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Sacramento NWR Complex Alerts

Updated March 10, 2025, 7:30am

Alerts

Unfortunately, the bathrooms at our Visitor Center (Sacramento NWR) are closed due to an emergency plumbing situation. We do not yet have a timeline on when the repairs can be completed. The vault toilet out on the Sacramento NWR Auto Tour is still available. Thanks for your patience and understanding at this time.

Aquatic Invasive Plants Environmental Assessment public review, March 7-April 6. Read more on our Newspage.

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Closed due to Flood Damage:

  • Sutter NWR Spring Trails

Open*: 

  • Sacramento NWR Auto Tour and Trails
  • Colusa NWR Auto Tour, Trail and Observation Platform
  • Logan Creek Spring Trails (Sacramento NWR), open February 15 - June 30
  • Llano Seco Unit (S. Thompson NCV WMA) Trail and Platform

*Use extreme caution as flooding can occur without warning and road shoulders are soft and will not support your vehicle. Areas are subject to closure without notice.

Before calling the refuge for updates, please review this section of our website or our social media pages. When known, new information will be posted here and to our Facebook Page and Instagram immediately.

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge is part of the SACRAMENTO NWR COMPLEX. Sacramento NWR offers a variety of recreational opportunities, including wildlife viewing, photography, hiking, hunting and so much more. The Visitor Center for the Complex is located at Sacramento NWR, where you can find maps/brochures, exciting programs, guided tours, exhibits, and a bookstore.
General Information

Visitor Center is Open

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Our new Visitor Center is currently open Wednesday-Friday from 9:00am-4:00pm (subject to change, closed on all Federal Holidays).

Injured or Abandoned Animal?

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Sacramento NWRC does not rescue, rehabilitate or accept animals. Please visit our Contact Us page for information on what to do and who to call.

Curious about what to expect?  

Seasons of a Wetland Graphic with 4 columns. Fall column: flood-ups begin, shorebirds stop by on their way south, ducks and geese arrive. Winter column: waterfowl numbers peak late November to December. Spring column: draw-downs begin to germinate food plants, waterfowl numbers decline as they migrate north, shorebirds stop by on their way north, summer residents begin to nest. Summer column: irrigations are done to produce food plants, field work is done to enhance habitat, summer residents remain
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Check out our graphic summary on the seasonality of birds and water here: What to Expect - Seasons of a Wetland.

Live Web-Cam

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Questions: What's the Weather Like? Are there Birds at the Refuge? 

Answer: Check out the Live Web-Cam at Sacramento NWR, brought to you by Friends of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge.  Click on their link to find out how you can get involved: www.friendsofsnwr.org 

Visit Us

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Welcome to Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge!   

Sacramento NWR is the Headquarters for the Sacramento NWR Complex, and offers a Visitor Center with Restrooms and a Picnic Area, Auto Tour, Information Kiosks, Observation Decks, Trails, Photography Blinds (by reservation only), limited Bicycling, Environmental Education Programs and Hunting.  

There are LOTS of recreational opportunities on the other refuges of the Complex, including Visitor Areas, Auto Tours, trails, bicycling, photography, and hunting. 

Click on VISIT US! to find all the information you need to plan your visit, like recreational opportunities, what to expect, hours and directions, accessibility, passes and permits, rules and policies, local and contact information.  Or jump straight to your favorite activity using these quick links:

VISITOR CENTERAUTO TOURSTRAILSBICYCLINGPHOTOGRAPHYHUNTING-WATERFOWLHunting-RiverMAPS, DIRECTIONS + BROCHURESENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Sacramento National Wildlife is one of the 5 National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) and 3 Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) that make up the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex: 

Location and Contact Information

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    About Us

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    The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge is located about 70 miles north of the metropolitan area of Sacramento and 7 miles south of the town of Willows in Glenn and Colusa Counties. The refuge consists of 10,819 acres of wetlands, grasslands and riparian riparian
    Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.

    Learn more about riparian     habitats. 

    Click on the link below to learn more about us!

    What We Do

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    • Resource Management

    To help plants and wildlife, Refuge staff uses a variety of habitat management techniques to maintain, recover or enhance plant and wildlife values. Refuge staff carefully consider any management techniques and employ them in varying degrees according to the situation.

    • Conservation and Partnerships

    The Complex is involved in many conservation endeavors, including Comprehensive Conservation Plans, Private Landowner Programs, and the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act.

    Click on the link below to learn more about what we do!

    Our Organization

    National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997:The NWRS Improvement Act defines a unifying mission for all refuges, including a process for determining compatible uses on refuges, and requiring that each refuge be managed according to a CCP. The NWRS Improvement  Act expressly states that wildlife conservation is the priority of System lands and that the Secretary shall ensure that the biological integrity, diversity, and environmental health of refuge lands are maintained. Each refuge must be managed to fulfill the specific purposes for which the refuge was established and the System mission. The first priority of each refuge is to conserve, manage, and if needed, restore fish and wildlife populations and habitats according to its purpose.

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    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages an unparalleled network of public lands and waters called the National Wildlife Refuge System. With more than 570 refuges spanning the country, this system protects iconic species and provides some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities on Earth.
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    Our Species

    Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge is best known for migratory waterfowl. Waterfowl are present September through April and numbers regularly peak at over 500,000 ducks and 250,000 geese. Sacramento NWR is an important wintering grounds for Tule Greater White-fronted Geese.  The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex provides nearly 70,000 acres of wetland, grassland, and riparian riparian
    Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.

    Learn more about riparian     habitats for a wide array of waterfowl, shorebirds, raptors, waterbirds, songbirds, reptiles, and mammals.  The Complex currently supports nearly 300 species of birds.

    Click on the link below to learn more about our Seasons of Wildlife, Wildlife Checklist, Wildlife Surveys, and Our Species....