The San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge is an excellent place to bird-on-your-own in small groups or individually just outside of Lake Jackson. The refuge’s unique blend of coastal marsh, prairies, potholes, fresh water lakes and oak forests make it prime site for birding of all types. Auto-tours, hiking trails and boardwalks are great for spotting migrating warblers, cinnamon teals, purple gallinules, and western rarities. Bobcats, river otters, alligators, and turtles also make their home at San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge. Trails include: Cocklebur Slough Auto Tour, Cow Trap Marsh Trail, Bobcat Woods Trail, San Bernard Oak Trail, and the Scissortail Trail. Great for kayaking! Don’t veer from marked trails and bring water, sunscreen, and insect repellant. The San Bernard Oak Trail is currently closed due to the condition of the boardwalk.
San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge provides wintering habitat for migratory waterfowl and other bird species, the refuge serves as an end point for the ducks and geese migrating south along the Central Flyway for the winter. It also serves as an entry point for neotropical migratory songbirds headed north to their breeding grounds, exhausted from their 600-mile crossing of the Gulf of Mexico.
More than 320 species of birds call the refuge home for all or part of the year, making it a bird-watcher’s paradise.
The 54,000-acre San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge is a place for people to enjoy nature and the outdoors. Wildlife watching, photography, hunting, fishing, and environmental education programs are all available to the public.
The refuge is open 365 days a year during daylight hours (sunrise to sunset) and no entrance fee is required. Enjoy wildlife-related activities, including wildlife watching, hiking, hunting, fishing and wildlife photography.
The San Bernard Refuge field office, located off of County Road 306, is where the business of the refuge is conducted. It is open Monday through Friday from 8am to 4pm and is closed on Christmas, Thanksgiving and federal holidays. Here, the public can pick up brochures, maps and information, as well as access the San Bernard Oak Trail.
San Bernard Refuge entrance: The refuge entrance is located 2.15 miles southwest of the intersection of FM 2918 and CR 306 on CR 306.
Added By Edith Fischer
