USFWS · California

Blue Ridge National Wildlife Refuge

Blue Ridge National Wildlife Refuge is located in the Sierra Nevada, in Tulare County, California. The refuge is one of four units of the Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex for California condors.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge906 acresUSFWSCA1 campground within 10 mi
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
Blue Ridge National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by USFWS, in the public domain, from Wikimedia Commons.
2 fires
active
Grant Grove Fall Rx (prescribed burn) · 33 mi from the center · 466 acres
1 more within 50 miles
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateCalifornia
Size906 acres
FWS regionRegion 8
Center point36.28° N, 118.85° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 18)

Boundary map

3 outlines

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Blue Ridge National Wildlife Refuge40°50°60°70°80°90°January: 2.68 inches of precipitationFebruary: 2.33 inches of precipitationMarch: 2.48 inches of precipitationApril: 1.42 inches of precipitationMay: 0.62 inches of precipitationJune: 0.15 inches of precipitationJuly: 0.02 inches of precipitationAugust: 0.00 inches of precipitationSeptember: 0.06 inches of precipitationOctober: 0.67 inches of precipitationNovember: 1.33 inches of precipitationDecember: 2.29 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 48.9°F averageFebruary: 53.2°F averageMarch: 58.0°F averageApril: 62.3°F averageMay: 69.6°F averageJune: 76.9°F averageJuly: 82.5°F averageAugust: 81.2°F averageSeptember: 76.3°F averageOctober: 67.0°F averageNovember: 55.7°F averageDecember: 48.2°F average0 in1 in2 in3 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Lemon Cove, 12 miles from the center point at 513 feet, station USC00044890 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 14 inches a year. The station sits about 4,200 feet lower than the center point, so temperatures on the ground run cooler.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Where to camp

Campsite Atlas →

None of the 1 federal campground within ten miles sits inside the boundary. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.

USACE · 8.7 mi
Horse Creek
Reservable84 sites

Most refuges do not allow overnight camping. The campgrounds listed are outside the refuge.

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Prescribed
    Grant Grove Fall Rx

    33 mi from the center point · 466 acres

  • Prescribed
    Rx White Deer

    40 mi from the center point · 35 acres

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge, and is measured from the center of a boundary that may be many miles across. Check the agency page for closures.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Register listings within 15 miles · 6 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Guidebooks for California

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • Moon Southern California Road Trips
    Ian Anderson, 2020
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Walkabout Northern California
    Tom Courtney, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Backpacking California
    Wilderness Press, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Blue Ridge National Wildlife Refuge?

906 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Blue Ridge National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Blue Ridge National Wildlife Refuge in?

California.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Blue Ridge National Wildlife Refuge?

The refuge page says whether camping is allowed here. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.

Source: Where to camp

How do I get to Blue Ridge National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 36.277° N, 118.849° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Is there a fire near Blue Ridge National Wildlife Refuge right now?

2 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Grant Grove Fall Rx at 33 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Are there historic places near Blue Ridge National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 6 listings within 15 miles, including Elster, C. A., Building and Pogue Hotel.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge boundary layer.
  • States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
  • Acreage: geodesic area of the published polygon. The agency’s official acreage can differ where the boundary includes water, easements or inholdings.
  • Photograph: the image Wikidata records for this refuge (Q4929727), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: Blue Ridge National Wildlife Refuge on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.