Louisiana Highway 1 offers one of the most complete road trips through the state, stretching from the wooded northwest corner near Arkansas and Texas to the beaches of Grand Isle on the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way, travelers pass through cypress lakes, oil-field communities, historic railroad towns, Red River ports, Indigenous mound sites, Creole plantations, Catholic churches, Civil War landmarks, sugar country, Cajun wetlands, and coastal fishing villages. The route connects major cities such as Shreveport, Alexandria, and Thibodaux with smaller communities that preserve important pieces of Louisiana’s history and culture. Visitors can explore museums, wildlife refuges, historic homes, churches, locks and dams, local restaurants, parks, and roadside landmarks. By the time Highway 1 reaches the Gulf, the journey has revealed the remarkable variety of Louisiana’s landscapes, people, traditions, and stories from one end of the state to the other. 

The Acadiana Sacred Sites Road Trip is a circular journey through special places located within roughly 40 miles of Lafayette. Beginning near Abbeville, the route invites travelers to go rôder, an Acadiana expression for roaming, riding around, and discovering what lies along the way. These sacred sites were submitted by people from across the region who say they have felt a special energy, a deep sense of peace, or a powerful spiritual connection while visiting them. The journey includes Virgin Mary grottos, roadside shrines, ancient Indigenous mounds, historic churches, temples, cemeteries, sacred landscapes, and other remarkable places. Some are historically significant, while others are awe-inspiring because of their beauty, atmosphere, unusual design, or uniqueness. Together, they reveal the rich spiritual landscape of Acadiana and offer a meaningful way to explore the region’s faith, history, culture, and mystery.

These sites were submitted by people from across Louisiana who say they have felt a special energy, deep sense of peace, or powerful connection while visiting them. The list includes grottos dedicated to the Virgin Mary, roadside shrines, ancient Indigenous mounds, churches, temples, cemeteries, sacred landscapes, and many other remarkable places. Some are important historical landmarks, while others inspire awe through their beauty, atmosphere, unusual design, or spiritual significance. Together, they represent Louisiana’s unique sacred sites: places where history, faith, culture, mystery, and the natural world come together.