Skip to main content
Illustration

Iowa

When to catch Port Louisa Refugeat its best

Port Louisa Refuge through the year: spring migrant birds (local timing: April to May) and fall color (local timing: the first two weeks of October). Each has its own page with spots, sources and the latest reports.

About Port Louisa Refuge

What it is
A wildlife refuge in Iowa
A little history
Officially in 1958, within the Mark Twain National Wildlife Refuge Complex, though the Fish and Wildlife Service had managed part of it since the early 1940s.
What you'll see
Spring migrant birds · usual peak April to MayFall color · usual peak Oct
Before you go
Is there a fee to visit? No, visiting the refuge is free.What are the hours? The refuge is open from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset. The visitor contact station and office are open Tuesday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., except federal holidays, and can close for weather when local schools close.What should I bring? Bug spray and long pants or sleeves (deer ticks are present, so do a tick check afterward), water, sunscreen, comfortable walking shoes and layers: spring can swing widely in temperature. Poison ivy grows here, so stay on the trail.
Sources (2)

RIGHT NOW · OCT 1

  • Latest reportNo dated report this season; the posters below show each usual window.
  • This weekend (NWS)Sat sunny, 68°F · Sun sunny, 71°F
  • Park alertsCheck the managing agency before you go

When are you going?

Fall at Port Louisa Refuge

Where to go at Port Louisa Refuge

Spots, visitor points and places nearby
  • Fall
Places on this map, as a list
Map: approximate positions; state lines US Census.

Best spots

Where each event's source says to go
  • Muscatine Slough TrailGood for spring migrant birds1.5 miles out and back from the refuge office or the trailhead lot on 120th Street, from prairie and upland forest down into floodplain forest, ending at the Muscatine Slough Observation Deck; it can flood when waters are highU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
  • Sycamore LoopGood for spring migrant birds · fall colorA 0.3-mile year-round loop from the visitor contact station parking, through upland forest to a deck overlooking the Odessa Division; watch for vireos and warblersU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
  • Observation deck at the visitor contact stationGood for fall colorA deck at the refuge's visitor contact stationU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗

Next 7 days at Port Louisa Refuge

Forecast: National Weather Service
  • TodayShowers And Thunderstorms72° / 65°91% rain
  • FriSunny66° / 46°–
  • SatSunny68° / 51°–
  • SunSunny71° / 47°–
  • MonSunny66° / 46°–
  • TueSunny68° / 54°4% rain
  • WedMostly Sunny74° / –8% rain

Heads up: NWS Flood Watch: Flood Watch issued October 1 at 4:23AM CDT until October 2 at 1:00AM CDT by NWS Quad Cities IA IL.

Today: sunrise 7:02 a.m., sunset 6:48 p.m., light until 7:16 p.m. · moon waning gibbous, 67% lit (our calculation)

Worth the drive, and when they peak

Straight-line miles; roads are longer

Towns nearby

Straight-line miles; each town page has frost dates and its nature year

Port Louisa Refuge in pictures

Illustrative photos, not current conditions
A small streaky sparrow with an orange-buff face
A LeConte's sparrow at Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge, photographed May 15, 2010. Photo: Alexander Galt/USFWS · public domain · resized

Questions people ask

Is there a fee to visit?

No, visiting the refuge is free.Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Port Louisa NWR: Visit Us ↗ (opens in a new tab)

What are the hours?

The refuge is open from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset. The visitor contact station and office are open Tuesday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., except federal holidays, and can close for weather when local schools close.Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Port Louisa NWR: Visit Us ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Are there restrooms?

Yes: inside the visitor contact station during business hours, and outdoor restrooms near it for after hours.Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Port Louisa NWR: Visit Us ↗ (opens in a new tab)

What should I bring?

Bug spray and long pants or sleeves (deer ticks are present, so do a tick check afterward), water, sunscreen, comfortable walking shoes and layers: spring can swing widely in temperature. Poison ivy grows here, so stay on the trail.Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Port Louisa NWR: Visit Us ↗ (opens in a new tab)

How we know

Every timing above, from these pages; checked Sep 28