Over 25 years of Nature Tours!
Come experience King Ranch’s guided wildlife and bird-watching tours.
King Ranch has a long history of wildlife management. As early as 1947, famed conservationist Aldo Leopold called King Ranch “one of the best jobs of wildlife restoration on the continent.” Today, the ranch is a vital part of an incredibly diverse landscape in South Texas dubbed “The Last Great Habitat.”
Besides rich populations of game species such as northern bobwhite quail, white-tailed deer, and wild turkey, King Ranch is also home to an incredible number of birds, mammals, reptiles, birds and insects. We have been honored as an Internationally Important Bird Area: 372 species of birds have been recorded here, including the largest known population of ferruginous pygmy-owls in the United States. In 2004, a species of damselfly never before seen in the U.S., the cream-tipped swamp-damsel, was discovered on the ranch.
Whether you’re interested in beautiful or unusual birds, big deer, or the wonders of nature, King Ranch is the place to visit. Book your tour online at the button below. You can also speak with a King Ranch Visitor Center representative to learn more by calling either (361) 592-8055 or emailing visit@king-ranch.com. Please note that the prices below don’t include sales tax of 6.75%.
Our Nature Tours
Click on one of the links below to get more information about each tour.
Wildlife Half-Day Tour (3.5 hours)
Enjoy a tour through some of the premier wildlife habitat in the country. Along with the famed quality of antlered white-tailed deer in its pastures, King Ranch is home to a diverse range of animal species including javelina, bobcat, wild turkey, American alligator, and a host of other mammals, birds, and reptiles.
Offered: October – March, Wednesday – Saturdays.
Not Offered: Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.
Book your tour online at the button below. You can also speak with a King Ranch Visitor Center representative to learn more by calling either (361) 592-8055 or emailing visit@king-ranch.com.
Reservations & binoculars recommended. Children under age 10 not recommended.
Winter Birding Half-Day (4 hours)
King Ranch is a showcase for the incredible diversity of wintering and tropical resident birds in South Texas. We will visit habitats from wetlands and grasslands to brush country to look for birds such as least grebe, white-tailed hawk, crested caracara, vermilion flycatcher, great kiskadee, green jay, olive sparrow, and more.
This tour does not visit the division of the ranch where the ferruginous pygmy-owls occur.
Offered: November – March, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Not Offered: Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.
Book your tour online at the button below. You can also speak with a King Ranch Visitor Center representative to learn more by calling either (361) 592-8055 or emailing visit@king-ranch.com.
Reservations required. Children under age 12 not recommended.
Norias Birding Full-Day (9 hours)
This tour visits the Norias Division, the southernmost part of King Ranch. This area provides a great birding experience, with some of the rarest breeding birds in the U.S. such as the ferruginous pygmy-owl and tropical parula, and habitat for migrating songbirds. Other species we’ll look for include white-tailed hawk, northern-beardless tyrannulet, vermilion flycatcher, Botteri’s sparrow, and Audubon’s oriole. Lunch and drinks provided.
Offered: March – June.
Book your tour online at the button below. You can also speak with a King Ranch Visitor Center representative to learn more by calling either (361) 592-8055 or emailing visit@king-ranch.com.
Reservations required. Children under age 12 not recommended.
Deluxe Norias Birding Tour (1.5 days, 1 night)
This tour maximizes the varied birding opportunities on the Norias Divison, of King Ranch. Besides possibly seeing the many special resident & summer resident bird species, this portion of King Ranch has extensive upland coastal habitat that can attract many spring migrants. This tour allows time to visit these coastal migrant stopover areas and includes an overnight stay on this division of the ranch.
Reservations required. Children under age 14 not recommended.
King Ranch Birding Adventure (3 days, 2 nights)
This unique and extended outing is a great way to experience a much larger portion of King Ranch and its birds. It will include birding divisions of the ranch and a two night stay on the remote Norias division of King Ranch. Meals and comfortable accommodations are provided in a rustic setting. This is indeed a very special adventure on King Ranch.
Reservations required. Children under age 14 not recommended.
Note: Vehicles headed north after a Spring birding tour travel through the Sarita U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Check Station. Each vehicle is met at the checkpoint by Border Patrol agents for a quick visual inspection and brief questions to determine citizenship. The process is routine, and most stops average less than a minute in duration. All passengers need to carry proper identification to verify U.S. Citizenship such as a Drivers License or Student ID card. Foreign nationals planning to take a Spring birding trip on the King Ranch should be sure to carry the appropriate documentation to avoid unnecessary delays, as Border Patrol agents are required to determine the immigration status of every traveler. Participants who do not have proper identification will not be permitted to board vans headed for King Ranch birding excursions on the Norias Division of the ranch, as an 1-2 hour delay in return of a birding trip would not be fair to other participants.