USFWS · California

San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge

San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge is an urban refuge located on San Diego Bay in San Diego County, California. It is part of the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex and hosts its headquarters. The refuge was established in 1988.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge2,610 acresUSFWSCA
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by Pacific Southwest Region USFWS from Sacramento, US, in the public domain, from Wikimedia Commons.
1 fire
active
Oak Woodlands Wcsl Rx (prescribed burn) · 32 mi from the center
Interagency incident data as of 2026-11-01
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateCalifornia
Size2,610 acres
FWS regionRegion 8
Center point32.60° N, 117.10° W
Night skyBright skies nearby (Black Marble reading 169)

Boundary map

10 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 Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge50°60°70°80°January: 1.69 inches of precipitationFebruary: 2.10 inches of precipitationMarch: 1.85 inches of precipitationApril: 0.59 inches of precipitationMay: 0.10 inches of precipitationJune: 0.08 inches of precipitationJuly: 0.33 inches of precipitationAugust: 0.03 inches of precipitationSeptember: 0.14 inches of precipitationOctober: 0.42 inches of precipitationNovember: 0.80 inches of precipitationDecember: 0.45 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 57.2°F averageFebruary: 56.5°F averageMarch: 58.6°F averageApril: 59.6°F averageMay: 62.4°F averageJune: 65.2°F averageJuly: 68.5°F averageAugust: 70.1°F averageSeptember: 68.7°F averageOctober: 64.8°F averageNovember: 60.2°F averageDecember: 56.3°F average0 in0.5 in1 in1.5 in2 in2.5 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Imperial Beach Ream Fld Nas, 2 miles from the center point at 24 feet, station USW00093115 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 9 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.

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Prescribed
    Oak Woodlands Wcsl Rx

    32 mi from the center point

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 Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas
National Monument · 7 mi
Cabrillo National Monument
National Register listings within 15 miles · 64 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 San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge?

2,610 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge in?

California.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 32.599° N, 117.104° W. Cabrillo National Monument is 7 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Is there a fire near San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge right now?

1 active incident within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Oak Woodlands Wcsl Rx at 32 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Which national parks are near San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge?

Cabrillo National Monument (7 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 64 listings within 15 miles, including Botanical Building and Star Of India.

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 (Q7413597), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: San Diego Bay 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.