Page 50 Rio Grande Valley Visitors Guide 2024-2025 ture through various activities, including fishing, hunting, wildlife observation, photography, bicycling, and hiking. A Visitor Center with exhibits, restrooms, and a nature store is available. The refuge is located at 22688 Buena Vista Blvd. in Los Fresnos. For more information, including hours of operation and tour schedules, please visit the website www. fws.gov/refuge/laguna_atascosa or call the visitor center at (956) 748-3607 ext. 105, or (956) 244-2019. McAllen Nature Center Originally opened in 1960 as McAllen Botanical Gardens, the site reopened to the public as the McAllen Nature Center in 2013. Enjoy two miles of trails, including one mile that’s ADA accessible, winding through 33 acres of native thornscrub forest. The site is home to over 300 species of animals, including various birds, butterflies, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. You can also find over 200 species of plants within the center. Amenities include picnic tables, benches, drinking fountains, and restrooms. The McAllen Nature Center is located at 4101 W. Business 83, in McAllen. Check out the Facebook page, www. facebook.com/McAllenNatureCenter/, for news about events and updates at the center. Hours are Tuesdays through Sundays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit the website at www.mcallenparks.net/mcallen-nature-center/ or call (956) 681-3333. National Butterfly Center (NABA) The premier location in the United States to experience the beauty of wild butterflies, the center is the reason USA Today calls Mission, Texas, “the butterfly capitol of the USA.” Hundreds of species have been documented here, where cultivated gardens and trails showcase the nation’s largest botanical collection of native plants that provide breeding and feeding habitat for butterflies, caterpillars, and birds. A perennial favorite among butterfliers, birders and nature photographers in general, the NBC is the easiest place to get great shots of many South Texas specialty birds, including year ‘round residents like the Green Jay, Clay-colored Thrush, Olive Sparrow, and Altamira Oriole. The National Butterfly Center is located in the NABA Section of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Wildlife Conservation Corridor, just one mile east of Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, at 3333 Butterfly Park Dr. GPS coordinates are 26.180243, -98.364973. For hours, rates, and special events, visit www.nationalbutterflycenter.org. For updates on recent bird, butterfly, and wildlife sightings, like the National Butterfly Center on Facebook. For additional information such as scheduling group tours and activities call (956) 583-5400. Pharr Vanguard Academy Nature & Birding Center The Pharr Vanguard Academy Nature & Birding Center encompasses eight acres of land that features a walking trail through the local native habitat. Other park amenities include an amphitheater, pergola, pavilion with picnic tables, bird feeding station, and interpretative signage along the trail. Located at 1025 S. Richmond Dr. in Pharr, the park is open from sunrise to sunset. Pixie Preserve Birders looking for the Clay-colored Robin or Hookbilled Kite may find them in Pixie Preserve, previously known as Chihuahua Woods Preserve. Located three miles west of the intersection of Expressway 83 and Business 83, take Business 83 to the west to a point where it curves to the northwest. Go straight on the road that continues west along the railroad. The preserve will be located on the right side of the road. Sabal Palm Sanctuary & Historic Rabb Plantation House The Sanctuary is home to many native species of plants and animals that reach the northernmost limit of their Mexican range here and do not occur elsewhere in the U.S. Cradled in a bend of the Rio Grande along the U.S./Mexico border, the Sanctuary harbors one of the most beautiful and critical ecosystems of South Texas and Northern Mexico. Sabal Palms once grew profusely along the edge of the Rio Grande in small stands or groves extending about 80 miles upstream from the Gulf of Mexico. Today, only a small portion of that forest remains, protected on 557 acres of this Sanctuary. Many Mexican species live in the forest including Green Jays, Plain Chachalacas, Great Kiskadees, Least Grebes, and Buff-bellied Hummingbirds. Sabal Palm Sanctuary offers over three miles of nature trails leading through the old-growth palm grove and even down to the Rio Grande River. There is also a long wetlands boardwalk and six observation areas. The Historical Rabb Plantation House, which now serves as the headquarters and visitor center for the sanctuary, was built in 1892. The Rabb House is one of the few remaining examples of the Rio Grande’s plantation legacy. The Sanctuary is open daily 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed on Wednesdays and some holidays. Daily admission is $6 for adults and $4 for children (12 and under). There are also 12-month memberships available, $50 for family and $30 for individual. From U.S. 77/83 turn left on International Blvd., then turn right onto Southmost Rd. (FM 1419). Continue for six miles and look for Sabal Palm Grove Rd. on the right, the Sanctuary is located at the very end of the paved road at
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