Lake Arthur, Louisiana

I had heard of a town named Arthur somewhere in the area – the weatherman mentions rainfall amounts there, a friend’s husband works there, there’s a great Hispanic grocer there, it’s a beautiful area, no, it’s industrial – it’s in Texas, right? No, it’s in Louisiana . . . I’d hear or read. I was confused about Arthur. It took me four years to figure it out . . . Port Arthur is west of Lake Charles in east Texas. Lake Arthur is southeast of us, over in Jeff Davis Parish south of Jennings.

I’d been considering going to Lake Arthur, just to check it out, for some time. But a feature story in Sunday’s American Press convinced me to finally go. Promises of a pretty beach and an ice cream store clinched it for me. It’s a teeny tiny town, population around 3,000 in an area about 2.5 square miles. We stopped for lunch at Nott’s Corner Seafood and Deli. That’s a big crawfish!



Eric and friend Josh ate gumbo. Look at the size of those bowls! You would think we were in Texas!

Down the road from Nott’s we found the beach. They ship in sand from the Ouiska (pronounced whiskey) Chitto River, a place in Louisiana I’ve not yet been, which is known for its pretty white sand. The park has plenty of covered pavilions to escape the sun. It’s quite nice.


Water soccer?


This small town is currently in the process of revitalizing, a “work in progress,” as one proprietor told me. There are a few gift shops, but with three teenage boys in tow, I didn’t take the time for those. I heard there’s a new bakery, but I didn’t see it. We concluded our trip to Lake Arthur with a visit to LA Scoops, the new ice cream parlor I’d read about. They serve locally made Kleinpeter Ice Cream. The Triple Chocolate Stampede will leave you wishing you’d ordered two scoops!