The Creole Nature Trail All-American Road (CNTAAR) is a 290-kilometer driving route through Southwest Louisiana. More than 300,000 visitors annually drive through the area's marshlands and prairies, viewing bayous and cheniers, oak-topped sandy ridges created from shifting Mississippi River delta deposits.
Good fishing, birding and wildlife-viewing (alligators, ducks, butterflies, nutria etc.) attract visitors. The gem of the Creole Nature Trail All-American Road will be the National Hurricane Museum & Science Center (NHMSC).
How to predict the weather
The Louisiana museum will be located in Lake Charles, near I-10 and the lake, halfway between Baton Rouge and Houston. It will include a weather station and exhibits on predicting weather. The center's interactive scientific and technological exhibits will educate visitors about hurricanes and weather-related phenomena.
The U.S. Transportation Administration's National Scenic Byway Program has awarded the 100,000 square foot project a $1.3 million grant. It will cost $67 million to build the NHMSC.
The National Hurricane Museum & Science Center will preserve artifacts from previous storms. It will tell the personal stories of people whose lives were impacted by hurricanes. Visitors will learn how severe weather affects geography, inhabitants, culture and local heritage.
Museum exhibits
The NOAA/National Weather Service, the media, and other organizations will partner with the Lake Charles LA museum to provide current and scientifically accurate information about storms. Exhibits will chronicle all U.S. hurricanes and commemorate the victims, including the 500 people who died during Hurricane Audrey in 1957, along what is now the Creole Nature Trail All-American Road.
Admission to the Creole Nature Trail All-American Road is free. Driving directions: exit off Interstate 10 (exit 20) to LA Hwy 27 South in Calcasieu & Cameron parishes.
