Facility Activities

Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge offers a variety of visitor activities including hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, and educational opportunities. One of the best places to start is our self-guided auto tour route. Read on for more details about visitor activities. 

Visitor access to the Refuge is via gravel and one lane paved roads. Two-tracked mowed trails provide access within Refuge boundaries. Visitors must maintain the posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour on gravel and pavement. The Refuge is open from sunrise to sunset. 

Hunting

You may imagine the beach when you think about sand dunes, but it is hard to get much farther from the ocean than Crescent Lake NWR. Located in the Nebraska Panhandle, the Refuge is part of the Nebraska Sandhills, the largest continuous sand dune area in North America. This area is not a desert...

Fishing

Crescent Lake NWR is the perfect place to reconnect with a favorite childhood activity or try it for the first time. Contact Refuge Headquarters to find out more about the best times to fish in specific areas.  

The Refuge is open during daylight hours only, but anglers may enter the...

Photography

Nearly 12 million people visit outdoor areas each year to photograph wildlife, and National Wildlife Refuges are at the top of the list. Refuges provide enhanced opportunities to photograph wildlife in natural habitats by providing platforms, brochures, interpretation, viewing areas, and tour...