A road trip from Houston To New Orleans is a fantastic journey along the Gulf of Mexico.
A 350-mile road trip from Houston to New Orleans will see you travel from one of the most populous cities in the United States to one that has perhaps the nation’s most unique culture. You will travel across eastern Texas and all of Louisiana, past some truly incredible sights, as you make this expedition between two of the most exciting destinations in the Deep South.
Ensure you have all the information you need to plan the perfect itinerary for a road trip from Houston to New Orleans by reading on.
A Road Trip From Houston To New Orleans: How Far Is It, How Long Will It Take To Get There & What Is The Best Route?
A road trip from Houston To New Orleans covers 350 miles and takes around 5 and ¼ hours driving to complete. The best route for a road trip from Houston to New Orleans is also incredibly straightforward, as you simply join the I-10 going east and follow it the whole way until you reach your destination of New Orleans.
Best Time For A Road Trip From Houston To New Orleans
The best time for a road trip from Houston To New Orleans is between early February and late May. This will avoid hurricane season, which hits the Gulf of Mexico between June and October, and have you traveling when the region sees weather that’s nice and warm without being too hot.
It also allows you to be in New Orleans during one of its most legendary events, Mardi Gras, which takes place between late February and early March, while avoiding any overly large crowds throughout the rest of your route.
Best Places To Stop On A Road Trip From Houston To New Orleans
With a road trip from Houston To New Orleans able to be completed in just over 5 hours, many people will aim to complete it in a single hit. However, for those who wish to take in everything this amazing route offers, you will want to take a bit more time and likely make an overnight stop along the way.
There are many great opportunities to do that along our suggested route, but the combination of its location and what it has to offer means perhaps none are as fitting as Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Lake Charles
Louisiana’s fifth most populous city, Lake Charles roughly marks the halfway point on a road trip from Houston to New Orleans, making it a great place to stop and unwind. It isn’t just its geography that makes it a worthwhile stop though, as it also has plenty to offer visitors seeking a good time.
Founded in 1861, Lake Charles is one of the major cultural, educational, and industrial hubs of the region. Well-known for its abundance of scenic aquatic areas, people who love water-based activities like boating, fishing, and swimming are sure to find plenty to keep them entertained.
The Mardi Gras Museum is an ideal stop to brush up on your culture and history when heading to New Orleans, while establishments such as the 1911 Historic City Hall Arts & Cultural Center and Imperial Calcasieu Museum will help you brush up on the art, culture, and history of Lake Charles and its surrounding region.
You also can’t talk about Lake Charles without mentioning that it is a gambler’s paradise, particularly for poker players. Home to some of the finest casinos and card rooms in Louisiana, with the Horseshoe Lake Charles and Golden Nugget Lake Charles being the cream of the crop, it is an ideal option for anyone wanting to place a bet or two on a road trip from Houston to New Orleans.
Best Hotel To Stay At In Lake Charles – Horseshoe Lake Charles
Horseshoe Lake Charles is a fabulous, 3-star casino resort that boasts one of the best casinos and poker rooms Louisiana has to offer. Combine this with a choice of 5 restaurants, a seasonal outdoor pool, a well-equipped fitness center, and a selection of facilities for disabled guests, and this is a property that is as much of an attraction as it is a place to stay.
This is before we even get to the rooms, which feature beautiful décor, air conditioning, private bathrooms, free toiletries, and modern amenities like a tea and coffee maker, big screen TV, refrigerator, work desk, and the same high-speed Wi-Fi that’s available throughout the resort.
Top Attractions On A Road Trip From Houston To New Orleans
A road trip from Houston to New Orleans is not an overly lengthy expedition by any means, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty for you to do and see along the way. While it’s impossible to cover everything this amazing journey has to offer, we will now show you some of the highlights you will encounter on your route.
Beaumont, Texas
A mid-sized city near the Texas-Louisiana border, Beaumont was founded as a pioneer settlement in 1838, but it wasn’t until the Spindletop Gusher was discovered in 1901 that the city truly burst into life. A sign that led to the discovery of a massive oilfield beneath the ground, the Spindletop Gusher is said to be the event that turned the United States into a country powered by oil, making Beaumont a fantastic place to learn about the oil industry, which Texas is synonymous with.
At the Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum, you can see a recreated town showing what life was like in the area at the start of the Texas oil boom, and the historic McFadden-Ward House has been converted into a museum that depicts how the early beneficiaries of this new industry lived.
Even if you aren’t interested in learning about the Texas oil industry, attractions like The Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Dishman Art Museum, and various historic buildings will help you appreciate the art and architecture associated with the region through the years.
Lafayette, Louisianna
Lafayette is Louisiana’s fourth most populous city and the largest city in Acadiana, a region better known as Cajun Country. Founded under the name of Vermillionville in 1821, it didn’t get the name Lafayette until more than 60 years later in 1884, when it was renamed in honor of General Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, a French nobleman who assisted George Washington in the American Revolutionary War.
Ranked the happiest city in America in 2014, Lafayette boasts a diverse population, most notably consisting of some of the largest Cajun and Creole communities in the United States. This makes it a fabulous place to learn more about these two unique and distinctive cultures.
Countless historic houses and churches help provide a glimpse into the past of these two cultures, as does the LARC Acadian Village, which features a complete recreation of a 19th-century settler village in the area. Establishments like the Lafayette Museum and Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum then offer opportunities for people who want to dive deeper into the local culture.
Being home to the second largest university in the state, the University Of Louisiana At Lafayette, then adds a vibrant, youthful feel to the city, thanks to its large student population. Throw in all of the bars, shops and restaurants that add a personal spin to the region’s unique culture, and there are very few places on a road trip from Houston to New Orleans more worthwhile visiting than this.
Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge
Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge is a 15,000-acre wildlife preserve on the bank of the Atchafalaya River. Established in 1986 to protect the fish and other animals in the region, it is brimming with stunning bayous, towering trees, and vibrant wildlife, which combine to create a stunning, scenic destination.
Its residents include over 200 species of birds, such as American woodcocks, bald eagles, Mississippi kites, ospreys, swallow-tailed kites, and wood ducks, and more than 85 species of fish, including bluegill, channel catfish, crappie, crayfish, largemouth bass, red ear sunfish, and warmouth, as well as a selection of amphibians, mammals, and reptiles like beavers, bobcats, coyotes, coypus, deer, foxes, Louisiana black bears, minks, muskrats, opossums, otters, rabbits, raccoons, skunks, and squirrels.
A popular destination for activities such as birdwatching, hunting, fishing, photography, trapping, and research, Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge is a great place to get out of your car and enjoy the more natural side of the region on your journey.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
The capital and second most populous city in Louisiana, Baton Rouge is one of the oldest cities in the United States, having been founded in 1699. Sitting on the east bank of the Mississippi River in south-central Louisiana, Baton Rouge boasts a unique culture that blends Cajun and Creole into one, creating a destination that offers two wildly different sets of iconic history and culture in one location.
From the city’s architecture, museums, art, and history, to its bars, restaurants, and cuisine, immersing yourself in the Baton Rouge culture is an experience unlike anything you will find anywhere else. This is all without mentioning some of its iconic attractions, such as the Louisiana State Capitol, which again differs immensely from what is on offer in most other capital cities in the United States.
Lake Pontchartrain
At 631 square miles, Lake Pontchartrain is the 10th largest natural lake in the United States by area and the fourth largest to be located in a single state. It is also crossed by the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, the longest continuous bridge over water on the planet at 23.88 miles.
This makes it a place that offers a pair of unique opportunities. One option is to extend your road trip out across the causeway, taking in the sights and feeling as if you are in the middle of the ocean, with the shoreline barely visible on any side from the middle. The other is to explore the shoreline itself, taking in the wildlife and lake views while getting the chance to unwind by the water.
Conclusion
A road trip from Houston to New Orleans is a great adventure that offers an incredible array of sights and sounds. This article will hopefully have given you all you need to plan the perfect road trip itinerary for your trip, while our other articles on the best places to stay in Houston and the best places to stay in New Orleans should ensure that the beginning and end of your trip are just as enjoyable as the journey.
All you have left to do now is start getting everything booked, so you can look forward to experiencing it all for yourself as soon as possible.
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