Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Ruby Valley

The South Ruby Lake is beautiful! They have lots of signs up to let you know about fishing and hunting regulations which is great. The Visiters Center is closed STILL due to "public health concerns". So if you want information about the area or have questions, tough luck. Everyone else is back working, what happened to the National Wildlife Refuge people? We camped at South Ruby for 5 days and they were never open. Very disappointing!

This is an absolutely gorgeous marsh that is fed by slow moving underground creeks in the nearby mountains. It stays marshy year round because of its unique geological and hydrological situation, despite the desert climate. The wildlife is stupendous. I saw dozens of black-crowned night herons, great blue herons, canvasbacks, a few pelicans, tons of various types of hawks, and more. The motor tour is pretty good, and the fishing must be all right because the place was packed full of fishers. There is some free camping on BLM aide roads south of the campground if the campground is full (it was for us).