Refuge News

October 1, 2020


THE LAUREL HILL WILDLIFE DRIVE IS NOW CLOSED TO ALL PUBLUIC ACCESS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE BECAUSE OF ONGOING REPAIR AND IMPROVEMENTS TO THE DIKE SYSTEM. THIS CLOSURE MAY LAST UNTIL THE SUMMER OF 2022. WE ALL REGRET THE PROLONGED ABSCENCE OF THIS AMAZING RESOURCE BUT ARE VERY PLEASED THAT FWS HAS COMMITTED TO PRESERVING AND PROTECTING THE REFUGE FROM FUTURE SEVERE WEATHER EVENTS AND THE EFFECTS OF SEA LEVEL RISE.


The Savannah NWR Visitor Center is also closed because of the SARS-COV-2 pandemic. No reopening date has been announced.

May 30, 2020


Repairs on the water control structure on the Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive have resumed, As a result, the Drive will again be closed to the public Monday thru Friday. The Drive will be open on Saturday and Sunday until further notice.


The Visitor Center remains closed due to the pandemic.


All hiking and biking trails north of SC 170 and the trails around the Visitor Center remain open for daylight use. Please remember that pets are not allowed on the trails. Certified service dogs are allowed but must be on leash.

April 27, 2020


Due to the pandemic, the Visitor Center at Savannah NWR and the contact station at Harris Neck NWR remain closed. All the driving, hiking, and biking trails remain open from sunup to sundown as usual. You are encouraged to practice social distancing while on the refuges. Enjoy the spring weather but be careful and be safe!

February 26, 2020


Great news! The US Army Corps of Engineers has completed the first phase of the repairs to the water control structure along the wildlife drive. This means that Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive will now be open from dawn to dusk every day (until further notice).


October 26, 2019


Th Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive will be open sunup to sundown on Saturday October 26 and Sunday October 27.

October 18, 2019


The laurel Hill Wildlife Drive will be open dawn-to-dusk on October 19 and 20, will close again on October 21.

September 27, 2019


The Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive will close at sunset on Sunday, September 29, 2019 so that contractors can begin the process of repairing the water control structure damaged two years ago by Hurricane Irma. Unfortunately, the Drive will be closed off and on for at least the next two years while this repair continues and for other improvements to the Drive to make it more resilient to to damage from future storms. Watch this app and the Complex Facebook page for updates.

September 6, 2019


Hurricane Dorian inflicted only minimal damage on our refuges. Effective at noon today all refuges have reopened to the public on the usual schedule.

September 2, 2019


Due to the approach of Hurricane Dorian, all refuges in the Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex will be closed until firther notice. Check back here or at fws.gov/savannah for updates.

August 31, 2019:


The Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive on Savannah NWR will be closed effective immediately due to flooding. The Drive will not reopen until Tuesday morning (Sept 3rd) at the earliest to allow staff the opportunity to inspect the Drive for damage and to determine if it is safe for the public to use.

Preparations for approaching Hurricane Dorian may prolong the closure of the Drive and force the closure of the Visitor Center.

Flooding of the Drive has become an intermittent issue since Hurricane Irma in 2017 damaged the main water control structure on the diversion canal, allowing brackish water from the Savannah River to flow unimpeded into the impoundment system. We are still waiting for the US Army Corps of Engineers to repair the damage as they are required to do. Federal dollars have been allocated for the repair but work has not yet started.