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• History • Attractions & Activities • Shopping • Dining • Demographics • Home "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge The J.N. "Ding" Darling Refuge is 6,400 acres of protected wilderness — home to some 238 bird species as well as mangrove forests marshes and seagrass beds. Among the birds are wood storks, bald eagles, peregrine falcons and roseate spoonbills. Wildlife Drive, pictured here, is an excellent way to experience this unusual bit of nature first hand. The five-mile drive is available to hikers, automobiles and bicycles, and is open every day except Friday from 7:30AM to half and hour before sunset. Three trails of different lengths may be accessed from the drive. The four-mile Indigo Trail starts at the Education Center aqnd ends at the cross-dike. Two other trails — Wulfert Keys Trail and Shell Mound Trail — are each 1/4 mile long and both offer interpretative panels that provide educational information along the way. The Educational Center is free of charge and offers a wide variety of detailed exhibits about wildlife and the history of the refuge. The Center is open daily except most federal holidays. Its hours of operation are 9AM to 5PM January through April, and 9AM to 4PM May through December. It is located two miles west of Tarpon Bay Road on Sanibel-Captiva Road.

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