Beaches & Shelling Along the Creole Nature Trail
The Creole Nature Trail features 26 miles of Gulf beaches offering stunning coastal views and a wide range of outdoor activities. These unspoiled Louisiana beaches are largely undeveloped, providing a peaceful and natural setting perfect for beachcombing, picnicking, shelling, and wildlife watching.
Conveniently located just about an hour’s drive from Lake Charles or Sulphur, Louisiana, the beaches along the Creole Nature Trail are ideal for a day trip or a relaxing stop on your road trip.
Types of Shells Along the Creole Nature Trail
The beaches along the Creole Nature Trail are relatively secluded offering the perfect opportunity for finding shells. Located west of the Mississippi Delta, our beaches are frequently replenished by the "muddy river's" southeast tidal flow which carries rich deposits of driftwood and a wide variety of shells including whelks, cockles, angel wings, cat's eyes, olives, wentletraps, coquinas and periwinkles.
Low tide following a storm system offers prime shelling opportunities complete with special finds like the "Sea Bean", a pod carried all the way from Central and South American forests. Shells discovered along the beach can be kept as souvenirs.
Download our Shelling Guide.
Rutherford Beach is located on the Gulf in Cameron Parish. Experience the sound of the crashing waves of the Gulf waves and the pleasure of watching shorebirds and viewing the shells on this rustic beach. The only facilities at the beach are port-o-lets at the end of Rutherford Beach Road…
Holly Beach is nicknamed "The Cajun Riviera." This rustic beach is located along the Gulf and is one of six beaches on the west side of the Creole Nature Trail All-American Road. The beach is perfect for fishing, viewing of shells, and bird-watching with friends and family. The beach is…
Little Florida Beach is located along the Gulf on the west side of the Creole Nature Trail All-American Road. The beach is positioned on the shoreline of the Peveto Woods Sanctuary.
Mae's Beach might be considered the most rustic of the Gulf beaches along the west side of the Creole Nature Trail All-American Road. The beach is the closest to the Texas/Louisiana line and only a little further down the road from Little Florida Beach and Holly Beach. Mae's Beach allows…