Facility Activities

Change is constant at Bayou Cocodrie NWR. Seasons, life cycles and migrating animals make each visit to the refuge a new experience. There are a multitude of opportunities to interact with wildlife at Bayou Cocodrie NWR. What will your next visit unveil? 

Bayou Cocodrie NWR is 14,668 acres located between Ferriday and Monterey, Louisiana, in Concordia Parish. 

The Brooks Brake unit can be accessed from Poole Road off of Louisiana Highway 15 near Ferriday, Louisiana. 

The Hoover Slough unit can be accessed from Louisiana Highway 15. 

The Cross Bayou and Wallace Lake Units can be accessed from Boggy Bayou Road off of Louisiana Highway 129 between Stacy and Monterey, Louisiana. 

We strongly recommend you do not rely on an electronic navigation device to find your way around the refuge. Inaccurate maps and limited reception can lead you astray.  

The refuge is open during daylight hours only, except during hunting seasons. Refer to refuge regulations for specific hunting details. 

Points of Interest: 

We have several miles of hiking trails, two boardwalks with observation decks, a boat launch, and launch retrieval sites for canoes and kayaks. The Cocodrie Bayou river runs through the refuge. 

There are two handicap accessible hiking trails which lead to observation decks as indicated on the attached map can be accessed off of Poole Road. The fishing pier located off of Hwy 15 is handicap accessible. 

During the deer hunting season, there are two stationary hunting blinds available to mobility-impaired permitholders by reservation. Contact the office for details and to make a reservation. 



Know before you go: 

Bayou Cocodrie NWR does not have public restrooms or lavatories. Visitors need to bring drinking water, insect repellent/bug shields, sunscreen, and EPI pens for allergies. 

Hunting

Upland game hunting and big game hunting were expanded in 2015. Many young hunters will remember Bayou Cocodrie NWR as the place they killed their first deer. That's because the refuge offers a special youth deer hunt in an area closed to all other hunters. The young hunters have guides-...

Fishing

Fishing season is year-round. Available species include largemouth bass, catfish, bluegill and crappie. Fishing access is limited to a put-in at Cocodrie Bayou near the refuge headquarters and near the south end of the refuge via a private launch.

Please refer to current Refuge...

Wildlife watching

Bayou Cocodrie National Wildlife Refuge's habitat diversity results in a wide variety of wildlife living on and using the refuge including game mammals, waterfowl, and neotropical songbirds. See something new on each visit.

 

We have several miles of hiking trails and...

Photography

Perhaps the fastest growing activity on National Wildlife Refuges in the past ten years has been wildlife photography.  That’s not surprising – the digital camera population explosion and cell phones with ever-improving picture-taking abilities are increasing the number of nature...

Boating - non-motorized

The Cocodrie Bayou river runs through the refuge. The refuge offers launch retrieval sites for canoes and kayaks.