St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge

St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge

St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
4.5
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
The trail-runner's dream.
Meets animal welfare guidelines
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.

Top ways to experience nearby attractions

The area
Address
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Attractions
4 within 6 miles

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles697 reviews
Excellent
538
Very good
136
Average
21
Poor
1
Terrible
1

Lee Ann Murray
Dallas, TX400 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2021
North Florida is highly underrated in my opinion. The scenery, beauty, wildlife, access to parks and hiking. St. Marks is great example of that; not many crowds, perfect for picnics and seeing eagles and deer. Great spot to let children explore.
Written 2 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

PapyCM
Tallahassee, FL107 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2021 • Family
This is where I normally launch my boat. Love fishing here but locks of rocks. If you go East you better know where you are going or you will likely damage your boat. Nice place to watch sunset. Not uncommon to see deer or alligators while driving the road. Can fresh water or salt water fish from land. Not a ton of trails but the ones they have are fairly long and enjoyable. Very beautiful place.
Written 18 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jennifer h
4 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2021
What a great time we had visiting this Refuge.
We were able to see a turtle, amazing alligators- both big and small , snakes , birds and even a deer.
This was definitely one of my favorite activities.
It only takes a few hours, so a quick spot for some natural beauty .
Written 8 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

jzbz
Poinciana, FL317 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2021
As avid birdwatchers this is our favorite place in the Panhandle for nature viewing.
We have visited in all seasons and this visit was at the beginning of spring that seemed as though summer was already here.
Nonetheless, we still enjoyed it.
Bring insect spray if you intend to walk/hike away from the roadway.
Written 9 June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

DebMey11
Clayton, CA499 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2021 • Friends
If you want a chance to see some alligators, this is your spot! There were even mama alligators guarding their nests! Truly magical! Make this a must do if in the area! ❤️
Written 25 April 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

John B
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2021
A real hidden gem! ... definitely one of the best places to visit in ALL of Florida!! ... the Refuge is currently open, but the visitor and education centers are not, due to Covid; so probably even better when all is open. But just the drive through is gorgeous -- better than the Everglades!, with beautiful scenery and wildlife (gators, bird, turtles, and a few snakes) ... and the lighthouse is gorgeous!, although not open for climbing; so, again, may be even better than we experienced. Also, many nature trails, although we only did some short walks. Definitely glad we took the time to check it out, and would highly recommend!!!
Written 13 April 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jessica K
Tarpon Springs, FL278 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2021 • Family
Beautiful nature park with lots of bird watching opportunities. There is a lighthouse and plenty of trails to explore. The downside, everything was closed (lighthouse, visitor center) on the Monday when we visited. However, we still had a lovely time bird watching and looking at the alligators. All the trails were well managed, and easy to walk. $5 entry fee.
Written 17 March 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Trista B
4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2021 • Family
Great place for the family. Little crabs running everywhere. Saw black tip sharks swimming. Fantastic place for photos.Saw gator on the way in. Definitely will go back. Lighthouse beautiful views.
Written 14 March 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ex3
Cicero, Indiana119 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2021
We love visiting National Wildlife Refuges! This one was the usual "low key" atmosphere with visitors who are looking for nature and not for high action entertainment. We were thrilled to see a bobcat resting in a tree by the lighthouse and a pelican "feeding frenzy" also near the lighthouse. If you want to see "natural Florida", get away from the tourist areas and check out the parks and wildlife areas.
Written 12 March 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jeffrey B
South Boston, VA3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2021 • Solo
Great place to go birding. I came down from Virginia to add the American Flamingo to my Life List.

There is one main road through the refuge to the lighthouse but there are several trails that one can walk to see birds and American Alligators.

Depending on when you go some of the trails may be close.

My only complaint is that there is very limited parking spaces to access the trails at the gates but you can’t block the gates. More parking places needed.
Written 9 February 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Showing results 21-30 of 677
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing

ST. MARKS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)