Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge

Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge is a nonprofit wildlife hospital that cares for about 2,000 injured or orphaned native Florida animals a year, and its Navarre campus lets the public see that work up close. The purpose-built facility opened in 2019 on land near East Bay donated by Bill and Carol Andersen, giving the organization its first home designed for the job after years in volunteers’ houses and temporary sites in Destin and on Okaloosa Island.

The refuge is at 3051 Cloptons Circle, Navarre, off State Road 87 (phone 850-684-1485, emeraldcoastwildliferefuge.org). Alongside a medical center with a surgical suite and nursery, the campus has an education center with a visitor area, gift shop and classrooms, plus habitats for ambassador animals that help teach visitors about native wildlife. Its marine mammal stranding team responds to more than 20 beached marine mammals each year, and its service area runs from Escambia County to western Bay County.

The education center is open Wednesday through Saturday, 9am to 3pm, and Sunday, 11am to 3pm, and is closed Monday and Tuesday. Admission is $8 for adults, $7 for military and seniors 55 and up, $6 for ages 3 to 17, and free for children under 2 (as of September 2026). Field trips, private events and volunteer opportunities are available.

To report injured wildlife or arrange a drop-off, call the refuge; drop-offs are accepted daily from 8am to 4pm. The refuge receives no government funding and relies on donations.