las vegas national wildlife refuge

las vegas national wildlife refuge印象

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  Chaya7777

  There is no water there anymore. It's bone dry from the drought. After hiking for an hour, we saw 4 meadowlarks and 4 Say's phoebes, which you can see in any desert. There was no other life, beyond the insects they were eating.Too bad the feds who run this NWR can't see their way clear to warn the public that "there is no there, there" before they take the long car trip out just to see it. I wish we had seen the one trip review here that mentioned the problem before we wasted our day on it.

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  Bev_in_SantaFe

  We went on a weekend when the visitor center was not open, so can't say anything about that. I assume it will be open sometime in May. All lakes are bone dry. Little wildlife. A few birds, but hardly worth the trip.

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  JoRita83

  The refuge sits on the flyway just east of the Rocky Mountains, and harbors a huge variety of waterfowl and eagles during migration. When there isn't a drought. Check the Friends website for events: www.flvnwr.org

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  patriciaap2014

  Love seeing wildlife in its natural habitat, and glad another area is being preserved for future generations

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  lanejess

  After a long night and a bad experience with the lodging, this is exactly what the kids needed. It was a nice way to end a short trip. Deff would stop by on our way home.

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  AF_Hiker

  The visitor's center was closed due to work they had to do out in the field. I got a map and drove around the area. Some of the views are pretty. Saw either a rattlesnake or a bull snake in the road. The lake at the south end of the refuge had some water, but no birds that I saw. Overall, not a bad visit.

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  13SS

  I enjoyed this park. The difference between national parks and national wildlife refuges is the amount of people who visit (few at the NWR). There was no water in the lakes, however the area received over 5 inches of rain in July so hopefully they have some water now. There was a short, about a mile long, hike that took you into a canyon and above where there are some old homesteader ruins. I liked the hike so much I returned a second time. No one else on the trail, very quiet and peaceful. Wildlife spotted: a collared lizard and a rattlesnake. I went during the week so both times the visitor center was open. The staff was very friendly and helpful.

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  The_Park_Explorer

  It had rained recently so all the ponds had water in them. Thus we were treated to about 30 sandhill cranes busy feeding, plus plenty of hawks and other birds. We appreciated the free telescopes at the overlook, making it easier to spot the cranes. Visitor center was closed but we took the short Gallinas Nature Trail where we saw a cool ringneck snake (harmless) as well as a large (also harmless) gopher snake. Trail starts on flat prairie with some old ruins from the 1920s, then descends into a small canyon with some permanent seeps that attract wildlife. No crowds at all in spite of this being a Sunday. Great for a few hours respite from the world of humans.

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  dunegoon

  Our Grand Daughter asked us about the Sandhill Crane migration so we decided to take her to the refuge to see them first hand. We went on Saturday and from the roads that were open we did not see much of anything, however we went again Sunday and the park had gates to off limit roads open and we got to drive deep into the park and saw 13 Sandhill cranes at 6 different lakes and we saw about 56 species of birds and waterfowl. It turned out to be a perfect day to visit the refuge center also because they had crafts for the kids and educational program for adults. If you want to go; stay at the Super 8 in town and come on a Sunday in November to get the VIP treatment.

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  SunzOut

  We visit here every 2 yrs when we visit Pecos from Michigan.Yes, the horrible drought has affected this park significantly. However, we always see a lot of birds. The hike into the canyon at the back of the park is a gorgeous walk, and again, we always see birds back there. We always pack in our lunch and sit on the edge of the canyon to enjoy the views and sunshine.