Go 'Way!
Written: Apr 28 '08 (Updated Apr 28 '08)
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Pros: Habitat for our feathered friends (and alligators)
Cons: Closed to the public, except to hunters
The Bottom Line: Unless you're a hunter looking to blast a few geese out of the sky, this refuge has nothing for you.
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| mrkstvns's Full Review: Big Boggy National Wildlife Refuge |
Barely a half hour and change from Houston's Beltway 8 (Sam Houston Tolll Road) and you're in another kind of Texan world --- one without traffic and one with a gentler, mellower mood. You're in the wetlands region of the Gulf Coast --- an area of sandy barrier islands, shallow bays, and overgrown swamps full of alligators and mosquitos. It doesn't sound like particularly inviting terrain to most city folks, but the shorebirds and migratory birds from up north seem to like it just fine.
The Texas Gulf Coast has a pretty big reputation among bird lovers. There's wildlife refuges and state and national parks all along the South Texas coast. Aside from Corpus Christi, there's not much in the way of urban industrial development either...and that's the way the birds seem to like it.
I like taking my kids down to this part of the Texas shoreline --- which a lot of Texans refer to as the "Brazosport Area". We always like driving out onto the beaches for a day of fishing and family picnicking, and we often make our way back towards Houston via Galveston. It makes for a good day of fun in the sun. This past weekend, I decided to turn inland for a little while and check out a small cluster of three National Wildlife Refuges that lie together on the inland marshes, just a few miles apart from each other.
* Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge is the largest of the three, and it's the closest to Houston, with parts of the refuge lying within the area sheltered by Galveston Island. Access to the refuge is just east of the town of Angleton.
* San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge is the second largest and second closest to Houston, lying about 5 miles south of the town of Brazoria
* Big Boggy National Wildlife Refuge is the smallest of the three and the least accessible, lying on the western bayfront just west of the northern tip of Matagorda Island.
Let's talk about Big Boggy...
Don't Go To Big Boggy!
If you're thinking of visiting this area, the first thing you need to know is that Big Boggy is closed to the public. There is no visitor center, no nature trail, and no driving tour. The only time access to Big Boggy is permitted is during hunting season, when parts of the refuge are accessible to hunters. Ain't that a kick in the trousers? The gov't can keep out the birdwatchers all year 'round, but can let in the hunters to kill off some of that natural fauna that I thought the reserve was supposed to be protecting.
On the bright side, if any of the three refuges needed to be totally closed to the public, this is the one you'd want closed --- it's the dinkiest at only 5,000 acres, and while it's kind of insulting to have public lands closed to the public, how many grassy saltwater marshes do you really NEED to see in one day trip?
Logistics...
Since you can't go into the refuge, there's obviously no entry fees (which is always a positive!) And since you won't want to go there, you won't care that the park is located 5 miles southeast of Wadsworth Texas on county road 262.
Bottom Line...
Big Boggy has nothing for the tourist to see or do. Nearby San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge and Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge can give you far more than your Recommended Daily Alllowance of raw, undeveloped, public land, but if you're into recreational type things like camping and fishing and boating and you STILL want even more to do in this area, check out the Matagorda Island State Park --- it's a beauty, and because it's a royal pain in the tookus to reach, there's never hardly anybody there. Have fun!
Recommended:
No
Best time to go: September-November
Recommended for: Fishermen-hunters
Review Topic: Overview
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Epinions.com ID:
mrkstvns
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Location: Lone Star State
Reviews written: 1457
Trusted by: 957 members
About Me:
I'm all about exciting latin American travel, hot latin music, and hearty robust beers.
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