USFWS · California

San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge

San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge is a 13,190-acre (53.4 km2) National Wildlife Refuge in California established in 1970. It extends along the northern shore of San Pablo Bay, from the mouth of the Petaluma River, to Tolay Creek, Sonoma Creek, and ending at Mare Island.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge20,467 acresUSFWSCA
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by USFWS, in the public domain, from Wikimedia Commons.
1 fire
active
B15 White Ranch Rx (prescribed burn) · 30 mi from the center · 30 acres
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
Size20,467 acres
FWS regionRegion 8
Center point38.14° N, 122.39° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 16)

Boundary map

5 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 Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge40°50°60°70°January: 4.17 inches of precipitationFebruary: 3.95 inches of precipitationMarch: 3.01 inches of precipitationApril: 1.26 inches of precipitationMay: 0.80 inches of precipitationJune: 0.22 inches of precipitationJuly: 0.01 inches of precipitationAugust: 0.02 inches of precipitationSeptember: 0.07 inches of precipitationOctober: 0.93 inches of precipitationNovember: 1.97 inches of precipitationDecember: 3.82 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 47.6°F averageFebruary: 50.4°F averageMarch: 53.0°F averageApril: 55.8°F averageMay: 60.5°F averageJune: 65.1°F averageJuly: 66.7°F averageAugust: 67.2°F averageSeptember: 65.7°F averageOctober: 60.6°F averageNovember: 52.7°F averageDecember: 47.5°F average0 in1 in2 in3 in4 in5 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Napa Co AP, 8 miles from the center point at 14 feet, station USW00093227 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 20 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
    B15 White Ranch Rx

    30 mi from the center point · 30 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

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 Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge?

20,467 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge in?

California.

Source: How states are assigned

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

A point inside the boundary is at 38.137° N, 122.389° W. John Muir National Historic Site is 13 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

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

1 active incident within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest B15 White Ranch Rx at 30 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

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

John Muir National Historic Site (13 mi), Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park (13 mi) and Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial (15 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

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

The National Register has 117 listings within 15 miles, including John Muir National Historic Site and Lcs-102 (landing craft support).

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 (Q7415042), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: San Pablo 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.