Into the Wild: Exploring America's National Wildlife Refuges

The National Wildlife Refuge System is a vast network of public lands and waterways managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This network contains nearly 600 refuges designed to restore and preserve plants and wildlife habitats.

The Boone and Crockett Club, North America's oldest wildlife and habitat conservation group, proposed the idea of U.S. wildlife refuges in 1902. Within one year, club member and U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt established the first refuge on the Atlantic Coast in Florida, marking the beginning of a legacy of conservation and preservation.

Refuges can now be found in all 50 states and five U.S. territories. Many are within an hour's drive of a major metropolitan area. The best refuges provide various opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts, from walking and wildlife watching to nature journaling, citizen science, wildlife photography and self-guided auto tours. They are also great places to enjoy the tranquility of a beautiful natural space.

Here are just a few of the stand-out National Wildlife Refuges worth the drive.

The Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge is a 16,000-acre East Coast refuge in Smyrna, Delaware. It was created to preserve tidal marshes along Delaware Bay, provide breeding grounds for migratory birds and provide resting places for wintering waterfowl along the Atlantic Flyway. More than 100,000 ducks and geese winter at the refuge. Shorebirds arrive in the spring. Songbirds and raptors can be found there throughout the year, with additional birds passing through during spring and fall migration. Many mammals and reptiles, including cottontail rabbits, red foxes, five-lined skinks and painted turtles, live at Bombay Hook.

One of the best ways to see Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge is on the 12-mile self-guided wildlife auto tour. You can also see a lot from the five walking trails (two are handicapped accessible) and the three observation towers that look out onto the tidal pools. The refuge also has occasional ranger-led tours to teach visitors about flora, fauna and seasonal events.

J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge is a 6,000-acre refuge on the subtropical barrier island of Sanibel in southwestern Florida. It is named after Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling, a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and the founder of the National Wildlife Federation. The refuge is a world-famous birding destination due to its booming migratory bird population. It's also a part of the country's largest undeveloped mangrove ecosystem, which provides a home for many birds, fish, invertebrates, mammals and plants.

Approximately 250 bird species have been documented in the refuge, including year-round resident birds like herons, egrets, osprey, pelicans and spoonbills. One of the most sought-after birds on the refuge is the elusive Mangrove Cuckoo, which can usually only be seen in the United States in the southern parts of Florida. They are most active in April. The refuge is also home to over 50 species of reptiles and amphibians and 30 mammal species.

J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge has a four-mile wildlife drive that can be navigated by walking, cycling or driving. A naturalist-led tram tour is also available. The drive leads to several walking trails, including a wildlife and education boardwalk and a two-story observation pavilion where you can see alligators, nesting birds and other wildlife. Other activities include ranger-led programs, fishing and motorized boating.

Quivira National Wildlife Refuge is a 22,000-acre refuge in south-central Kansas. It has a rare combination of inland salt marsh and sand prairie. This habitat and location make it a crucial stop on the Central Flyway for waterfowl, shorebirds and wetland bird species. Quivira National Wildlife Refuge is so vital to wildlife conservation that it was designated a Wetland Site of International Importance. 

Birdwatchers are drawn to this refuge to see the 350 species of birds documented there, including the endangered Whooping Crane, the threatened Western Snowy Plover and the thousands of Sand Hill Cranes congregating there in the spring and fall. Visitors also journey to the refuge because of its location along the Wetlands and Wildlife National Scenic Byway. This 77-mile byway has prairie vistas, panoramic wildlife displays and rural communities with rich histories.

The self-guided 5-mile wildlife drive is the best way to see Quivira and the Big Salt Marsh, the refuge's most popular wildlife viewing spot. You can also take in the sights from an observation tower, photography blinds or nature trails, which include a wheelchair accessible trail lined with birdhouses and an elevated boardwalk trail through the marsh. 

Northern California's 11,000-acre Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge is famous for its migratory waterfowl. More than 500,000 ducks and 250,000 geese winter there from November to January. Shorebirds, including sandpipers, dowitchers, dunlin and stilts, arrive in the spring. The spring season is also a great time to see neotropical migrant songbirds. Deer, jackrabbits, otters and other mammals are common in the uplands, grasslands, seasonal marshes and riparian habitats.

The Sacramento National River Wildlife Refuge has two self-guided auto tours with observation decks that provide wildlife-watching opportunities. Walking trails are also available for a closer look at wetlands, vernal pools, and riparian habitats. The Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge is part of the larger 70,000-acre Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge complex, which includes four other National Wildlife Refuges and three wildlife management areas, so there is plenty to see when you're in the area.

There are so many wonderful National Wildlife Refuges around the country that it is impossible to visit them all. Fortunately, many of the refuges have webcams that allow you to see wildlife in sensitive, faraway or inhospitable places. Some examples include the gray seal cam at Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge and the Mississippi River Flyway cam at the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.

Virtual events are also available. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges host an annual Virtual Bird Fest so nature lovers can see the many birds at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.