Sabine National Wildlife Refuge

Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1937, covers 124,511 acres of marsh between Calcasieu Lake and Sabine Lake in Cameron Parish, the largest coastal marsh refuge on the Gulf. Highway 27, part of the Creole Nature Trail, runs through it, and its roadside recreation areas are open to cars year round from dawn until dusk.

The Wetland Walkway is the stop most visitors make. It is a 1.5-mile loop of concrete and boardwalk across an impounded freshwater marsh, on the west side of the highway about four miles south of the refuge office, with a parking lot, restrooms and a raised tower that is at its best at sundown. The Blue Goose Trail, just north of the office, is a short paved path along a wooded levee to the edge of Calcasieu Lake, with an observation platform. No entrance fee is listed; fishing needs a Louisiana license.

The refuge has had to be rebuilt. Hurricane Rita, on September 24, 2005, damaged the office, visitor center and shops beyond repair, took out bridges, piers, boardwalks and towers along the highway, and left about seven million cubic meters of debris in the marsh and canals. The refuge counts more than 300 bird species and thousands of American alligators, and draws about 300,000 visits a year. Interior canals and ponds are open for fishing and crabbing only from March 15 to October 15.