J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge Visitor and Education Center

The island is so damaged from Ian. There was not much wildlife to see. Some of the trails are still closed. There is new growth with some of the plants. Employees were very friendly. The gift shop was very nice and reasonably priced. I'm sure this area was beautiful before the hurricane. I'm looking forward to going back next year. Hopefully, things will have improved by then.

The Park volunteers are adorable. They are so caring and so attentive to nature in order to preserve it. Coming from Europe, we were very disappointed by the lack of ecological awareness of the other parks, but that's not the case with this one. Thank you for all your good advice and kindness.

Will have to give this another try when the drive is back open. We went while it was closed. Just the nature center was open. The 2 older ladies working the front desk were very intense and made us all feel like we shouldn’t even be there. The gift store attendant was also pretty uninviting. They attempted to teach us where to go on the map but they seemed more directionally challenged than we were. So we will be avoiding the nature center next time.

Wonderful center. Many interactive learning stations ranging from techy tablets to physical, hands-on stations to a blend of the two. The life-sized visuals were impressive and the walking trail and Outlook were nice. Even the artwork was in a one-of-a-kind fashion. I'm glad I didn't have my wallet on me in the gift shop or I would have bought everything. Great, enforced gem of a stop.

Wonderful drive through the refuge! You can even fish in certain spots.

Had a great ride around Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge today. The temperature was around 70 degrees and breezy. Parking at the visitor parking lot is free. Entrance to "Wildlife Drive" is about 200 meters from the parking lot. Cars are $10 and bicyclists and hikers are $1 and share a fairly wide road. There is an annual pass for $25 as of January 2022. The drive is one way and is 4-miles long. (Note. If you ride your bicycle, it is one way only. Wildlife Drive exits onto Sanctuary Road and onto Sanibel Captiva Road. It is approximately 4 more miles back to the visitor parking lot). Speed limit is 15 mph but most people will drive slower. There are pull offs, observation decks, paths to viewing areas, and kayak and canoe launches. Motor boats are not permitted in the protected areas. It was low tide at the time. There were many "water birds" feeding and resting in the shallow waters and exposed sand bars. There was one 6-foot alligator sunning near the road just on the other side by the mangroves. The visitor and education center has displays about how the refuge came about as well as a gallery for rotating art exhibits (which may be available for sale) and a gift shop that also sells Vortex birding scopes. There are tram tours available with a tram ticket booth in the parking lot. There are public restrooms in the Visitor Center and one along Wildlife Drive. There are picnic tables in grassy areas in the parking lot. And there are several restaurants on the island.

Visiting this refuge is all about timing. One December, during a low tide, we saw thousands of birds, including some 500 white pelicans feeding in the shallows along with reddish egrets, snowy and great egrets, and white ibis. Yesterday, I drove through at 8 a.m. and saw one yellow-crowned night heron, six wood storks, and a few white ibis and reddish egrets (low tide was at 6 p.m. yesterday). So check the tide charts before your visit!

This is a great national wildlife park! I saw some really unique wildlife! Tree crabs! Have you ever heard of them? We rode our bikes over from where were staying on awesome bike trails