Basic Info about the Refuge
The Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana is around 42,000 acres.
The Upper Ouachita NWR more than 40,000 acres of lakes, swamplands, and forests, which includes the Ouachita River. It spans Union and Morehouse Parishes and provides lots of good habitat for songbirds, woodpeckers, raccoons, deer, bears, snakes, and turtles.
Finding the observation tower is extremely difficult, as there aren’t any markings beyond warnings that roads are closed to public traffic pointing the way. The road on the eastern side is also filled with potholes and extremely difficult to navigate. However, the western side of the refuge is easy to find and navigate through, and you can find loads of fun habitat to explore near the river, Finch Lake, Big Lake, and Glaze Creek.
By The Numbers
Learn more about the refuge.
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Cedar Waxwings
Northwest Area
Pearl Crescent Butterflies
Northwest Area
Golden-Crowned Kinglet
Northwest Area
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Northwest Area
Gulf Fritillary Butterfly
Northwest Area
Raccoon Tracks
Ouachita River
Featured Animal
The raccoon is one of our favorite animals in North Louisiana. These famously bad mannered mammals live throughout the Upper Ouachita NWR, and are especially common along the river.
More about How You Can Enjoy the Refuge
General Info
Birding and Wildlife Watching
Fishing
Hunting
General Info
The refuge is open from sunrise to sunset all year and is free to the public. For folks legally fishing and hunting, those hours of use may be expanded in select areas. There are more details about what you need to legally hunt and fish at the refuge in the tabs below.
Restrooms
We haven’t seen any restrooms at the Upper Ouachita NWR.
Trail Accessibility
We didn’t find any well-marked hiking trails in the area we were at. The ground seemed uneven, so we didn’t test the accessibility of this NWR.
Learn More
Learn more about the Upper Ouachita NWR at the refuge’s official website.
Birding and Wildlife Watching
The Upper Ouachita NWR is a good place to watch raccoons, deer, sparrows, kinglets, turtles, snakes, and butterflies. The Upper Ouachita NWR is the first place we ever met a bear. You can find lists of birds sighted at the refuge with eBird’s “Upper Ouachita Mollicy Unit” and “Upper Ouachita NWR” Trail Tracker sighting lists and more information about general animals that have been reported at the refuge. For more info about the refuge, check out the Upper Ouachita NWR page.
Fishing
You can fish along the river or in many of the lakes throughout the refuge. Learn about the rules and regulations for what types of poles and bait you can use to catch certain fish at the Upper Ouachita “Fishing” page. 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.
Hunting
Duck hunting is the most popular pastime at the Upper Ouachita NWR, and squirrel and deer hunting are also popular on the refuge. To legally hunt there, 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 Upper Ouachita NWR “Hunting” page and the Louisiana Wildlife Management “WMA/Refuge/Conservation Area Licenses and Permits pages.
Visit Other Areas
The Upper Ouachita NWR is one of many places you can enjoy our local wildlife.
Explore North Louisiana’s Outdoors.
Learn about national wildlife refuges, Kisatchie National Forest ranger districts, state wildlife management areas, and state parks found throughout North Louisiana.
