6 Best Louisiana Towns For A Winter Getaway

As a state that gets on average 0.2 inches of annual snowfall, besting only Hawaii and Florida, Louisiana hardly evokes a winter wonderland. Yet that is precisely what makes it such a wonderful winter destination. No snow means Louisiana must compensate with bigger and better parades, light shows, and festivals. Plus, the Bayou State has its own winter traditions that are the yang to Christmas's yin. Pair garlands with beads and King Wenceslas with king cakes in the following seven settlements this winter.

Eunice

Louisiana's finest festivities occur not during Christmastime, but during Mardi Gras. And since the Mardi Gras season runs during January, February, and sometimes March, it is technically Louisiana's top winter celebration. Almost everyone chooses New Orleans as their Mardi Gras destination. In doing so, however, they miss concurrent celebrations prepared in smaller settlements with unique herbs and spices. Case in point: Eunice, population ~9,400, which hosts the Cajun Mardi Gras Festival. Slated for February 12 to 17 in 2026, this chaotically Cajun Carnival involves fully-costumed festivalgoers hunting on horseback for ingredients (including live poultry) for a traditional gumbo.

If that sounds too wild for a winter getaway, have no fear. Come a couple of months earlier for a pretty tranquil Christmas, capped off by the Eunice Christmas Parade of Lights. But if you spend Christmas in Eunice, be sure to recite the "Cajun Night Before Christmas." Instead of a "miniature sleigh and eight tiny rein-deer," Santa has "eight alligator a pullin' de skiff."

Minden

Though spectacular unto itself, Minden shines even brighter as part of a Noel-based network. Said network, comprising several communities along I-20 and I-49 in North Louisiana, is known for the Louisiana Holiday Trail of Lights, which provides loads of late-year festivities. For its part, Minden gets trail-riders geared up for winter at Main to Main Trade Days, a 50-mile, open-air marketplace on the first full weekend of November. Then it lights their way toward Yuletide with Christmas in Minden, an annual mid-December extravaganza whose 2025 theme is "A Hometown Christmas." From there, riders can choose their next destination along the Trail of Lights (the best pick is at the end of this article).

Opelousas

Known for spice production and year-round warmth, Opelousas' motto is "perfectly seasoned." Its late fall and early winter seasons, though balmy, abound with classic holiday fare like the Lighting of the Nativity & Opelousas Downtown Christmas Market, which further warms bellies and hearts with hot cocoa and photos with Santa, and the Opelousas Children’s Christmas Parade, which has been beautifying the downtown district for several decades of December. But spicing up winter in Cajun style is the Annual Gumbo Cook-Off, whose 20th edition is set for January 31, 2026. So if you want to spend winter drinking lots of cocoa and gobbling lots of gumbo, Opelousas is king.

Thibodaux

Speaking of "king," Thibodaux is another uniquely-named city with a unique winter celebration for a unique food: the Louisiana King Cake Festival. Set for the same day as Opelousas' Gumbo Cook-Off, this fest's titular treat is iced in the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green, and gold. Moreover, it is traditionally filled with a tiny plastic infant that symbolizes Baby Jesus. To prevent choking, however, many bakers place it on the outside. Per the official website, 48,000 bites were taken out of king cakes at the 2025 festival, which drew 7,500 guests and raised $75,000 for education.

Mix red and white with the purple, green, and gold festivities by settling in Thibodaux a month earlier. December brings many Christmas events to the small community, notably Christmas in the Park and the Thibodaux Christmas Parade.

Lutcher

Spicy digestion aside, no Louisiana holiday tradition burns as much as the Christmas Bonfires of St. James Parish. On Christmas Eve, dozens—if not hundreds—of massive bonfires are lit along the Mississippi River's levees, which wind through the parish in towns like Gramercy, Paulina, and Lutcher. Kindled by French and German immigrants in the 1800s, this tradition now lights the way for "Papa Noel" while he delivers gifts.

But a couple of weeks before the great igniting, Lutcher hosts a kick-off party called the Festival of the Bonfires. For three days (set for December 12-14 in 2025), attendees enjoy food, crafts, live music, children's activities, pageants, carnival rides, a car show, a merry forest, and, naturally, a gumbo cook-off.

Natchitoches

The best stop on the Louisiana Holiday Trail of Lights, and arguably in the entire state during the holidays, is the Natchitoches Christmas Festival. Held in Natchitoches, the oldest permanent settlement in Louisiana, it is one of the oldest festivals in Louisiana, having debuted in 1927. Celebrating its near-centennial, 2025's edition is expected to span six weeks and feature over 300,000 lights, more than 100 set pieces, and such special events as the Christmas Tour of Homes on December 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, and 20 and Cookies With Santa on December 13. The festival's food offerings are a mix of classic Christmas fare like cookies and cakes and eclectic regional cuisine like alligator and famous Natchitoches meat pies.

Louisiana proves that winter wonderlands do not need snow. What they do need are grand parades, extravagant light shows, delicious food and drinks, and, in place of whimsical winter weather, unique cultural celebrations that can make you forget about Christmas altogether. Minden, Eunice, Golden Meadow, Opelousas, Thibodaux, Lutcher, and Natchitoches have all those things and more. Choose any one of those towns—or multiple—for your next winter getaway.