USFWS · South Carolina

Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge

Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1997, is a recent addition to the United States National Wildlife Refuge system. It is located in parts of northeastern Georgetown County, South Carolina, southern Horry, and southeastern Marion counties, and contains lands adjacent to the Pee Dee River, the Little Pee Dee River, and the Waccamaw River near their confluence. Currently the size of the refuge is 22,931 acres (92.80 km2) but plans call for the total refuge to be over 50,000 acres (200 km2).

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge38,344 acresUSFWSSC
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by US Goverment, in the public domain, from Wikimedia Commons.
2 fires
active
Hewitt Lane Fire · 25 mi from the center · 109 acres
1 more within 50 miles
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateSouth Carolina
Size38,344 acres
FWS regionRegion 4
Center point33.59° N, 79.12° W
Night skyVery dark ground, a faint glow at most (Black Marble reading 32)

Boundary map

27 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 Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge40°50°60°70°80°90°January: 3.69 inches of precipitationFebruary: 3.42 inches of precipitationMarch: 4.05 inches of precipitationApril: 3.51 inches of precipitationMay: 3.78 inches of precipitationJune: 4.94 inches of precipitationJuly: 6.01 inches of precipitationAugust: 6.14 inches of precipitationSeptember: 7.05 inches of precipitationOctober: 5.09 inches of precipitationNovember: 3.03 inches of precipitationDecember: 4.61 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 46.8°F averageFebruary: 49.0°F averageMarch: 55.3°F averageApril: 62.8°F averageMay: 70.5°F averageJune: 77.0°F averageJuly: 80.2°F averageAugust: 78.9°F averageSeptember: 74.3°F averageOctober: 65.7°F averageNovember: 55.7°F averageDecember: 49.0°F average0 in2 in4 in6 in8 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Brookgreen Gardens, 5 miles from the center point at 20 feet, station USC00381093 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 55 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
  • Wildfire
    Hewitt Lane Fire

    25 mi from the center point · 109 acres · 90% contained

  • Prescribed
    C-163 Fm Rx

    41 mi from the center point · 222 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 · 41 in all · Register Atlas

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

Guidebooks for South Carolina

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

  • Five-Star Trails: South Carolina Upstate
    Sherry Jackson, 2023
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Paddling South Carolina
    Johnny Molloy, 2020
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Best Dog Hikes South Carolina
    Melissa Watson, 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 Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge?

38,344 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge in?

South Carolina.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 33.586° N, 79.125° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Is there a fire near Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge right now?

2 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Hewitt Lane Fire at 25 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Are there historic places near Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 41 listings within 15 miles, including Rainey, Joseph H., House and Sandy Island School.

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 (Q7958730), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: Waccamaw 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.