Weeks Bay Reserve

Estuaries: Where Rivers Meet the Sea

Estuaries are semi-enclosed bodies of water where fresh water from rivers mixes with salt water from the oceans.  These important coastal habitats are spawning grounds and nurseries for at least two-thirds of the nation's commercial fish and shellfish.  Wetlands associated with estuaries buffer uplands from flooding.  Additionally, estuaries provide many recreational opportunities such as swimming, boating, fishing, and bird watching.

Weeks Bay is a small, estuarine system located along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay in Baldwin County, AL.  It receives fresh water from the Magnolia and Fish Rivers rivers and is connected by a narrow opening to the Mobile Bay. The Weeks Bay National Research Reserve was designated in 1986 as the nation's 16th reserve and is a partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the State of Alabama.   It is part of a national network of coastal reserves established as living laboratories for long-term scientific research and estuarine education.

 For more information about Weeks Bay Reserve and the National Reserve System, click here.

Weeks Bay Interpretive Center and Nature Trails

The Weeks Bay Interpretive Center offers the public opportunities to learn about coastal habitats through its exhibits, live animal displays, and collections of animals and regional plants. Self-guiding nature trails wind through wetlands, marshes, forests and a pitcher plant bog.

♦Week Bay Interpretive Center is located on Hwy 98 between Fairhope and Foley, just west of the Fish River Bridge, in South Baldwin Co, AL

♦Monday -  Saturday: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

 ♦Sunday : 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM

♦Closed State and Federal Holidays

♦For more information, call Weeks Bay at (251) 928-9792