Crab Orchard Wilderness

Crab Orchard Wilderness, in the middle of the Mississippi Flyway bird migration route, offers a critical winter haven for an average of 40,000 Canada geese annually. Early 1900s agriculture and logging had severely depleted this area's natural forest, wetland, and grassland, leaving wildlife struggling to survive. The establishment of the refuge and, later, the wilderness designation aimed to restore essential habitats for geese, ducks, wild turkeys, white-tailed deer, and small mammals like coyotes, beavers, opossums, and raccoons. Visitors are drawn here for bird-watching, hunting, and fishing. Anglers come to Devil's Kitchen Lake and Little Grassy Lake hoping to catch bass, bluegill, and crappie; located at the refuge's southern edge, the Wilderness includes portions of both lakes, and nearby parking lots and boat launches make the water easily accessible. Inside the Wilderness are dramatic sandstone outcroppings, shaded creeks, and the chance for seclusion. The area lacks maintained trails, and camping is limited to designated sites just outside the Wilderness.