Coast & Nature · Guide
Weeks Bay, Bon Secour Trails
Two protected places near Gulf Shores offer short, easy walks through swamp, pitcher plant bog, maritime forest and dunes.
Photo: Mike Tilley, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
Weeks Bay Reserve and Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge offer the easiest short nature walks on this part of the Alabama coast: boardwalks through swamp and bog at Weeks Bay, and dune and maritime-forest foot trails at Bon Secour. They serve different purposes and have different rules.
Weeks Bay: Boardwalks, Trails and the Visitor Center
Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve sits near Mobile Bay's eastern shore, about 40 miles southeast of Mobile. Designated in 1986, it protects 9,317 acres, including more than 6,000 acres of tidal and forested wetlands fed by the Fish and Magnolia rivers. The main stop is the visitor center at 11300 U.S. Highway 98 in Fairhope, open Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed on state and federal holidays. Inside are exhibits, live animal displays and collections of regional plants and animals.
Behind the center, a boardwalk of about 3,500 feet winds through hardwood forest and swamp to an overlook on Weeks Bay. A second boardwalk of about 2,000 feet circles the Pitcher Plant Bog, on County Road 17 a quarter mile north of U.S. 98, and ends at an overlook on the Fish River; look for white-topped pitcher plants and sundews. The reserve also has about two miles of ground trails, including a one-mile Nature Trail from the visitor center and a one-mile Upland Trail from the bog parking area. Birds seen here include brown pelicans, ospreys, clapper rails and brown-headed nuthatches.
Bon Secour: Foot Trails and Refuge Rules
Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, a unit of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the Fort Morgan peninsula, was established by Congress in 1980 and covers about 7,000 acres of beach dunes and pine-oak woods. It protects stopover habitat for migrating songbirds and dune habitat for the endangered Alabama beach mouse. Its four trails, per the refuge:
| Trail | Length | What you walk through |
|---|---|---|
| Centennial Trail | 1.65 miles | Maritime forest, scrub and dunes |
| Chan West Pine Beach Trail | 0.78 miles | Dune ridge between forest and frontal dunes |
| Gator Lake Trail | 0.78 miles | Maritime forest, wetlands, Little Lagoon; universally accessible |
| Jeff Friend Trail | 2.06 miles | Maritime forest to dune swales |
Trails and beach access are open daily from sunrise to sunset, and there is no entry fee. The trails are for foot traffic only, and bicycles are not allowed. Dogs are not allowed anywhere on the refuge, except service animals. At the time of writing, the Centennial boardwalks were closed due to safety concerns, but visitors can walk the Centennial Trail up to the boardwalk from both sides. The visitor contact station at 12295 State Highway 180 in Gulf Shores keeps weekday morning hours and has maps and wildlife checklists, and staff, volunteers and partners lead bird walks, dune hikes and night prowls through the year.
How to Pair the Two in One Day
Weeks Bay sits on U.S. 98 just west of the Fish River bridge, while Bon Secour lies south along Highway 180 west of Gulf Shores, so the two fit into one day. Start at the Weeks Bay visitor center and boardwalks in the morning, then head to the refuge for a trail or two before sunset. Bring a hat, sunscreen, bug repellent and water, as the refuge advises, especially in summer. For fishing, drones and any other activity, check the rules on each site's official page first, and confirm trail and boardwalk status before you go.
General information, checked against the sources below at the time of writing. Rules, fees, schedules and programs change; confirm with the official source before you rely on them.
