Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge is situated in Chambers County, Texas.  The county population is about 35,000 according to the 2010 US Census.  The towns of Anahuac, Winnie, and High Island provide several lodging and dining opportunities east of Galveston Bay. The cities of Mont Belvieu and Baytown also in Chambers County cater to Houston commuters as well as petrochemical plants near the Houston Ship Channel. They provide additional nearby lodging and dining options to visitors west of Galveston Bay.

The greater metropolitan area of Houston to the west and the Golden Triangle area consisting of Beaumont, Orange, and Port Arthur to the east are about an hour drive from the refuge.  Collectively, they are home to over six million residents.  There are two major airports in Houston (Bush Intercontinental and Hobby) that serve most major airlines. The cities of Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio are each less than a 4-hour drive from Houston. Lake Charles, Louisiana is a 2 hour drive east from Houston on Interstate 10.

For those coming from outside the area, southeast Texas offers many opportunities for lodging, dining, entertainment. Visit these websites for more information:

Houston Visitor's Guide

Galveston Visitor's Guide

Beaumont Visitor's Guide

Chambers County Outdoors

If you are moving to the area, check out homes in the area on the Houston Association or Realtor's website.

McFaddin and Texas Point National Wildlife Refuges are open to the public and offer additional wildlife activities in neighboring Jefferson County.  These refuges along with Anahuac NWR are in the Texas Chenier Plain National Wildlife Refuge Complex. Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge is located just a short distance north of Interstate 10. It offers trails and more wildlife viewing opportunities along the Trinity River bottomlands.

The Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail developed by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) goes through Chambers County and includes places on the refuge.  TPWD also manages the Candy Cain Abshier Wildlife Management Area near Smith Point.The Houston Audubon Society operates several bird sanctuaries in the area, including Boy Scout Woods and Smith Oaks in High Island. The Gulf Coast Bird Observatory operates the Smith Point HawkWatch tower as one of their locations west of the refuge. Even more places around the Houston region are highlighted in our Going Wild in the City blog.