Bon Secour
National Wildlife Refuge
The Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge encompasses 7,000 acres on a peninsula that stretches down Fort Morgan Road (Hwy 180) from Gulf Shores all the way to the Fort Morgan. Hikers have approximately 8 miles of trails to walk, most of them lined with saw palmettos. Almost as if they were planted (and they weren't, it's all natural), magnolias and live oaks seem to frame the palmettos. Hike all of the trails and you will see Gator Lake, Little Lagoon, and the Gulf of Mexico. Raised boardwalks scattered about will take you over wetlands and salt marshes.
The permitted activities in the refuge are hiking, swimming, and photography. With a saltwater fishing license, you could fish the waters within the refuge. Even though Gator Lake is considered freshwater, freshwater fishing is not productive at this time because of the intrusion of saltwater from recent hurricanes. Canoes and small boats with or without trolling (electric) motors are permitted on the lake.
For saltwater fishing, the easiest place to access Little Lagoon in Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge is from the Jeff Friend Trailhead. The water is shallow so unless you have a small boat or canoe that you can carry to the water, you are going to have to do some wading. During the warm weather months this is a very nice way to spend a few hours, whether you catch any fish or not. The usual inshore saltwater species on the Alabama Coast - white trout,
catfish,
speckled trout,
flounder,
redfish and more - are routinely caught in Little Lagoon.There are also areas within Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge where you can
surf fish
in the Gulf of Mexico. The easiest place to get to the Gulf is at Mobile Street about ten miles into the refuge coming from Gulf Shores. Just a few of the species that you might catch while surf fishing are flounder, pompano, bluefish, redfish, white trout and whiting.
Stingrays
are often caught, but most fisherman return them to the water even though they are edible. Alligators are common in the refuge. They hang out in the wetlands, the lakes, and Little Lagoon (even though it is saltwater). Sea turtles inhabit the beach areas, but they are not spotted often. They nest from May until October and do most of their moving around at the beach after the sun goes down. You are more likely to see turtle tracks than the turtles.
The creatures you are most likely to see on any given day in the refuge are birds. During the migratory seasons more than 370 birds have been identified within the boundaries of the refuge.Birdwatchers are always looking for a bird they haven't seen yet so that they can mark it off their list. Everybody else is more impressed with the big birds like the Great Blue Heron. These are huge birds and very common in the refuge. Brown pelicans and ospreys are other large birds that are commonly spotted. You are most likely to see wildlife other than birds just after daybreak and just before dark. There is a short window during those times because you can only be in the refuge during daylight hours. Animals are generally going to want to see you a lot less than you want to see them, and they are very good at winning that game. However, you can be certain than your walk on the trails will take you very close to a lot of animals in hiding or asleep - foxes, raccoons, opossums, coyotes, armadillos, river otters, bobcats, and many more species.
On a recent trip to Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge my wife and I parked our car at the Jeff Friend Trailhead. It was a pleasant day with temperatures in the late 70's - not bad for the first Sunday after New Year's Day. We walked the entire Jeff Friend Loop, along with part of Centennial and Pine Beach Trails. Though there was another car parked at the trailhead, we didn't pass anybody else on the trails.Hurricanes have been coming ashore in this part of Alabama "forever." There was really no such thing as "hurricane destruction" until man decided to build-out the beach.
Hurricane Ivan
in September of 2004 blew all kinds of junk into Little Lagoon and into the refuge. There are no signs of any of that today, but I did make a remark to my wife about the next hurricane of any strength destroying all of those beautiful boardwalks. Hopefully you can get to the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge before that happens. Next time you get to the beaches, see a piece of the coast as it was before it was "discovered."
Alabama Gulf Coast on eBay
Return to Gulf Shores Day Trips
Return to Gulf Shores Travel Guide Home Page from Bon Secour
|
Subscribe in a reader