The St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge reaches over 86,000 acres along 43 miles of Florida’s Gulf Coast. Congress designated it as a National Wilderness Area in the 70's, making it one of the oldest protected sites in the National Wildlife Refuge System. The refuge is famous for the historic St. Marks Lighthouse, seasonal monarch butterfly migrations, and endangered whooping cranes that winter here. You can also spot bald eagles, woodpeckers, river otters, deer, foxes, bobcats, black bears, frogs, toads, saltwater, and freshwater fish. This diverse ecosystem blends salt marshes, hardwood swamps, freshwater pools and lakes, pine flatwoods, and pine-oak uplands.