Cameron (Louisiana)

On the Louisiana coast, in the far southwestern corner of the state, lies the small port town of Cameron. Sparsely populated, this city is the parish seat for Cameron Parish, which has been designated by the parish tourism commission as the "Louisiana Outback." When driving into this area from Lake Charles or the Texas coastal city of Port Arthur, such a moniker seems well founded, as the feeling of isolation quickly washes over a person and the sense of being in a wetlands-filled wilderness spreads. The mid-point town on the nationally designated Creole Nature Trail All-American Road, Cameron often acts as a stopping and break point for travelers taking in the wetlands scenery of the Trail.

But also a sense of freedom arrives when getting to the local beaches... it is possible to have an entire portion of beach all to yourself depending on location and time of day. Camping, beachcombing, fishing, and wildlife watching are the most popular activities in the area. Two U.S. National Wildlife Refuges are within half an hour of Cameron, where one can watch alligators lazily laying by the roadside, almost inattentive to passers by, or blue herons wading through the shallow wetlands.

Hurricane Rita
In 2005, Hurricane Rita completely leveled Cameron and the other coastal villages on the Cameron Parish coast. Virtually nothing remained of the city afterwards, with the exception of the parish courthouse. Today, when driving through the city, the evidence of this still remains with empty concrete foundations dotting the city blocks, as well as new construction throughout the entire town. The city has since made a major comeback, but that being said, it is not proper to ask questions or talk about the hurricane to local residents. Most residents lost almost everything in the storm, and even though time has passed since, it is still very fresh on the minds of locals and will clearly make people uncomfortable discussing it.