Wildlife watching
With a wide variety of habitat across a vast landscape, Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge is home to many species of wildlife from massive elk to tiny dragonflies and everything in between. While wildlife may be seen anywhere, much of the Refuge is rugged and remote. The areas highlighted below are just a few that are most easily accessed. Please visit our Rules and Policies page for our complete visitor use regulations.
Birds
More than 250 species of birds have been documented on the refuge. The unique combination of native prairies, shrublands, forested coulees, woodlands, riparian areas, river bottoms, and badlands makes the refuge a haven for migratory and breeding birds who use the refuge as nesting habitat but also as a stopover area during spring and fall migrations. The refuge is also extremely important for year-round residents such as sharp-tailed grouse and sage-grouse. A refuge Bird List is available at any refuge office.
Places to Go
Beaver Creek Nature Trail – Located near the Fort Peck Interpretive Center, this paved, accessible walking trail will take you past cottonwoods, small wetlands and thickets of willows, chokecherries, Russian olive and sumac. You may see warblers, orioles, brown thrashers, kingbirds, vireos, catbirds, and grosbeaks. The Missouri River runs next to the trail and is a hotspot for gulls, waterfowl, and terns. In winter, bald eagles congregate here to fish the open water below Fort Peck Dam.
Auto Tour – Located on the west end of the Refuge, the tour route parallels the Missouri River before climbing out onto prairie and rolling sagebrush uplands. Visit in March and April and you may see sage grouse and sharp-tailed grouse dancing on their leks. At other times of the year, you’ll find typical sagebrush and grassland songbirds and raptors. Along the river you may see orioles, towhees, warblers and woodpeckers within the cottonwoods, red osier dogwoods and willows and great blue herons and wood ducks along the river bank.
Rock Creek Recreation Area and Nelson Creek Recreation Area– Located along Highway 24 on the east side of the Refuge, at Rock Creek there is access to Fort Peck Lake and young cottonwood galleries as well as native prairie uplands and coulees. A higher clearance vehicle is recommended for a drive along Road 813, but you may see Sprague’s pipits, rock wrens, kingbirds, grasshopper sparrows, lark sparrows, lark buntings and raptors such as northern harriers and red-tailed hawks.
Other Wildlife
CMR is known for iconic big game species such as elk and mule deer but many other species can be found here. Some may be seen while driving around the Refuge but many are secretive or dispersed and not easy to find. Please remember that except for game species during state designated hunting seasons, all wildlife is protected on the Refuge.
Places to Go
Bone Trail Recreation Area – Sixty miles southwest of Fort Peck, a visit to this recreation area is worth the drive. You’ll travel past rolling native prairie and into the Missouri River Breaks. The gravel road allows access for most of the year but the final 1.5 miles descending to the recreation area should be avoided if it has rained recently or rain is forecast. You will find prairie dogs and pronghorn and while it’s possible to see bighorn sheep and elk in the area, there is no guarantee.
Auto Tour - Located on the west end of the Refuge, the tour route parallels the Missouri River before climbing out onto prairie and rolling sagebrush uplands. You may see pronghorn, mule deer and elk in the uplands and white-tailed deer and beaver along the river corridor. In September and October, elk gather under the cottonwood galleries for the fall rut and a visit to the Slippery Ann Elk Viewing area is not to be missed.
Accessible Wildlife Viewing
In addition to the accessible Beaver Creek Nature Trail mentioned above, Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge has two hunting and wildlife viewing blinds available for use. The purpose of these accessible blinds is to increase universally accessible hunting and viewing opportunities for all outdoor enthusiasts in the Missouri River Breaks.
The Hell Creek Blind is located in the bottoms of Hell Creek, approximately twenty-five miles north of Jordan, MT, close to Hell Creek Recreation Area. The structure was built by Shadow Hunter Blinds and is a “Total View” 6’x6’ permanent aluminum insulated blind overlooking Hell Creek. The blind is accessible by a hard packed gravel mixture accessible parking lot and 100-yard-long trail. The blind is placed within view of two active osprey nesting platforms which provides for great photography potential as well.
The Manning Blind is located along the Missouri River (Manning Bottoms) on the western side of the refuge and is approximately 10 miles east of Highway 191 and the Fred Robinson Bridge. The 6x8 wheelchair friendly viewing blind was built by Shadow Hunter Blinds and can be accessed by a 400 yard hard packed gravel trail. The aluminum blind is insulated and has 6 sliding windows for 360-degree views. The Missouri River riparian corridor offers opportunities to view elk, whitetail deer, mule deer and a multitude of other wildlife.
Both blinds are open to the general public with the understanding that visitors with disabilities have priority use. They are available on a first come, first serve basis. If you would like more information on the Hell Creek Blind, please call 406-526-3464. For more information on the Manning Blind, please call 406-464-5181.
