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Bayou Lacombe Visitor Center

Visitor Center Hours:

Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays - 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

61389 Hwy 434, Lacombe, LA.

Have you been to the Bayou Lacombe Visitor Center Lately?

Stop by our Bayou Lacombe Visitor Center! Explore our interactive exhibits and displays. Here you will experience listening to the sounds of South Louisiana wildlife, fine tune your waterfowl ID with our duck flyway and see snakes, turtles, fish, egrets, bobcats, raccoons, bears and alligators up close in our displays. Listen to Teddy Roosevelt talk about our refuges. Take a simulated helicopter view of the refuges.

For children’s activities, our junior ranger activity book highlights activities to complete while at the Bayou Lacombe Visitor Center and visiting the trails on the grounds of Southeast Louisiana Refuges. The young children (ages 0 to 6 years) won’t want to miss the popular Nature Explorers Program. Come one come all, it is a great way to spend a morning or afternoon and it is Free!

Take home a souvenir, our gift shop is stocked with the latest wildlife items, tees, hats, stuffed animals, stickers, mugs, and refuge passports to take with you as you travel and see other refuges. Some of our cool new items include crafts from local artists (nature jewelry and wooden bowls), new tees, stuffed animals and great nature books for the kids.

Come on by and check it out! See you there!

Come Visit!

DRIVING DIRECTIONS
Big Branch National Wildlife Refuge is on the northshore of Lake Ponchartrain between Slidell and Mandeville, Louisiana. The Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuges Headquarters and Bayou Lacombe Visitor Center are located at 61389 Hwy. 434 in Lacombe. To reach our headquarters and visitor center from I-12, take Exit 74 and travel two miles south. From Hwy 190, we are located just north of the traffic circle at the intersection of Highways 434 and 190. Download a map of the Refuge at the upper left sidebar.

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE HOURS
The Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuges administrative complex located at the Bayou Lacombe Visitor Center is open Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. The office is closed on weekends and all Federal holidays. For more information, contact refuge staff at (985) 882-2000.

BAYOU LACOMBE VISITOR CENTER AND GROUNDS
The Bayou Lacombe Visitor Center exhibits, bookstore, and gift shop are open Thursday – Saturday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. The center features interactive exhibits that highlight the wildlife and habitat of eight national wildlife refuges in the region. Two miles of trails and walkways meander the grounds to viewpoints of Bayou Lacombe, through a historic botanical garden. Visit in late winter to see a spectacular show of flowering camellias and azaleas. These trails are open to the public Monday – Friday, 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m., and Saturdays, 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.