Northwest Louisiana is composed of 10 parishes (counties) with a population of nearly 450,000. Some 91 communities are located in the area, with sizes ranging from small villages to the region's largest city, Shreveport.
The Sun Belt quality 
of life features which have resulted in the major economic development of the South are available in abundance in Northwest Louisiana: a mild climate that allows outdoor activities year-round, friendly people who enjoy a more leisurely life style, and wide open spaces and plenty of greenery all year.
Climate: The area's average seasonal temperatures range from, 83.70 F. in the summer to 47.50F.
in winter. On the average of once every two years, snow falls in sufficient quantities to accumulate on the ground for several hours. Even in January, when the North is gripped by ice and snow, our Magnolia trees and Ligustrum shrubs are glossy green, and camellias, pansies and calendulas are in bloom.
Recreation: The area's recreational facilities are plentiful and, more importantly, most of them can be enjoyed year-round. Excellent public and private facilities exist throughout the area for golfing; tennis; swimming (both indoors and outdoors); and boating.
Hunters, 
fishermen and picnickers find plenty of wide-open space in which to enjoy their out-door past time on the many lakes and parks in the area, including our own Lake Claiborne and Corney Lake as well as Toledo Bend, the largest manmade lake in the South.
Spectator sports range from minor league baseball to the annual Independence Bowl, from motorcycle and auto racing to thoroughbred horse racing at Louisiana Downs, one of the finest pari-mutuel race tracks in the nation.
Annual festivals also are plentiful in the region, ranging from our Claiborne Parish Fair to the Louisiana State Fair, Holiday-in-Dixie and the Barksdale Air Force Base Open House, from the Ruston Peach Festival to the Natchitoches Christmas Festival and the American Rose Society's Christmas Lights Festival at the Society's headquarters in Shreveport.
Culture: Whether your interest is music, theater, art or history, you'll find much to see and much to do in Northwest Louisiana.
An opera company, a symphonic orchestra, a theater featuring name entertainers and visiting music shows insures a variety of productions to choose from throughout the year.
From the Shreveport Little Theatre, the oldest continuous running little theater operation in the United States, to the Grand Ecore Amphitheater, which houses summer performances of theatrical productions and concerts, you'll have a year-round choice of theatrical performances to enjoy.
A number of art museums housing American, European and Indo-Chinese paintings, sculptures and decorative art, are augmented by frequent art exhibits at area libraries, shopping centers, private galleries and numerous arts and crafts festivals.
Historical sites also abound with attractions ranging from those in the City of Natchitoches, the oldest city in the Louisiana Purchase, to a major Civil War battlefield in Mansfield.
