Holly Beach — Attraction in Orange

Some people know Holly Beach, also known as the "Cajun Riviera", is a coastal community in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, United States. Visitors can rent a beach house, RV spot, or camp on the beach in an RV or tent. I have been visiting this beach for years. The main thing to remember is you bring your own food and fun. Each season you can visit this beach to view our Louisiana beauty. This free beach has lost many amenities and facilities because many hurricanes have wiped out businesses. Here people can drive on the beach, and it is animal friendly. * If you have children or dogs DON’T forget to make them wear a life jacket. The whole time on the beach or in the water. It only takes a few seconds for a person disappear or drown in the Gulf of Mexico. There are not any lifeguards on this beach.

I drive a 2022 F150 with 4-wheel drive and trailer load up with off road toys and 3 ice chests (kid drinks, adult drinks, and one empty for any fish we catch). Some people park at the entrance because if you get stuck you are on your own buddy. It is hot so don’t forget to bring fresh water for your animals. I bought a canopy from Sam’s Club for shade and the children. Also, if anything breaks the pit crew can work in the shade. After I unpacked my chairs, gas container, sunscreen, towels, blanket, bug screen (horse flies), dog freshwater bowl, blowup floats, boogie boards, cast nets, fishing equipment, BBQ pit, charcoal, life jackets, and trash bag. There is not a trash area on this beach. You pack it in you pack it out situation. The trailer is empty and makes for a great dry table, shade for the dog, and more.

My favorite part of the beach is our kites and flags. The kites remind our party where our spot is on the beach. It is easy to get lost on busy days. I relax best on a beach. I love the sand on my toes and the salt in my hair. The kids enjoy walking up and down the beach looking for seashells for jewelry and craft time. I generally stop at the Browns store for anything I forgot at home. The fried chicken strips, mash-potatoes, and mac in cheese hold up well on the dash of the truck. It stays heated just enough for lunchtime. The best snack for this beach is PB&J, chips, goldfish, pretzels, pre-popped popcorn, and gummy bears. Something always happens when you are having fun. It is a great idea to bring a full sanitary emergency box (burn spray for jellyfish or cuts). After we are finished, I dry the little ones off completely. Then dust them with baby powder over whole body. This is a trick to help not irritate their skin. Next it is time to get the toxic chemical from their ear. All you need is 90% rubbing alcohol soaked in the ear for 10 seconds.

The local police cruise the town in squad cars and the beach with four wheelers employees strict about the rules and laws in their community. The ticket hand is strong! Please don’t drink & drive, just bring a DD or call an uber.

TIPS: Don’t be a litter bug. It is kind to pick up trash on the beach. PEACE-LOVE-EARTH.

I encourage you to look...

They could do a little better job picking up trash. Plenty of shells, decent parking. There were two port-a-potties: one was atrocious but the other was clean. The water is very silty. We swam for about 4 hours, but then the jellyfish swarmed. We all got lit up: they wrapped around our legs and left these big blistery whelps. We left around 2 pm, but before we got back to the hotel that night (approx 10-11 pm) 4 of the 6 in our party had diarrhea. The next morning 3 of us were running fever and we all had stomach issues. 2 days later, 1 was still running fever and a couple of us had rashes but everything was gone by day 4. I did some research on the area, and apparently the beach there has a massively high dangerous-bacteria count and you aren't supposed to swim there. We stopped back through there on the way out of town and did see the sign this time, but because we had a trailer we hadn't parked near where the sign was. Also, be warned, there are no gas stations until after you exit the island, so fill up before you go! Fun part: If you come in from the east side of the island you get to cross the ferry! They charge you a dollar to ride the ferry onto the island but...

Super nice beach in the aspect that it was easily accessible and not overcrowded. It's not the prettiest, but it was definitely nice for just relaxing. The waves were not bad the first day but more active than the second day and felt safe for my daughter to play in. The floor of the water is decent when first walking in and then turns to a muddy consistency a little further in. At first we did not like this, but then we started finding good shells there. Most had small crabs in them, but a few did not. There are signs at the beach that talk about bacteria in the water. We took our chances and went in anyway, as did many others. We will definitely be returning. We had a great time. Oh, be warned, there aren't any shops or restaurants on the strip so you have to drive 15-20 mins back to town. I would pack food and drinks! On the plus side, there are clean port-a-johns available if you need to use the restroom. Also, your bathing suits will be very dirty so rinse them out well after...