This refuge, it's for the birds. It's also a wonderful destination for photographers, birders, and…read morenature lovers. Geese, ducks and shorebirds stop here to rest as they journey along the Pacific Flyway. In the winter it is a crowed place Visit early in the morning and watch the geese fly out to feed in the surround grain fields; it's an awesome experience. If you're there in the late afternoon see them fly back and land in the ponds where they spend the night safe from predators. Even during the day there is something interesting on the 3 mile auto tour road. The best time to visit is from mid November to mid February. Even, if you miss the prime bird time, there is usually something to see year around.

Gorgeous wildlife refuge with a free auto tour. If you drive at the speed they recommend and stop…read moreto take a few pictures, Id say its about 30 minutes. Its very beautifully scenic out there and wild migratory birds of all varieties, tons and tons of them. Was relaxing just to turn off the car radio, roll down windows and listen to the wildlife. Bikes are allowed in summer, and there is a walking/hiking trail which i fully intend to check out soon.

Visited April 5 2026. See my receipt as always…read more I belong to the wine club and love coming here to pick up my wine and a combo pizza. The crust is amazing! Because they do not allow dogs inside or outside in their patio area I had to wait with my car running and my air on high because I had my puppy with me. The owners are very nice and I understand about their pet policy. It would have been nice to have a glass of wine and a slice of pizza inside! It's still a very nice environment with trivia on Thursdays and all kinds of drinks ( try the ice cold slushies! ). Pizza is always amazing! I will try to leave my puppy with my friend next time I visit!

I went as they were advertising margaritas for Mother's day, turns out they were white wine…read moremarg's... horrible however I'm not a white wine drinker. Then I tried one of their reds not great, so I'll move on to the pizza which had a pretty good crust going for it, flavorful however there was not much meat/additions on it (sparse). Tempting to give it three stars as the owner also seemed a bit offended when I asked about things (were they made from scratch, did they have much sodium, etc.) Since it's clean and new I'll go with the four for now and try them again.

This is a fantastic tour. Our guide Frank, one of the founders of the non-profit which maintains…read moreeverything, gave us a very informative and entertaining tour. If you like mining history, this is a must. Even if you don't, it is well worth doing. There is so much to see here, all beautifully restored and preserved. All these years of driving by on Hwy 49, and I had idea how much was down here to see.

Fascinating tour - learned so much about the gold mining industry and the history of the area. Bob…read moredid a great job making it interesting and educational. The foundation has done an excellent job restoring history and making it available to everyone.

I've passed this National Wildlife sign off the I-5 so many times and when I finally got to visit,…read morethe sheer size and uniqueness of this refuge far exceeded my expectations. Driving along the I-5 before, I've always wondered how deep the farms went. Well this refuge must've been hundreds of acres. I had no idea there was both a walking path and a driving tour. We opted for the self-driving tour. Starting out, it was kind of dry in May and I thought it was going to be those lame small areas to explore that takes like 20-30 mins. I didn't see anything but dry fields for a good while, but the deeper in we went, all of a sudden random ecosystems popped up left and right, lush greenery, and wildlife starting showing up. The gravel road took us on turns and it kept going on and on forever! The refuge was so huge it took me over an hour to get thru the whole thing. The driving tour takes you deeeeep into the refuge. It was nice you could stop at the pull-off areas to stretch your legs. There was even a viewing deck with built-in binoculars overlooking the creek and plains. We saw so many variety of birds, some rabbits and even spotted a deer. The whole experience was so amazing that I made a mental note to come back next spring and also take visiting family or friends.

I came across this park while staying overnight in Willows and looking for something to do. What an…read moreamazing place! There were so many different types of birds (we saw thousands) and I even spotted a bald eagle. I appreciated that dogs are allowed and the park is open until an hour past sunset. Purchasing tickets is so easy too. I'll be sure to come back with my SLR camera next time I'm in the area.

More than I expected. Faith is passionate about the lake and its habitat, especially bird life…read more She was enthusiastic and extremely knowledgeable about birds on the lake. Breeding habits and migration were explained in detail. We were a family party of five with ages from 3 to 70 and all were well served on this early October morning. We always felt safe. There was a special bathroom stop. Faith is also people friendly and went beyond expectations to accommodate photos. I plan to do this again in late May or early June. in Gratitude, David

We spent the morning with Faith on her mighty pontoon boat. I dare you to spend the morning with…read moreanyone else that is so passionate about our feathered friends on this lake. When you can't, you owe me a drink. Faith had no tours scheduled for today, but she woke up early and was waiting for my wife and I, boat in the water and ready to go. We paid a premium for the private tour but so worth it. I think 4 people per tour would be perfect so if you have another couple to split the costs it's well worth it. Watching Faith get so excited about spotting another species and talking excitedly about the where's and why's is really engaging. She truly cares about the lakes ecosystem and how it affects the birds. There is no script and no trying to up sell. This is a small owner-operator company. We had such a great morning. Before today I would have called this a bird watching trip. Now I will be describing it as a bird engagement tour. We stopped at a dock on the South side to watch even more birds not of the paddling type and use the restrooms. We then headed back across the lake. Our tour ran long as we were just enjoying the lake and the conversation. I recommend this tour just so you can feel Faith's passion for the waterfowl and this lake. My wife and I travel much of the year for work, meeting with customers and we see a lot of attractions, meeting a lot of people. We will be talking about this morning a lot with our friends and family.

So much fun! I look my parents when we were in the area, and as someone who doesn't like to rave,…read moremy mom won't stop talking about it! You're in for a surprise on the trip down, and it'll definitely keep everyone, kids and adults alike, very entertained.

This was a blast! Highly recommended and something you do not ordinarily do. You sit in rail cars…read moreas doubles or quads. One person has control with a battery but needs to pedal (although each seat in the car has pedals). It rides like an e-bike. You go out 4 miles and return 4 miles. You brings water/snacks for the break between the two rides. Lots of fun for all ages! Highly recommend!

This was an enjoyable experience yet you can tell they are short staffed and overworked servers…read more Be kind. Worth noting: you are on long train with 3-4 different experiences and it seems you get different things depending on what you paid for. The my may have a tea, beer train, wine train, etc. We were in the back of the train and got the slowest service and stuck in a car with no AC. Ended up on the open air car and it was nicer. you might be better off paying for the base price; buy a drink or two and call it a day. Don't expect gourmet food here; bring a picnic and eat outside before/after your trip.

Boba Tea train: There were a number of issues with this…read moreexcursion. First off, most of the tea samples came with little to no ice and were somewhat warm. This made some of the undrinkable. Others were somewhat warm cloyingly sweet as to be unpleasant. Overall, though both of us are fans of boba tea- we would suggest a different vendor or more training for the staff preparing the samples. Roughly half of the flavors were not good at all. Additionally, they listed "boozy" flavors on the menu but never said anything about how to get those or whether they were included. Second problem- we preordered dumplings as did apparently a LOT of people. There were no dumplings on the train, only rice bowls. Furthermore- the waitress didn't know what we were talking about when we mentioned having preordered food. At least half of the tables in our car had preordered dumplings and were very disappointed. There was no information on how to obtain a refund if we didn't want the substitute of a rice bowl. About halfway through our trip, the train lost power which included lights, air conditioning, and the ability to flush toilets. Power stayed off with no explanation for more than 15 minutes, causing the car to become very warm and stuffy. Overall, this excursion suffered from lack of communication, lack of staff training, lack of preparation on the part of the organizers. Given the cost, I would not recommend this.

A very Pretty drive out to this cavern Lots of trails to…read morewalkabout around and before the small parking lot with an old yellow fire truck that you can check out too A kids sluice that is pretty cool by the shop and check in for the tour of the cavern. Bathrooms were decent And Faith our tour guide was A+++++++ with her flashlight extra luminescent sight too! Check it out and pack and pick-nick-lunch BooBoo! Get outside

We have drove past this place a million times but just never made time to stop so this year we…read morefinally scheduled a tour. This cavern is fascinating. Our tour guide was Bobbee and she did an amazing job! She was very informative and answered everyone's questions with ease. You could tell she is genuinely interested her job and has spent a lot of time learning about the cavern. We will definitely recommend this tour to all of our friends and family!