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Wednesday 10am - 4pm Thursday 10am - 4pm Friday 10am - 4pm Saturday 10am - 4pm

Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge

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Davis, WV
Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge

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The nation's 500th refuge!

Protecting relict boreal forest and the largest wetland complex in central and southern Appalachia in the high-elevation Canaan Valley.

10/31/2026

Watch out for things that go "peeeent" in the night 👻

Happy Halloween from Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge 🎃!

📷: American woodcock, Kylie Brunette.

10/30/2026

The eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis) is North America’s most abundant tree-roosting bat. 🦇 They can be identified by their namesake rusty red fur with distinctive white shoulder patches.

Eastern red bats roost in trees, hanging by a single foot and wrapping themselves up in their membranous tails (built-in fuzzy blankets!) that keep them warm at temperatures as low as 23°F! 🥶 With an average length of 4 inches and a weight roughly equal to 5 pennies, they often successfully camouflage themselves as dead leaves or pinecones at first glance, so keep your eyes peeled to peep one of these fuzzy friends!

📷: Chris Harshaw (CC-BY-SA 3.0), https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red_bat_(4a).JPG

10/29/2026

🦇Program Reminder🦇

Drop by the Visitor Center this Saturday to make a bat-themed craft celebrating Halloween and the end of Bat Week! This craft is free while supplies last.

10/28/2026

Sometimes the smallest creatures can have a big impact! The same is true for bats, although we may not always see them. All the bats in our area eat insects, helping protect our food and forests from insect pests. For example, the little brown bat can eat over 1,000 mosquito-sized insects in an hour! 🦟~~~~~~~~~🦇

📷: Little brown bats, USFWS

10/27/2026

Our Friends are throwing a party! Stop by the Visitor Center on Saturday, November 7th for the Friends of the 500th Open House event! They'll be celebrating the accomplishments in 2026 and sharing plans for the exciting year ahead. Check out the schedule below for the full list of programs for the day!
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🚪10:00 AM | Doors Open - Stop by the committee tables to learn about different ways to get involved with the Friends.

👥11:00 AM | Annual Meeting - Including reports from refuge manager Bob Frank and the Friends board.

🍽️12:00 PM | Potluck Lunch

📽️1:30 PM | Short Film Showcase - Including the films "The Land of Milk and Honey," "Driftland," "Behold, the Land of Canaan," and "The Extraordinary Caterpillar."

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There are also a couple evening programs happening that day as well!

🦫4:00 PM | Busy Beavers Walk - A special afternoon offering of our beaver program. Takes place at the Freeland Boardwalk Trail

🦉8:00 PM | Owl Banding Demonstration - See science in action for a northern saw-whet owl research project. Takes place at the Hunter Access Lot at the end of Freeland Road

10/26/2026

It's Bat Week! 🦇

To kick it off, we're taking a look at the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis). Their scientific name means "mouse-eared companion," referring to their adorable mouse-like ears and their highly social nature—during hibernation, they can pack tightly into clusters of up to 500 bats per square foot! Clearly the words "personal space" mean something different to them 😅

One of the top threats to this endangered bat is the fungal disease White-nose Syndrome (WNS). WNS alone has led to a 19% decline in population since its discovery in 2007. Help protect these and other bats by staying clear of roosting sites to avoid spreading WNS, plant native flowers to attract insects, and leave dead/dying trees standing where possible.

📷: Ryan Hagerty/USFWS

10/23/2026

You know what they say, keep calm and carrion 👑

The turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) is a scavenger that feeds on almost exclusively dead animals (carrion). They have incredible eyesight and sense of smell, using them to detect early stages of decay. Turkey vulture’s stomach acid is so acidic that it allows them digest just about anything without getting sick. Vultures are an important part of keeping our ecosystems healthy. By taking care of the carrion, they help prevent diseases such as rabies, anthrax, and botulism from spreading in the environment.

📷: Lydia Hansen/USFWS

10/22/2026

🦫Program Reminder🦫

Beaver—nature's best engineers! Join volunteer Robin on Saturday, October 24 at 11AM for our Busy Beavers guided walk on the Freeland Boardwalk. Learn about the adaptations of beavers, their impact on the landscape, and how they might not be so different from us after all 🤔

It's the last one of the season, so don't miss out!

📷: USFWS

10/21/2026

In case you missed it! Yesterday morning (10/20), Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge was the coldest officially recognized temperature in the lower 48 states at a chilly 16.7° F 🥶

The bathtub shape of the valley combined with its high-elevation form what's called a frost hollow or cold sink. Frost hollows catch and pool cold air overnight, especially when aided by dry air and a lack of wind.

📷: © Kent Mason

10/20/2026

Shout out to all the participants who took part in our youth mentored deer hunt over the weekend! And a big thank you to the Friends of the 500th Sportsmen's Conservation Committee and volunteers for helping everyone have a wonderful time while learning about hunting safety, hunting ethics, and wild game processing. If you missed us this year, we hope you can join us for the 2027 youth mentored hunt!

Address

6263 Appalachian Highway
Davis, WV
26260

Opening Hours

Wednesday	10am - 4pm
Thursday	10am - 4pm
Friday	10am - 4pm
Saturday	10am - 4pm

Telephone

+13048663858

Website

https://www.fws.gov/refuge/canaan-valley

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