not ALL of it, but enough.

I know you can sail and water ski without trouble, it%26#39;s just not scenic. Parts of the residential area around the lake are nice and away from the interstate. From Lake Charles, I guess Galveston, Tx would be a possibility, or, head to Mississippi. Mississippi is still recovering from the storm, so that might not be a viable option, either.

Maybe you could venture to Gulf Shore, Alabama. Great beaches......about 3.5 or so hours away. Have fun, whatever you do!

Lake charles has come back strong since Rita--I am from here and lived here my whole life. Lake Charles plans to revive the downtown area.

One more thing. Every town of decent size and even small towns have industry or factories. This is what drives the economy and gives people jobs in the area. Westlake/Lake Charles area should have located the industry off I-10 interstate. It is an eye sore. However; into the towns and parish you find excellent and pretty neighborhoods with 200,000 to 500,000 house prices and some over a million. I live in one of those neighborhoods . We have low property taxes here and a normal 3 bedroom house cost between 130,000 to 150,000. Building here is still going on at a fast rate even after Rita. Once Westlake gets the golf course and Lake Charles develops the lakefront and downtown this area will be looked at differently. You said something about Galveston area. Galveston is nice and pretty but just east of it there are alot more chemical plants and industry than we have here. But once again it drives to ecomomy and creates jobs. Anyway,anywhere you have access to the Gulf of Mexico or any main body of water(Pacific/Atlantic oceans) you will find chemical plants and industry.

They may not be on the main interstate but they are there.

Here%26#39;s a second vote for NOT swimming in Lake Charles... if you%26#39;re concerned about the Gulf Coast in Biloxi being less than optimal for swimming, then for sure you won%26#39;t want to dive in to Lake Charles!

L%26#39;Auberge du Lac does have a nice pool area and it%26#39;s a pretty hotel and casino, but Lake Charles itself isn%26#39;t really much of a tourist attraction other than for folks like us from Houston who drive over on the weekends to go to the casinos.