USFWS · North Carolina, Virginia

Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge

Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1960 to provide habitat for migratory waterfowl, primarily the greater snow goose. It is located almost entirely on Knotts Island in the Currituck Sound between Back Bay in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and the open sound in North Carolina. Most of the refuge lies within North Carolina but some of it is in Virginia. The refuge is primarily made up of marsh habitat. This area has long been recognized for supporting significant migratory waterfowl populations and sport fishery resources, and is part of the Charles Kuralt Trail.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge8,735 acresUSFWSNCVA
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by PumpkinSky, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons.

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StatesNorth Carolina, Virginia
Size8,735 acres
FWS regionRegion 4
Center point36.53° N, 75.96° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 10)

Boundary map

2 outlines

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees

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 Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge40°50°60°70°80°90°January: 3.35 inches of precipitationFebruary: 2.71 inches of precipitationMarch: 3.76 inches of precipitationApril: 3.47 inches of precipitationMay: 4.21 inches of precipitationJune: 4.56 inches of precipitationJuly: 5.51 inches of precipitationAugust: 5.83 inches of precipitationSeptember: 4.49 inches of precipitationOctober: 4.07 inches of precipitationNovember: 3.37 inches of precipitationDecember: 3.29 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 43.9°F averageFebruary: 46.2°F averageMarch: 52.1°F averageApril: 61.7°F averageMay: 70.2°F averageJune: 78.1°F averageJuly: 82.6°F averageAugust: 80.0°F averageSeptember: 74.8°F averageOctober: 64.8°F averageNovember: 54.6°F averageDecember: 47.3°F average0 in2 in4 in6 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Fentress Naas, 15 miles from the center point at 16 feet, station USW00013762 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 49 inches a year.

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.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas
Part of Colonial National Historical Park · 25 mi
Cape Henry Memorial Part of Colonial National Historical Park
National Register listings within 15 miles · 8 in all · Register Atlas

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

Guidebooks for North Carolina

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

  • North Carolina Birding Trail
    2011
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hiking Waterfalls North Carolina
    Melissa Watson, 2025
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Great Day Hikes on North Carolina's Mountains-To-Sea Trail
    Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and Jim Grode, 2020
    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 Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge?

8,735 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge in?

The boundary crosses North Carolina and Virginia.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 36.526° N, 75.957° W. Cape Henry Memorial Part of Colonial National Historical Park is 25 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Which national parks are near Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge?

Cape Henry Memorial Part of Colonial National Historical Park (25 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 8 listings within 15 miles, including Currituck County Courthouse and Jail and Walker, Wilson, House and Walker-Snowden Store.

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 (Q6724288), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: Mackay Island 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.