One Of The Best-Kept Secrets On Alabama's Gulf Coast Is A Free-To-Visit Wildlife Refuge With Seaside View Trails

Want to really experience the wild, untamed beauty of the United States' Gulf Coast? Tourism and modern development may be ever-expanding along the Gulf of Mexico (renamed the Gulf of America in 2025 by U.S. President Donald Trump), but there are still a few stretches of untouched coastline left to explore. Alabama's coast is already one of the Gulf's best-kept secrets, and its Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge offers a true escape into nature's serenity and rugged wilderness, feeling worlds away from the towering resorts and kitschy seaside attractions that line the white, sandy shores just a few miles down the coast. The best part? The refuge is free to visit and explore.

Originally founded in 1980 to protect the neotropical migratory songbird habitat, the refuge seeks to live up to its name, which is French for "safe harbor," by serving as a protective haven for the native flora and fauna, as well as wildlife that call the Gulf home. Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge is one of the last remaining and largest protected stretches of Alabama coastline. It's located on Fort Morgan peninsula, a barrier island shielding Alabama's Mobile Bay from Gulf waters. 

The refuge extends across the bay to a small, separate barrier island called Little Dauphin Island, the little neighbor to another Gulf Coast destination, the affordable Alabama paradise of Dauphin Island. Throughout Bon Secour's sprawling 7,000 acres of shoreline, sand dunes, and coastal forests, animals of all species enjoy the area; migratory birds stop and stay a while, various species of sea turtles come to nest, and the endangered Alabama beach mouse enjoys an undisturbed home. Visitors of the human persuasion are invited to visit the wildlife refuge, explore by land and by sea, and perhaps even find their own haven in this natural oasis.

Trails and boardwalks guide you through the refuge and ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for human visitors and wildlife inhabitants alike. The most popular trail in the area is the Pine Beach Trail, which takes visitors on a 3-mile, round-trip quest through the area's varied environments, traversing through the coastal forest to the banks of a saltwater lagoon and freshwater lake before heading out to the dunes and beach. Some of the trails are ADA accessible, including the newly restored Mobile Street Boardwalk, which reopened in summer 2025 and provides free, public beach access. When it's time to hit the beach, Fort Morgan offers plenty of uncrowded, sugar-sand shoreline to enjoy just 30 minutes down the coast from the more popular Gulf Coast beach vacation destination of Orange Beach.

While any nature lover will enjoy a tranquil stroll through Bon Secour's trails, the area is especially popular among birders thanks to its world-class birding opportunities — more than 370 species of birds have been observed throughout the refuge. Pine Beach Trail is a favorite for birding since it traverses so many different habitats. Hobbyists can check a wide variety of birds off their list in spring and fall as migratory birds come and go. 

You can also enjoy Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge by water. The Jeff Friend Kayak Launch is the paddlers' gateway to Little Lagoon, the 8-mile brackish lake stretching from Bon Secour all the way to Gulf Shores, one of Alabama's most underrated cities with a pretty state park, just 15 minutes away by car. With an Alabama saltwater fishing license, you can also cast a line on the beach, at Little Lagoon, or in the refuge's freshwater Gator Lake.