USFWS · Texas

San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge

The San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge is a 45,730-acre (185.1 km2) wildlife conservation area along the coast of Texas (USA), south of the towns of Sweeny and Brazoria, Texas. It encloses a bay behind a barrier island at the Gulf of Mexico. The refuge is located in southern Brazoria and eastern Matagorda counties.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by William L. Farr, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons.
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateTexas
Size74,548 acres
FWS regionRegion 2
Center point28.88° N, 95.53° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 16)

Boundary map

34 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 San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge50°60°70°80°90°January: 4.02 inches of precipitationFebruary: 2.44 inches of precipitationMarch: 2.91 inches of precipitationApril: 2.87 inches of precipitationMay: 3.87 inches of precipitationJune: 4.74 inches of precipitationJuly: 4.18 inches of precipitationAugust: 4.98 inches of precipitationSeptember: 7.06 inches of precipitationOctober: 4.37 inches of precipitationNovember: 4.69 inches of precipitationDecember: 3.80 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 55.2°F averageFebruary: 58.7°F averageMarch: 64.5°F averageApril: 70.5°F averageMay: 77.4°F averageJune: 83.1°F averageJuly: 84.9°F averageAugust: 85.1°F averageSeptember: 81.2°F averageOctober: 73.9°F averageNovember: 64.3°F averageDecember: 57.8°F average0 in2 in4 in6 in8 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Freeport 2 NW, 12 miles from the center point at 8 feet, station USC00413340 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 50 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 Register listings within 15 miles · 51 in all · Register Atlas

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

Guidebooks for Texas

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

  • Parking Lot Birding
    Jennifer L. Bristol, 2025
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Birds and other wildlife of south central Texas
    Edward A. Kutac, 2014
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Best Tent Camping: Texas
    Wendel Withrow, 2018
    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 San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge?

74,548 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge in?
How do I get to San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 28.875° N, 95.534° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Are there historic places near San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 51 listings within 15 miles, including McCroskey, John, Cabin and Underwood, Ammon, House.

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 (Q7413416), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: San Bernard 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.