Note: Parker River National Wildlife Refuge reopened the Marsh "loop" portion of the Hellcat Interpretive Trail. That section of the boardwalk, in its present form, is really an "out and back" boardwalk segment (for now). Please view the video announcement and walk-through, https://youtu.be/aqalCJjz3fs.
Parker River NWR is noted for its trails, boardwalks and observation platforms which greatly enhance wildlife viewing opportunities for the many visitors that frequent the facility.
The Hellcat Interpretive Trail System is the premiere area on the Refuge where this activity occurs. The overall Hellcat trail system is 5,334 linear feet of elevated boardwalk meandering through dunes, shrub thickets, vernal pools, maritime forest and brackish marsh habitats. The boardwalks and trails on Parker River NWR are renowned through out the birding community and used by large numbers of visitors from the non-birding public, school groups and others that come to the Refuge with the Hellcat Trails being the focus for wildlife /bird observations. The Refuge conducted a Visitor Use Survey in 2011 which indicated that 48% of Refuge visitors hiked the trails. This equates to over 120,000 individuals utilizing this trail system annually.
