Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge

Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge, off Highway 27 in Cameron Parish, was the first refuge designated under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. Its 9,621 acres are freshwater marsh, coastal prairie and former rice fields, ground that holds ducks, geese and other migratory birds through fall, winter and spring. It is one of four refuges in the Southwest Louisiana complex, which together cover more than 184,000 acres.

The visitor center opened in 1994 on Highway 27. Its exhibits cover the refuge's birds, wildlife, plants and ecosystems, and an animated Cajun resident named Tante Marie describes life on the refuge from a pirogue. Hurricane Rita damaged the building in 2005, and it reopened with new exhibits in fall 2009. Since May 20, 2023 it has been open Tuesday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Pintail Wildlife Drive is a one-way loop of three miles that visitors drive without leaving their vehicles, and a boardwalk begins nearby; the refuge signs give sunrise to sunset as its hours. Alligator Alley, along the drive, can show dozens of alligators on a warm day, and hundreds of thousands of migrating birds pass through in fall, winter and spring.