The City of Lake Charles is located on Interstate-10 between Houston, TX and New Orleans, LA. With 75 festivals beng held each year, Lake Charles is known as the Festival Capital of Louisiana. Lake Charles is in Calcasieu Parish and was named after settler Charles Sallier. Our sandy beaches are nestled on the Calcasieu River just 30 miles upstream from the Gulf of Mexico.

Elevation: 20 feet

Land area: 40.2 square miles

Latitude: 30.21 N

Longitude: 93.21 W

Population: 70,555 (as on July 2005)

Climate

• January Median Temperature 41.2(night), 60.6(day) F
• July Median Temperature 74.3(night), 91(day) F
• Annual Mean Temp 67.9 F
• Annual Precipitation 57.2 inches

Festivals

• Arts Fest - Oct. 28, 2006
• Cajun Music & Food Festival - July 15-16, 2006
• Cal-Cam Fair - Oct. 17-22, 2006
• Calca-Chew Festival - Sept. 24, 2006
• Celtic Nations Heritage Festival of Louisiana - Oct. 13-15, 2006
• Contraband Days - May 2-14, 2006
• Ragley Heritage and Timber Festival - Oct. 21, 2006
• MARDI GRAS (January 5 - February 12)

Attractions:

• Sam Houston Jones State Park
• Creole Nature Trail