Bear Lake Wildlife Refuge

The Bear Lake Wildlife Refuge is located on the north end of Bear Lake. It can be accessed from Montpelier or Paris. Both have signed turn outs. The roads are dirt, but easily traversable in even a small car. We didn't see a ton of wildlife, today, but that might be due to the time of year, or even time of day. But we did see some, and enjoyed the adventure. This is an auto tour, but there are hiking opportunities.



Scenic Drive Details

Length: The auto-tour loop is 1.8 miles. Add 5 miles from Paris, or about 7 miles from Montpelier.
Time Needed: About an hour
Road Conditions: Dirt, well graded.
Summit: NA flat.
Restrooms: Yes, there are pit toilets.
Interesting Things: Birds, possible other wildlife sightings.

To Get Here:



The road from Montpelier out isn’t too bad (PSP). It is about 7 miles from the turn off to the kiosk.



Bear River Canal (PSP).



A dam of some sort (PSP).

The Adventure:



I think this is officially in the refuge (PSP).



The road is not bad at all (PSP).



We noticed this nesting pole on the side of the road, which appeared to be occupied (PSP).



I decided it was time for the telephoto lens. It’s an osprey!



It was being particularly vocal. I realized it was making the same noises of the large bird we saw and heard at Ricks’s Spring yesterday but didn’t get close enough for me to identify.





You can still see the nest around the next corner, although it is a bit further away.



He was moving around quite a bit more.



Ooh, I like this one. I normally only see ospreys up in the Uintas like Scout Lake. Although I have seen one in Ogden once as well.



Really neat bird. I am happy we got to get a close up view of one. However, we decided to keep following the loop.



The mountains to the east (PSP).



Dried up area (PSP).



From the other side (PSP).



Another little pond (PSP).



Grasshopper on the windshield (PSP). You would not believe the amount of grasshoppers there all all over the place up here. It seriously feels like almost swarm level of grasshoppers.



I saw a hawk hanging out on a fence post (PSP). But by the time I got the camera up it had taken off.



Still not a great shot of it (PSP).



American coot (PSP).



Ducks (PSP).



I cannot believe I caught this (PSP). An osprey with it’s lunch. Random fun fact: Ospreys always carry fish face forward.



Not as good but still cool (PSP).



It took it’s lunch down to a semi nearby pole.



One of the canals (PSP).



Some pretty purple flowers (PSP).

Leaving the refuge, we decided to head back towards Paris which is about 5 miles.



Crossing over the Bear River Canal (PSP).



Re-entering civilization (PSP).

We didn’t see a ton of wildlife today, but I am excited we got to see the ospreys. It was a totally chill adventure, without seeing another soul (which can be a bit freaky sometimes, but not today). There is a lot more to explore, we just did the short auto loop. However, next time we come up maybe we can come back.
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No difficulty rating as there is no need to get out of the car.

Dogs are allowed, but must be leashed at all time.