Banks Lake
Lakeland, GA 31635-9726
Plan Your Visit
Whether fishing or paddling, or just watching the sunset from the pier, visitors to Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge can enjoy a unique landscape dominated by moss-draped cypress ringed with water lilies. The best way to experience the refuge is from the water, and each season touches the lake with its own mood. Look closely at each tree. Dragonfly nymphs shed their larval skeletons on the cypress bark as they emerge from the water. Spider webs sparkle with dewdrops on a foggy morning. Songbirds and ospreys nest in the moss and treetops. Favored fishing holes yield bream and bass - and a few ten-pounders!
Activities
Featured Species
Services
Refuge staff employs habitat management techniques such as monitoring water levels, prescribed burning, mowing, and experimental bio-control to maintain plant and wildlife values. The refuge also offers Special Use Permits for commercial activities (like guiding), research and monitoring by outside organizations, and general activities such as fishing tournaments and educational events.
About
Established in 1985, Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge protects a unique 4,049-acre environment within the Grand Bay–Banks Lake ecosystem, the second-largest freshwater wetland system in Georgia. The refuge's primary feature is a shallow blackwater lake studded with cypress trees, formed by damming a natural Carolina bay over 150 years ago. It contains diverse habitats including cypress swamp, freshwater marsh, and uplands that support a variety of state- and federal-listed species.