10 Top National Wildlife Refuges To Explore

Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, Texas

I visited this South Texas refuge two weeks ago, and immediately wished I had reserved more time there. First, there are the birds: colorful ones like green jays and Altamira orioles, large ones like the pheasant-sized chacalacas, rare ones like aplomado falcons. It is far enough south to have an array of tropical species, and it sits along migratory routes so it attracts huge numbers of shorebirds. Add to that plenty of other interesting animals like  bobcats, a diversity of butterflies, indigo snakes and even ocelots (one was spotted via camera trap walking right by a popular birding blind). On Laguna Madre, you can watch marine birds to your heart’s content, or enjoy world-class fishing for redfish. There are two other national wildlife refuges, plus state parks and private preserves, nearby. A wandering biologist’s dream.

Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, Kansas

I’ve written previously about the huge congregations of sandhill cranes in Nebraska in the spring. Here’s where to see the cranes in the fall. Time it right, and you’ll see thousands of them, and even more white-fronted geese. If you time it really right, you’ll also see rare and beautiful whooping cranes. Plus there’s plenty of other birds and a prairie dog town.

St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refuge, Florida

The salt marsh is one of the most biologically productive habitats on earth, and this Florida refuge is one of the best places to see this profusion of life. Viewing blinds and a wildlife drive bring you up close to clapper rails, shorebirds, herons and waterfowl. Look closely, and you might be lucky enough to see alligators. The refuge also protects 43 miles of Gulf Coast shoreline and longleaf pine habitat. Longleaf pine forests once covered 93 million acres in the southern United States, but most have disappeared in the face of logging and altered fire cycles. St. Mark’s is a great place to experience this forest and see on of its rarest inhabitants: the federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker.

Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, Maine

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of Rachel Carson’s passing. What better way to honor this remarkable biologist than visiting the refuge created in her honor. Carson is best known for Silent Spring, her work educating the public on the devastation caused by pesticides like DDT. But she was also an accomplished marine biologist and naturalist, and the Maine coast was one of her most cherished places. The Rachel Carson NWR protects salt marshes and shrubland near her Maine summer home. The Carson Loop Trail offers a great views of the expansive salt marshes. Keep an eye out for the more than 250 bird species found there, including piping plovers and saltmarsh sparrows.

Horicon National Wildlife Refuge, Wisconsin

The Horicon Marsh is the largest cattail wetland in the United States. Come fall, those cattails are waving in Wisconsin breeze and huge flocks of ducks are on the water. Especially redheads: the species this refuge was created to protect. It’s a beautiful duck and this is the place to see and photograph them.

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia

Like many animal-crazy kids my age, I first fell in love with Chincoteague through a book: Marguerite Henry’s Misty of Chincoteague, about a wild pony on the island. It later became a favorite family vacation spot. The ponies are still there, but the island has now grown popular for its combination of beach and wildlife. Maybe too popular. But you can still find the strikingly large (and rare) Delmarva fox squirrel, northern bobwhite, non-native sika deer and a long list of waterfowl and shorebirds. In the late fall, flocks of snow geese stretch in every direction, and waterfowl specialties like Atlantic brant, ruddy ducks and canvasbacks can be spotted.

Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma

This is one of the first refuges in the nation specifically set up to protect big game. When it was established in 1905, bison and elk looked to be on the fast track to extinction. You can still see them – plus free-ranging longhorn cattle, prairie dogs and other wildlife – roaming this interesting refuge. The Wichita Mountains are scenic and offer great hiking, and as with many refuges, there are excellent naturalist-led walks to learn more about the plants, geology and birds.

Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, Oregon

Anyone who has driven interstates in the Western United States has seen plenty of sagebrush. But that habitat is mainly degraded, a shadow of its former glory. If you want to see high-quality sagebrush, head to Hart Mountain. You’ll see plenty of pronghorns, as well as other species that thrive in sage country: sage grouse, sage thrashers, sagebrush sparrows and mule deer. In the hills, you can look for bighorn sheep while hiking to petroglyphs made by indigenous hunters. You can combine a visit here with Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, a wetland refuge in the desert that attracts huge numbers of migratory birds.

Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada

A true desert oasis, The Nature Conservancy helped create Ash Meadows in the 1970s – when it was originally slated for a giant housing development. The crystal-clear pools here provide homes for fish and invertebrates found nowhere else on earth. Excellent viewing platforms allow you to see the pupfish and other wildlife. Check out my previous story to learn more about the evolutionary wonder that is the pupfish. If you’re heading to Death Valley National Park, include a stop to this refuge in your itinerary. You’ll see creatures that have some of the smallest home ranges of any vertebrates on the planet.

Togiak National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska

This is the only one on my list I’ve never visited, but it’s a definite dream destination. I first learned of this refuge when a U.S. Fish & Wildlife staffer sent me a photo of a trout captured there that had eaten 19 shrews. That led to a highly-popular blog post, and I’ve been following the happenings at Togiak ever since. The refuge’s Facebook page is always enticing, with its photos of walruses and emperor geese, really big fish and even bigger bears, all amongst downright stunning scenery. It’s full of the kind of stuff that gets a fly-fishing, megafauna-loving, solitude-craving naturalist writer foaming at the mouth with excitement. One for the bucket list.

And with 560+ refuges, I’m sure there are many others out there I should check out.