Dauphin Island Audubon Bird Sanctuary
Nature preserve
106 acres2.7 mi of trail
Dauphin Island Audubon Bird Sanctuary Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Altairisfar (Jeffrey Reed) · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Dauphin Island
34% of Dauphin Island’s land is conserved: 1,325 acres
309 acres are parks and preserves, 167 per 1,000 residents. 95% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Dauphin Island Audubon Bird Sanctuary (2.7 mi), Indian Shell Mound Park (0.5 mi).
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
34%
1,325 acres · of 6.3 sq mi of land
Trails
4.9 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
309 ac
167 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
95%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
12 mi
3.8 mi lanes · 7.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
2 beaches · 13 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Dauphin Island?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Dauphin Island have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dauphin Island is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Dauphin Island’s overall grade.
Conserved land34% of the land · typical AL town 1% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · AL 0.1 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land167 acres of park per 1,000 residents (309 acres) · AL 8 · U.S. 13AParks close to home95% of residents within a half mile of a park · AL 36% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 97%
LessMore
Few Alabama towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Dauphin Island’s 34% is ahead of 98% of Alabama towns, while its trails per square mile lead 91% of them.
Water is more than half of Dauphin Island’s area (160 of 166 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 1%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Dauphin Island Audubon Bird Sanctuary, with 2.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Indian Shell Mound Park
Park
6 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Little Dauphin Island Unit, Bon Secour NWR
Nature preserve
649 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
649 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 11 parks & preserves
Dauphin Island Audubon Bird Sanctuary106 acres · 2.7 mi of trail
DirectionsIndian Shell Mound Park6 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsLittle Dauphin Island Unit, Bon Secour NWR649 acres
Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge649 acres · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Fort Gaines10 acres
DirectionsSalt Creek Park9 acres
DirectionsCedar Point Pier5 acres · Mobile County Parks
DirectionsCadillac Square4 acres
Jefferies Park4 acres
Penalver Park2 acres
DirectionsGreen Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,325 conserved acres
34% of Dauphin Island’s land. Water is left out: Dauphin Island has 6.3 square miles of land and 159.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Dauphin Island’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service1,631 ac
Town or city299 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits176 ac
Private owners152 ac
National Park Service34 ac
State fish & wildlife12 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 1,631 acLocal Park · 246 acRecreation or Education Easement · 163 acPrivate Conservation · 162 acLocal Recreation Area · 37 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 21 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 1,631 | Restricted |
| Dauphin Island Audubon Bird Sanctuary Private Conservation | Private owners | 146 | Open |
| Dauphin Island Public Beach Local Park | Town or city | 130 | Open |
| Dauphin Island Beach Local Park | Town or city | 89 | Open |
| Dauphin Island Campground Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 36 | Open |
| Gulf Islands National Seashore National Lakeshore or Seashore | National Park Service | 34 | Open |
| West End Beach Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Historic Fort Gaines Local Historic or Cultural Area | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Shell Mound Park State Park | State fish & wildlife | 12 | Open |
| Dauphin Island Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 9 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
17 places to go in Dauphin Island
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Dauphin Island
Bienville Beach
DirectionsDauphin Beach
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Dauphin Island
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Dauphin Island
13 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.2 mi
Dauphin Island Audubon Bird Sanctuary Trail2.8 mi
Dauphin Island Pier0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
12 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.8 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
7.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Tennis
3Basketball
1Golf
1Volleyball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Dauphin Island: April and May
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.4 | 11.1 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.7 | 14.1 | 13.9 | 13.2 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.6 | 10.2 |
| High (°F) | 60 | 63 | 70 | 76 | 83 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 87 | 79 | 69 | 63 |
| Rain (in) | 5.0 | 4.2 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 6.4 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 6.1 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.7 |
November is the driest month (4.0 in) and August the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 7.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Dauphin Island →
Questions about parks and trails in Dauphin Island
Where can I hike in Dauphin Island?
The longest trail networks: Dauphin Island Audubon Bird Sanctuary, 2.7 miles; Indian Shell Mound Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Dauphin Island is conserved land?
34% of its land, against a typical 1% for an Alabama town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Dauphin Island’s trails?
Dauphin Island Audubon Bird Sanctuary and Indian Shell Mound Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Dauphin Island?
12 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.8 of painted or protected lanes and 7.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Dauphin Island?
10,853 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dauphin Island or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 309 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Dauphin Island have?
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Dauphin Island neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →