Sabine National Wildlife Refuge

If you don’t have a boat, the major part of this NWR can only be viewed from the road. There aren’t any pull outs for viewing, so you have to be very careful, or be on foot and hope not to be run over by cars. There is a boardwalk for a short walk out in a marsh, but that is a minute part of the refuge. When I was there, the watery areas was the best area to see waders. I don’t know the safest way to see them off the road. There wasn’t much to see off the boardwalk, except the alligators… of all sizes.

We were on our way to NOLA. We stopped by lake Charles and made a quick decision to cover the creole nature trail and Rutherford beach. And man we were so happy we made that decision. This trail is so beautiful with different kind of birds and gators and it was Christmas Day, we had the trails scattered across more than 100 miles all to ourselves. This is such a a gem. The long board walks in the swamps amid different birds, turtles and gators was amazing.
This trail starts from the town of sulphur and runs more than 150 miles looping all the way through swamp lands to the sea at holy beach and Rutherford beach. Take out at least 6hours from your itinerary for a leisurely trip through the trails. If you rush through you will miss all the exotic things it has to offer. Keep yourself informed from one of the visitor centers near lake Charles Cameron etc.