Facilities

Salmon Creek Unit:

The Richard J. Guadagno Headquarters and Visitor Center is located at the Salmon Creek Unit and is open daily from 8 am to 5 pm (except Federal holidays). One of the main goals of Humboldt Bay NWR is to provide all sectors of the public with quality wildlife observation and wildlife photography opportunities. Wildlife can usually be seen while traveling down the entrance drive to refuge headquarters. Once at headquarters, a universally accessible deck and short boardwalk attached to the Richard J. Guadagno Visitor Center provides a wildlife observation area for all visitors, including those with severe mobility challenges. The Shorebird Loop Trail (1.7 miles round trip) adjacent to the Visitor Center is level and consists of gravel and packed dirt. The trail provides visitors with wildlife viewing and photography opportunities and features an observation kiosk and interpretive panels. The trail is open during Visitor Center hours seven days per week. Trail guides, wildlife lists, and plant lists are available at the Visitor Center. Binoculars and a “Discovery Pack” are also available for checkout. Discovery packs include identification guides for plants, animals, tracks and scat, binoculars, magnifying glasses and a field notebook.The Visitor Center has stunning dioramas and a beautiful observation room equipped with telescopes. There are exciting things to see and do all year with peak wildlife viewing from November through March.

Hookton Slough Unit:

The Hookton Slough Unit is open daily from sunrise to sunset. The 1.5 mile trail (one way) starts in
the parking area and follows the south bank of Hookton Slough. Visitors pass along grasslands, marsh,
freshwater, saltwater, and mudflat habitats. The trail is level, graveled, and has interpretive panels. Maps
of a boating trail that leads through Hookton Slough to South Bay can be found inside the Humboldt Bay
NWR brochure. A boat dock for use by non-motorized boats is available to the public at Hookton Slough.
There are also vault style restrooms at the parking lot.

Lanphere Dunes Unit:

The Lanphere Dunes Unit is accessible only by permit or guided tours. This unit of the refuge has guided
walks led by the Friends of the Dunes (249K pdf). Refuge staff also leads walks when time permits.

ARRA Project Update

The Richard J. Guadagno Headquarters and Visitor Center, along with the refuge bunkhouse, received an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grant to add solar power to the buildings. A combined 10 Kilowatt system provides electricty and hot water for the building. You can see how much power is being generated today, how much carbon has been been saved and much more information at SunPower.