Basic Info about the Refuge
The D'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana is nearly 20,000 acres.
The D’Arbonne NWR in Louisiana is a beautiful and generally quiet place to hang out and watch wildlife. It’s hard to think of another place you can find a scene as breathtaking as the view of the meadow and water from the observation tower.
On any given day, you can find wading birds, like great egrets, great blue herons, and even little blue herons, songbirds, woodpeckers, frogs, toads, raptors, skunks, armadillos, deer, turtles, black bears, snakes, and vultures.
The NWR has a special place in our hearts as the first place we saw red-headed woodpeckers and the only place we’ve seen red-cockaded woodpeckers.
Because the Bayou D’Arbonne bisects the refuge, it’s almost impossible to visit from all entrances in a single visit. We suggest you try the Saline Creek Wetlands area and Holland’s Bluff Road area on different visits and start with the wetlands area just off Highway 15 near Downsville. Along with the beautiful scenery there, you can see all kinds of wildlife there.
In our visits to the area, we’ve met more birds of prey in the Saline Creek area. We’ve met red-shouldered hawks, red-tailed hawks, or northern harriers on each visit. During the dry season, when we’ve been able to cross the creek on the gravel trail, we’ve met eagles and ospreys.
If you have time, check out the Lake Drain area down the road from the Saline Creek area.
Hours Open Per Day
Size in Acres
Entry Fee
By The Numbers
Learn more about the refuge.
Days Open
Percent of the Refuge that Floods during Rainy Years
Blanchard's Cricket Frog
Northern Cricket Frog
Downy Woodpecker
Immature Little Blue Heron
Red-Tailed Hawk
Pine Warbler
Red Admiral Butterfly
Red-Banded Hairstreak Butterfly
Belted Kingfisher
While we love all our wild friends, the red-headed woodpecker is our favorite D’Arbonne NWR inhabitant. D’Arbonne is the first place we met this friend, and no matter how many other awesome neighbors we met there, it has remained our absolute fav from the refuge.
More about How You Can Enjoy the Refuge
The refuge is open 24-7, all year and is free to the public. More details about what you need to hunt and fish at the refuge legally are in the tab below.
Restrooms
You can find public restrooms at the North Louisiana Refuges Complex Headquarters on Holland’s Bluff Road. Contact the complex to find out when they’re open.
Trail Accessibility
The D’Arbonne NWR is hit or miss regarding trail accessibility for visually impaired users. The level of accessibility depends on how far you want to go and how flooded the refuge is. During the rainy season, most of the refuge is inaccessible by foot to anyone. We advise you to check out the link below for flood advisories.
The gravel trail near the outlook tower at the Saline Creek Wetlands is accessible and easy for someone using a seeing-eye cane. Cane users may find the Lake Drain Area moderately tricky, especially down at the lake drain. Parts of Holland’s Bluff Road are easy to use a cane on, particularly the ATV trails and the area near the bayou at the bluff.
Learn More
Learn more about the D’Arbonne NWR at the refuge’s official website.
D’Arbonne NWR is one of our favorite places to watch wildlife. It’s a great place to watch and photograph harriers, red-shouldered and red-tailed hawks, eagles, vermillion flycatchers, and pine warblers; you might even catch a glimpse of a ringtail while you’re there. You can find lists of birds sighted at the refuge with eBird’s Trail Tracker “D’Arbonne NWR – Union Parish and “D’Arbonne NWR – Ouachita Parish” sighting lists. You can find out what other animals have been spotted there at the iNaturalist “D’Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge” page. For more info about the refuge, check out the D’Arbonne NWR page.
The D’Arbonne NWR is popular to fish. The NWR has several places to fish off the shore and boat launches to get into the open water. You can find information on getting and maintaining your fishing license and what species you can keep, check out the Wildlife and Fisheries “Recreational Freshwater Finfish and Crawfish” page. You can also learn about the crawfishing licenses there.
The D’Arbonne NWR is well-known for its deer and waterfowl, and hunters are successful there during both seasons. To legally hunt at the D’Arbonne NWR, you’ll need a valid Louisiana hunting license and a Migratory Bird Stamp for hunting waterfowl. Learn more about federal hunting laws enforced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the D’Arbonne NWR “Hunting” page and the Louisiana Wildlife Management “WMA/Refuge/Conservation Area Licenses and Permits pages.”
Visit Other Areas
The D'Arbonne NWR is one of many places you can enjoy our local wildlife.
Explore North Louisiana's Outdoors.
Learn about other Kisatchie National Forest ranger districts, national wildlife refuges, state wildlife management areas, and state parks found throughout North Louisiana.