Tours
The Auto Tour Route provides all accessibility levels an opportunity to explore the refuge and experience wildlife in natural setting. The Auto Tour Route is open on a seasonal basis. The three mile route ends at the historic weapons storage area.
The Loring Air Force Base weapons storage area served as a critical military facility throughout the Cold War. The Strategic Air Command was stationed at the base from 1950 to 1994 flying long-range bombers capable of delivering nuclear weapons. Caribou Air Force Station located in the northeast corner of the site served as a top-secret, self-contained nuclear weapons storage base.
What was once a strategic military base for half of a century has now been restored to an ecologically diverse assemblage of federally protected lands in northern Maine. Extensive restoration of the site began immediately after the establishment of the refuge. Demolition of military buildings and cleanup of contaminated soils has taken place since the refuges establishment. The refuge manages lands to conserve and protect a diversity of native wildlife habitats and species.
As a reminder the Auto Tour Route is open on a seasonal basis. Please contact the refuge for further information about the Auto Tour Route.
