Credit: USFWS

Beach Scene with gulls and other shorebirds

Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Back Bay Refuge contains over 9,000 acres, situated on and around a thin strip of coastline typical of barrier islands found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Habitats include beach, dunes, woodland, farm fields, and marsh. The majority of refuge marshlands are on islands contained within the waters of Back Bay.

Approximately 10,000 snow geese and a large variety of ducks visit Back Bay Refuge during the peak of fall migration, usually in December. The refuge also provides habitat for a wide assortment of other wildlife, including threatened and endangered species such as loggerhead sea turtles, piping plovers, peregrine falcons, and bald eagles.

Back Bay provides scenic trails, a visitor contact station, and, with advance scheduling, group educational opportunities.

The Back Bay Refuge is located near Virginia Beach, Virginia - south of Sandbridge, Virginia at the southern end of Sandpiper Road. See a map of the refuge and driving directions.

Outdoor facilities are open daily dawn to dusk.

The Visitor Contact Station hours are 8:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. weekdays, 9:00 AM - 4:00 P.M. weekends. The Visitor Contact Station is closed Saturdays, December through March; closed holidays with the exception of Memorial Day, July 4 and Labor Day.

Back Bay NWR is currently working on a Comprehensive Conservation Plan. If you would like to learn more about our planning effort please read our Planning Newsletter!

Download a copy of our Refuge Brochure in Adobe Acrobat format (.PDF). CLICK HERE (1.3MB)

Our Address is:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge
4005 Sandpiper Road
Virginia Beach, VA. 23456-4325
Telephone: 757-721-2412
Fax: 757-721-6141