Things to do nearSavannah National Wildlife Refuge

Savannah National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1927 and today encompasses more than 29,000 acres of tidal rivers, creeks, bottomland hardwoods, and managed freshwater impoundments along the Savannah River just upstream from the Georgia coast. The refuge sits on land that was historically used for rice cultivation, and the old dike and water control systems built by enslaved laborers during the antebellum era are now managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to maintain the shallow impoundments that waterfowl and wading birds depend on. That agricultural past has, in an unexpected way, made the refuge one of the most productive bird habitats on the southeastern coastal plain.

Visitors exploring the Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive encounter a rotating cast of species across seasons, from painted buntings and prothonotary warblers in the warmer months to thousands of ring-necked ducks and teal in winter. Alligators are a constant and unhurried presence throughout the warmer half of the year, often seen basking on dike banks within easy view of passing vehicles. The surrounding bottomland forest shelters white-tailed deer, river otters, and the occasional bobcat.

Paddlers can launch kayaks and canoes at designated access points to explore the tidal creeks at a pace that lets the landscape reveal itself gradually. The nearby city of Savannah, Georgia, and the town of Hardeeville, South Carolina, offer lodging and dining options that make the refuge accessible as part of a longer coastal itinerary. For anyone drawn to the particular stillness of a southern wetland, Savannah National Wildlife Refuge delivers an experience that is both ecologically significant and quietly unforgettable.