Parker River National Wildlife Refuge Complex

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United States
Newburyport, MA
Parker River National Wildlife Refuge Complex

Federally managed conservation area. Enjoy opportunities to hike, bike, and view wildlife within a wide variety of habitats. OPEN SUNRISE TO SUNSET.
(1455)

Free nature based programs and field trips offered every week. Visit our online calendar to learn more! For official information about the Parker River NWR Complex: www.fws.gov/refuge/parker-river

For more information about the Fish and Wildlife Service: www.fws.gov

For more about our social media efforts: www.fws.gov/home/socialmedia

The refuge consists of 4,662 acres of diverse upland and wet

land habitats including sand beach and dune, shrub/thicket, bog, swamp, freshwater marsh, salt marsh and associated creek, river, mud flat, and salt panne. These and other refuge habitats support varied and abundant populations of resident and migratory wildlife including more than 300 species of birds, along with mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and plants.

08/31/2026

Program alert! Our Tuesday, September 8 Behind the Scenes Van Tour has a few seats open. Get 'em now - they can go fast once we announce open seats! Ages 12+ please. Register here: bit.ly/parkerriversignup

08/30/2026

Reminder! Today is the last day to walk the cross d**e between sub-headquarters and the Hellcat Tower. Parking is available at either end, and the route is approximately 3 miles round trip. View wading herons and egrets, dabbling ducks, osprey on the hunt, and swarming tree swallows if you're lucky! This week of special access ends at sunset this evening, and won't reopen again until next August.

08/29/2026

Meet a marsh critter! Fiddler crab numbers are on the rise in the Great Marsh due to warming water. Ongoing research is studying their effects on the system, but so far indicates no negative impacts. Fiddler crabs are named for their special limbs! Males, like the crab shown on the right, have one large claw used to compete with one another over territory and attract mates.

08/28/2026

Meep meep! Greater yellowlegs are returning to the salt marsh on their migration south. These long-distance travelers breed in subarctic parts of Alaska and Canada, and are now headed to warmer weather in the southern U.S and Mexico, and across numerous Caribbean and South American countries. The Great Marsh provides abundant food to fuel their journey. This bird was filmed foraging at Nelson Island, where ongoing restoration is helping to restore healthy tidal flow and enhance habitat for shorebirds and the invertebrates and small fish they feed on!

08/27/2026

Our signage may not be beautiful, but leave no trace principles apply to ALL aspects of visiting the refuge. Adding your DIY art projects, unauthorized memorials, and other human made paraphernalia to signs, trails, and boardwalks is against refuge regulations and not in the spirit of leaving natural places as you found them. Please remember to take only pictures and leave only footprints. Want to help make the refuge more beautiful? Join the annual fall beach cleanup on Saturday September 26 from 9am - 3pm.

08/26/2026

Fish for dinner AGAIN?! Just kidding, bald eagles love fish! In fact, most of a bald eagle's diet is comprised of fish. These majestic hunters both catch their own food and scavenge washed up carcasses. Bald eagles, osprey, and other fish-eating birds are a conservation success story. Tireless advocacy by Rachel Carson and fellow environmentalists helped ban harmful pesticides that infected fish through runoff, and led to nest failure for birds consuming the fish. Today, we enjoy an abundance of eagles and osprey across the refuge and Great Marsh.

08/25/2026

BIRDNADO! Tree swallow migration is continuing in full force, and the weather looks beautiful for the Friends of Parker River National Wildlife Refuge "Evening with Swallows and Egrets" program tonight! Drop by the Hellcat Observation Tower any time between 5:30pm and sunset to learn about these amazing birds and more with Bill Gette.

08/24/2026

Program alert! A few spots are still available for our special sunset hike with Ranger Madelyn along the Pines Trail tomorrow at 6pm. This gentle, hour long nature walk will explore the unique pitch pine habitat and enjoy the sun setting over the salt marsh. All ages welcome.

This program is free but registration is required at: bit.ly/parkerriversignup.

08/23/2026

UPDATE: 8/25/26 THIS PROGRAM IS FULL.

Program alert! Meet Ranger Bill and enjoy a guided hike of the Stage Island Trail this Friday from 10am - noon. Meet at the visitor center and travel together on the refuge van to the trailhead to hike this out and back loop overlooking Ipswich Bluffs. Along the way, learn about the history, past inhabitants, wildlife, and habitats on the island. If you're lucky, enjoy swirling tree swallows!

This program is free but registration is required due to limited space on the van: bit.ly/parkerriversignup.

08/22/2026

We are thrilled to welcome Cara Gonier, a New England based, award winning painter and printmaker, as the current Friends of Parker River National Wildlife Refuge artist in residence. Her exhibit is on display at the visitor center through September 30, featuring a number of sea and landscapes each with the atmospheric quality she is know for.

Cara's work is collected internationally and is featured in solo, invitational, museum and juried exhibitions. It has been published in International Artist Magazine under the feature “Master Painters of the World.”

Cara is the founder and executive director of Rolling River Printmakers of New England, a group of professional artists who exhibit their prints throughout New England. She shares her joy of printmaking and painting through workshops, and other educational activities, teaching students and artists how to create collectible fine are with minimal equipment.

Cara’s work as an artist follows a thirty year medical career in health care. She worked with pediatric and elderly populations as an ophthalmology technician.

Address

6 Plum Island Turnpike
Newburyport, MA
01950

Telephone

+19784655753

Website

http://www.fws.gov/refuge/parker-river

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