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 Home / Education / Community Education / Self-Guided

Self-Guided On-Site Activities

The reserve is open year-round for exploration and discovery, however, the office is only open Monday-Friday from 8AM to 5PM.  If you visit the office during normal operating hours, be sure to stop by and check our Exciting Sightings Board to see what plants and animals have been recently spotted in and around the reserve. Be sure to ask for a copy of our checklist/ log book, so that you can record the plants and animals that you observe during your field adventure. Or if you would prefer, download your own copy of the checklists before you arrive. If the office is open when you are finished exploring, please stop and share your sightings with us, so that we can update our Sightings Board. Our field guide to plants of the reserve is also available online.  Please be aware of the environmental and safety advisories that will keep you safe and legal when you visit us.

 Field Experiences include but are not limited to:

Fishing

A free public boat launch and a handicapped-accessible fishing pier are located at the end of Bayou Heron Road on Bayou Heron on the east side of the reserve. The pier is suitable for fishing and crabbing. The waters of the reserve are extremely shallow, especially at low tide; so, only boats that draft a minimal amount of water should attempt to navigate outside of Bayou Heron. Point O'Pines fish camp, which is located on the west side of the reserve on Bayou Cumbest, also maintains a small boat launch but charges a small fee to launch.

Unless you are exempt (under 16 or a Mississippi resident over 65), a Mississippi saltwater fishing license is required when fishing in the reserve's tidal waters, and a freshwater license is required when fishing in isolated ponds, marshes or ditches.

Saltwater license information

Freshwater license information

Fishing the Mississippi Gulf Coast

2005-2006 Saltwater Fishing Rules and Regulations

Real Time Data:
CDMO Weather and Water Quality
YSI Water Quality

Hunting

hunter

Only bow-hunting for deer and duck and squirrel hunting with shotguns are allowed by permit along with the appropriate Mississippi Hunting License during designated hunting seasons in the National Wildlife Refuge portion of the reserve. Hunting within the Grand Bay Savanna Coastal Preserve portion of the reserve is allowed with the appropriate Mississippi Hunting License during the appropriate hunting seasons.

Hunters, please be aware that the reserve is a multi-use area, so extreme caution must be used while hunting here, especially near trails designated for other purposes. 

Mississippi Hunting license information

Grand Bay N. W. R. Permit

Paddling/Boating

The waters of the reserve offer interesting and exciting adventures to paddlers. Either in canoes or a kayaks, paddlers can explore our generally flat waters with a minimum of experience or effort, unless the wind is kicking up. The only places to access high ground when paddling are either maritime forests or American Indian middens. The middens are protected, heritage sites and should be respected at all times. Always pack out what you pack in. Camping is not allowed in the refuge, so make sure you plan your trip to get back before dark.

Oyster Tonging

Oyster Tonging is allowed in the reserve only during highly-regulated seasons that fall traditionally in late fall through early spring. The collection of oysters requires a recreational or commercial oyster license. The waters of the reserve are divided into harvesting areas and are routinely monitored by the DMR during these seasons. When the water quality meets the standards for harvesting, the appropriate areas will be opened for harvest. All harvested oysters must be properly tagged with tags from the regional oyster check station. Check the DMR website for up-to-date open and closure notices. Also see the oyster growing areas map.

Watchable Wildlife and Plants

The reserve is a great place to go birding, bug watching and butterflying and botanizing. If you are very, very observant it is also a great place see aquatic and marine mammals such as river otters and bottlenose dolphins. Please respect our plant and animal populations when you our visiting our reserve ( See tips )

Birding/Hiking/Exploration

The Oak Grove Birding Trail in the reserve is Stop 8 on the recently established Mississippi Coastal Birding Trail. The site is a maritime, mixed hardwood forest (oaks and sweetgums) that slopes down towards the marshes that border the upper reaches of Bayou Heron.  To reach this site from I-10 take exit 75, Franklin Creek Road, south to the stop sign at the intersection of Hwy. 90.  Cross Hwy 90 onto Pecan Rd, and travel on this narrow road until you can take your first left onto a paved road near the railroad crossing.  This is Bayou Heron Road.  Carefully cross the tracks and then stay to your right (Remember Bayou Heron Road turns off to the right and Missala Road continues straight and then turns off to the left). Continue down this road for approximately 2 miles (Approximately a mile down the road you will pass the headquarters of the reserve on your right).  A small brown sign with white letters is located opposite the parking area for the birding trail.

Birding along this trail is most enjoyable and successful during the periods of spring and fall migration.  Migrants such as Yellow Warblers, Redstarts and Scarlet Tanagers are some of the most common birds found here in the spring.  Portions of the trail can be a bit soggy, so be sure and wear the appropriate footwear.  Don't forget your bug spray!

During the winter months, many overwintering shorebirds, waterfowl and other birds such as White Pelicans, Common Loons, Mottled Ducks and Peregrine Falcons utilize the waterways, exposed mudflats and adjacent marshes of the reserve.  Although you must have a boat to observe most of these birds, a winter birding experience is worth the extra effort. Consult the Watchable Wildlife Section for a more complete list of the birds you can find in the reserve.

Nature Photography

This amateur and professional activity has found a huge following in the past few years due mainly to the availability of digital cameras. Photo opportunities such as glorious sunrises and sunsets and other spiritual settings as well as brightly colored wildflowers and butterflies provide countless possibilities for photographers who want to capture that perfect photo for their album. If you take a beautiful or interesting photo when you visit our reserve, and you would like to donate that photo to our online photo gallery, please email it to the education coordinator for inclusion at the next web update. Please be sure to include your name, the title of your picture and when and where you took it.