Community
Quogue Wildlife Refuge: Visiting, Trails, and the Summer Nature Camp
The Quogue Wildlife Refuge is the largest piece of protected open space in the village and the reason a lot of families end up spending a morning here rather than at the beach.
Visiting
Address: 3 Old Country Road, Quogue, NY 11959 Admission: Free Trails: Open 365 days a year, sunrise to sunset, across seven miles of marked trail on a 305-acre preserve.
The refuge is a non-profit, founded in 1934, supported by memberships, donations and programme fees rather than by the village.
Two things to check before you go
The Nature Center is currently closed while the refuge prepares for renovations and expansion. The trails remain open, but do not plan a visit around the indoor exhibits.
Trail closures happen. The refuge warns of periodic closures caused by Southern Pine Beetle damage to the pines. If you are walking a specific route, check the refuge's site before setting out.
On the Trails
The trail network runs through several distinct habitats, which is what makes a short walk here more interesting than the acreage suggests: freshwater ponds, wetland, and the dwarf pine barrens that Quogue is known for. The Fairy Dell Boardwalk through a cedar grove and over a freshwater bog is the stretch most visitors remember.
The refuge also keeps resident animals that cannot be released to the wild, including birds of prey, owls, turtles and snakes.
Summer Nature Camp
The refuge runs a weekly summer nature camp for children, built around guided hikes, wildlife encounters and hands-on outdoor science. Sessions are grouped by age and historically fill quickly once registration opens in the spring.
Dates, age bands, weekly fees and registration opening vary year to year, and financial assistance has been available for families who need it. Check quoguewildliferefuge.org or contact the refuge directly for the current season's details rather than relying on last year's figures.
Acreage, founding year, trail mileage, admission, opening hours, Nature Center closure and Southern Pine Beetle trail closures verified against quoguewildliferefuge.org, August 2026.