How to Find a National Wildlife Refuge or Fish Hatchery to Visit on fws.gov

Updated

You can find a place to visit on fws.gov by using the location search on the homepage, browsing by state or territory, or starting from the featured locations listed there. The site covers more than 570 wildlife refuges and 70+ fish hatcheries across 50+ states and territories, so the search tools are the fastest way to narrow down to somewhere you can actually reach. This guide walks through each path and what you can expect to learn about a site before you go.

Start with the location search on the homepage

The homepage is built around a "Places to Go" entry point. From there:

  1. Select your state or territory. The dropdown covers all 50 states plus American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. There is an "All states" option if you want to browse everything.
  2. Run the search. The result set is drawn from the Service's network of refuges, hatcheries, wilderness areas, and rivers.
  3. Open a location page. Each entry gives you the site's name, location, and a description of what it protects and what you can do there.

The state selector is the single most useful filter if your goal is a day trip or a stop along a longer route — it immediately removes sites that are nowhere near you.

Browse by place type

The homepage groups destinations into four categories, which is helpful when you care more about the kind of experience than the geography:

Category What it is Why you'd pick it
National Wildlife Refuges Protected lands and waters managed for wildlife Wildlife viewing, photography, hiking, fishing, hunting, paddling
Fish Hatcheries Facilities that raise fish for conservation and stocking Seeing fish culture operations, often family-friendly and quick to visit
Wilderness Areas Designated wild lands within the refuge system Quieter, more primitive experiences
Rivers River segments in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System Paddling, fishing, riverside trails

If you're planning around a specific activity, start with refuges; if you want a shorter, more structured stop, hatcheries are often the better fit.

What a location page tells you

Featured locations on the site show the level of detail you can expect. Two examples from the homepage:

  • Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge (Cache, OK) — about 60,000 acres of mixed-grass prairie, granite mountains, and freshwater lakes and streams. The page notes bison, longhorn, and Rocky Mountain elk herds, and lists fishing, bird watching, wildlife photography, hiking, camping, and kayaking as available activities.
  • Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge (Vero Beach, FL) — described as America's first National Wildlife Refuge, near Sebastian, Florida, with 5,400+ acres of protected waters and lands.

The pattern to rely on: a location page tells you what the site protects, what activities are possible, and roughly where it is. Activity lists are the key thing to check before you commit to a trip, because not every refuge offers the same recreation.

Plan the rest of the visit

Once you've picked a site, the homepage's "Start Your Journey" links cover the practical side:

  • Buy a Pass — for entrance where a pass is required.
  • Apply for a Permit — for activities that need authorization, such as certain hunting, fishing, or special uses.
  • Buy a Duck Stamp — required for waterfowl hunting and also a valid pass for refuges that charge entrance fees.
  • Hunting Licenses and Fishing Licenses — state-issued, available through the Service's license purchase pages.

Check the individual location page for hours, seasonal closures, and any site-specific rules, since these vary by refuge or hatchery.

Common snags

  • Confusing refuges with hatcheries. They serve different purposes and offer different visitor experiences — filter by type rather than assuming one search covers both.
  • Assuming every activity is available everywhere. The activity list on each location page is the source of truth; a refuge known for bison herds may not have a boat launch.
  • Skipping the permit step. Some activities require a permit or a pass before you arrive, and the license and pass pages are separate from the location pages.
  • Overlooking territories. The state selector includes territories, so if you're in Puerto Rico, Guam, or the U.S. Virgin Islands, you can still find sites through the same tool.