Welcome to Intracoastal City

Intracoastal City is the nearest access to Vermilion Bay and the Gulf of Mexico in this region, but don’t expect a bustling city with a large population. Throughout the years, Intracoastal City evolved into servicing the area’s oil and shrimp industries. After the destruction of Hurricane Rita’s flooding and the downturn of the oil industry, Intracoastal City is mostly a homebase for the shrimping and fishing industry. Many recreational fishermen dock out of the Abbeville Harbor and Terminal Boat Launch to try their luck for saltwater fish and crabs. For information on recreational fishing/crabbing or to obtain a fishing license, visit the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries webpage.

Further south of Intracoastal, you should not miss the Leland Bowman Lock on the Intracoastal Waterway. The Intracoastal Waterway is a partially manmade canal inland of the Gulf of Mexico, stretching from Texas to Florida, that allows water transportation. The Leland Bowman Lock, operated by the Army Corp of Engineers, helps to regulate the flow of water in the Mermentau District compromising much more than the entire parish of Vermilion. Two hundred thirty-eight (238) miles of the Intracoastal Canal falls under the Leland Bowman Lock’s supervision. This system of keeping salt water out of the fresh water supply that serves the farming communities further north, while allowing the flow of transportation by commodity carrying barges, is fully computerized and interesting to watch.