Self-Guided Tour

USFWS Biologist gives school group a boardwalk tour. Credit: USFWS Image.	School group starting the BBNFH boardwalk tour. Credit: USFWS Image.	Viewing a natural tidal marsh along the boardwalk. Credit: USFWS Image.

Come visit Bears Bluff National Fish Hatchery and enjoy our new Self-Guided Tour! On the tour, you can experience some of the lowcountry’s breathtaking scenery while learning about plants and animals common the estuarine environment. The tour directs guests around the perimeter of our 31 acre facility, and teaches about the diverse habitats found within the estuary and how Bears Bluff National Fish Hatchery is working to preserve, protect and enhance wildlife and their habitats.

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View or download the Self-Guided Tour Brochure to help guide your experience.

Self-Guided Tour Tracks

During the tour, you will encounter different animal tracks that will highlight different estuarine habitats, animals, and plants.

	Alligator Slough The alligator tracks begin the tour and will take you by a freshwater pond where you can see a variety of birds, reptiles, and fish.
	Coontrail Follow the raccoon tracks across a boardwalk which overlooks a previously impounded area that has reverted back into natural tidal marsh. Use the educational placards to help you identify some of the plants and animals you see.
	Heron Marsh The Great Blue Heron tracks will take you to the edge of the Intracoastal waterway where you can observe a man-made oyster reef that was constructed using recycled oyster shell.
	Bears Bluff The black bear tracks will take you through an area of maritime forest and along Bears Bluff which overlooks hundreds of acres of oyster flats and salt marsh.
	Otterden The river otter will lead you by our oyster shell recycling area. This site is set up to collect used oyster shell from the public. Donated oyster shell is returned to the environment and used to construct reefs like the one you saw on Heron Marsh.

Information Kiosks

Know Your Estuary	Oysters are Habitat Forming	Recycle Your Oysters for a Healthy Ecosystem

Thanks to Our Partners!

Bears Bluff National Fish Hatchery’s self-guided tour has been established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with the help of its partners: South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.