Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge — Attraction in Winnie

This is not intended to be a negative review. My wife and I went Nov 24, 2023. We went through the main entrance and parked in the first area we saw. We saw a trail featuring butterflies that looked interesting and headed that way. We noticed a few bees, but heard what sounded like a hive. Not thinking I kept walking toward the trail as the noise got louder. As soon as we passed a covered eating area, that's when we saw the forming bee hive, of course bees were all around us too. Then we noticed a sign that said bees were working in the area. That's also when I noticed I was covered with about 25 mosquitos. That's about the time I panicked, ran back to the car and tried another area. This area too, was infested with mosquitos. And these were big ones, I actually thought they were some other kind of insects because I'd had never seen mosquitos this big before. Needless to say, our time at the park lasted about 15 mins. Full disclosure, neither of us were bitten. Also we spoke with someone who says she has come here for decades and never had problems with mosquitos. She and her crew were also packing up to leave because of them. So the mosquito thing is possibly a fluke. I would have taken pictures, but when your about to get 'done up' you tend to forget. Perhaps another time for us in the...

I love this place, a great place to see wildlife and just relax. I read some of the negative reviews, and honestly people have to understand it's NATURE. You aren't going to see the same thing each time you go. Sometimes I go and see TONS of alligators, birds, flowers, etc ... and other times I go and don't see much of anything. Sunny days seem best for viewing, but today was overcast, and I saw so many gators and birds. The sunsets around here are gorgeous.

I love the butterfly garden in spring, and I've seen wild bunnies in there many times. However, after spring it's pretty bare. That's just how nature goes. I always walk the boardwalk by the Butterfly Garden, and it always feels like heaven. The breeze, and birds, and peacefulness.

After driving the loop, I often take the road to frozen point. I've seen many gators on that road, cattle, and even a bobcat. I just wish the "fishing" guys didnt go flying through there. They sometimes tailgate you and fly around you, which is risky considering there is wildlife everywhere, and the road is narrow. Calm down friends, I promise, you...

The ranger station was closed and there was a huge swarm of bees so we were not able to access the butterfly garden. We concentrated on just doing the drive through and stopping to take pictures. We were expecting the park to be full of mosquitoes, but didn’t encounter any and were able to get out of the car to take some pictures. We diidn’t walk on any trails other than the one over the pond I believe was called the boardwalk. No mosquitoes there either although we only went a short distance on the boardwalk. We arrived late afternoon and next time we will get there earlier to be able to take in more of the reserve. Still bring plenty of mosquito spray in case conditions change. One highlight was the Visitiors Center. The ladies there love to talk and are an excellent source of knowledge for the reserve. They hooked us up with maps, lists of residents of the reserve and told very interesting stories about the reserve. Great little gift...