Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Piping Plover
To get to Fort Organ and the adjacent refuge area, take SH 180 west from SH 59 in Gulf
Slvores; the turn is at a light and it is marked with signs pointing to the fort and to the ferry to
Dauphin Island, which leaves from a dock near the fort. It is about 22 miles from Gulf Shores
to the fort. Just before entering the fort area (the road crosses an old seawall), turn left on the
paved road and go about 0.3 mile to the beach; this is the most direct route into the middle of
the refuge unit.
The other major unit of the refuge is the largest; the Perdue unit straddles one of the wider
parts of the peninsula and sits at the western end of Little Lagoon. The headquarters (with
information center) for the refuge is located on SH 180 a little past mile marker 15 when
coming from Gulf Shores to the east. The parking area for the trailhead into the unit is right
at mile marker 12. Here, you can hike a leisurely 1.5 miles through the pine/oak forest to
Little Lagoon and Alligator Lake and on through the dunes to the beach. Be prepared for bit-
ing flies and mosquitoes during the summer months in the forested area along the trail, and
in the lake, there are alligators, large ones. Please stay on the trail when going through the
dune area, as this is critical habitat for the endangered Alabama beach mouse (
Peromyscus
polionotus ammobates
), and the least possible amount of disturbance to the dunes is neces-
sary to protect this rare animal. The mouse also lives at the Fort Morgan unit of the refuge.
Migration in the fall begins in July and August, and though I have never seen much in the
way of warblers in Bon Secour during the fall, the shorebird migration can be spectacular at
that time of year. During August, the black terns can be seen in their full range of plumage
