Visitors can climb to the Light Station and walk around the building. They cannot climb up to the light.

The trail to the beach, on the back side of the island, was destroyed by a hurricane. Refuge staff have built a longer new trail to avoid the erosion caused by the hurricane. It is not as easy as it was to get to the beach, but hardy souls can explore the beach as they have at previous Open Houses.

It is a lovely boat ride out to the island and a delightful way to spend a day on the Cedar Keys Refuge. Visitors can arrive at the island in their personal boats or pay for a shuttle service from the dock in Cedar Key. The shuttle is a good way to help the tour operators in their hurricane recovery.

Hunting season kicks off in September and Refuge staff are working hard to mow the secondary roads despite the wet conditions.

Our website's hunting section has been improved and expanded to make the information you need easier to find. Look for Hunting in the menu bar and you will find a Hunting Overview with helpful links and a season summary. Refuge maps, hunting regulations, step-by-step instructions for how to apply for regular permits or alternative mobility permits, the harvest report and more are all there. If there is additional information you’d like to see, let us know.

Before you go, check road conditions and closures on the Friends home page.

Work to make the Cook's House at Vista weather tight has now been completed. The foundation is stabilized. A new roof is in place. Much of the resurrection fern that used to cover the leaky roof has found new homes with Friends members. What did not go home with Friends members and donors was a welcome overnight treat for the resident deer. They made short order of the leaves left on the ground.

The windows are now all back in place. If you have not yet seen the photo essay about the window project, you are in for a treat. Click Here.

Much restoration remains to be completed for the Vista buildings to be opened to the public. However, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has decided the Friends and the Refuge need to have an exhaustive, detailed plan for all renovations before any more are started. Such a plan must be completed by authorized architects and will take up to a year.

Given that new restriction, Friends will be shifting our efforts to find ways to enable more visitor access by developing trails and interpretive panels.

As reported below, our Swallow-tailed Kite Suwannee 22 survived her harrowing encounter with Hurricane Debby and returned to our area to recover from the ordeal. Apparently, she did a fine job of building up her strength again. Our friends at Avian Research and Conservation Institute (ARCI) have tracked her new flight across the Gulf of Mexico. She is now resting up to complete her migration to Brazil.

Friends is proud to be part of this research. Thanks to all Friends members who have contributed to helping sponsor Suwannee's tracker.

The ARCI blog has fascinating additional information. This photo is from their blog post entitled The Hurricane Swallow-tailed Kite: the sequel.

Below is our original post from August 8:
Following her instincts rather than the news reports, Suwannee 22 took off on her migration to Brazil just days before Hurricane Debby developed. She bumped into the storm before reaching Cuba and turned back north, just as Debby intensified. Somehow she ended up in the eye and arrived safely in Steinhatchee. Read all about it in this blog from the Avian Research & Conservation Institute. Now our brave and exhausted bird will need to build up her strength and fuel up on lots of food all over again. Friends are cheering for her and very glad to be part of the research that documented such amazing flight.
​
USA Today covered the story and used a cool animated track.