Facilities and Activities:
| Day-Use | Fishing | yes | | | Hunting | yes | | | Hiking Trail, miles | yes |
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| National Park Contact Information: |
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Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge
Route 4 Box 290
Rupert, Idaho 83350
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| National Park Overview: |
| Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge extends 25 miles along both shores of the Snake River, upstream from the Minidoka Dam in south-central Idaho. Over half of the refuge is open water, with small patches of marsh that attract concentrations of up to 100,000 ducks and geese during spring and fall migrations. Colonial nesting birds, river otters, and mink feed upon the large populations of cold- and warmwater fish that flourish in shallow beds of submerged vegetation.
Undisturbed habitats are critical to colonial nesting birds, especially American white pelican, and molting waterfowl; nowhere else in southeastern Idaho can such habitat be found in this quantity or quality. The refuge uplands are a mix of rock, sand, and shallow soil habitat that supports a diversity of small mammals, reptiles, and invertebrates. The basalt lava flows provide habitat for some of the more diverse reptile fauna in Idaho.
The Idaho dunes tiger beetle, a species of special concern, is found on refuge sand dunes, while the Utah valvata, an endangered snail, inhabits the reservoir. Both sage and sharptailed grouse occupy refuge habitat that is becoming increasingly important in the face of petitions to list these species.
More than 100 years ago, settlers on the Oregon Trail passed just south of the refuge; some crossed on an alternate route through the refuge. Today, thousands of visitors come to Lake Walcott State Park, located within the boundary of Minidoka Refuge, to camp, picnic, hike, observe wildlife, hunt waterfowl, boat, and fish. Sensitive wildlife areas are closed to recreational use. |
| Nature of the Area: |
| The refuge is an important stopover area in the Pacific Flyway. Concentrations of up to 100,000 ducks and geese have been documented during spring and fall migrations, and close to 500 tundra swans can be seen as they migrate through in the spring. The refuge also serves as a molting area for waterfowl in summer. Of the 28 species of waterfowl that use the refuge, those most commonly seen are the Canada goose, mallard, pintail, redhead, gadwall, and wigeon. Colony-nesting birds on the refuge include the Clark's and western grebe, double-crested cormorant, great blue heron, California gull, snowy egret, cattle egret, black-crowned night-heron, and American white pelican. Bald eagles are regularly observed on the refuge in fall and spring, and peregrine falcons are occasionally seen as they migrate through in fall.
Most of the upland areas are shallow soils underlain by fairly recent basalt lava flows, with an occasional sand dune scattered throughout. This mix of rock, sand, and shallow soil supports a diversity of small mammals, reptiles and invertebrates. The divergence point of the Oregon and California Trails was about a mile south of the refuge boundary and an alternate route of the Oregon Trail crossed the northern part of the refuge. |
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| Fishing and Hunting: |
| Fishing:
Fishing is popular all year long on the reservoir and below the dam. The reservoir usually freezes sometime in December, ending the hunting, but fishing continues once the ice is thick enough. There are no areas closed to foot traffic on the refuge. The entire refuge is open to anglers. Several unimproved roads on both sides of the reservoir are open to the public and are used primarily by anglers. These roads are suitable only for high clearance and 4-wheel-drive only that are open to the public.
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...vacation cabin, weekend getaway, log cabin rental, romantic cottage, vacation home, resort, hotel, motel, bed and breakfast, country inn, campground, RV park, horseback riding stable, canoe livery, river rafting, outfitting, sporting goods store, guide service, RV rental, etc read more.... |
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| Related Links: |
| Bird Checklists of the United States - Bird Checklists of the United States Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge Rupert, Idaho The Refuge Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge, comprising 21,721 acres, is in south-central Idaho, 12 miles ... | | Bird Checklists of the United States - ... Falls, ID Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge -- Bonners Ferry, ID (Printed 2/92) Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge -- Rupert, ID (Printed 8/85) Nez Perce National Historical Park -- Spalding, ID ... | | Idaho Bureau of Land Management - Bureau of Land Management. ID Home| Directory| BLM Facts| What We Do | Information| News | Search| Site Index | FOIA. Recreation Special Places RACs Photo Library Fire Permits-Maps Mining ... | | Lake Walcott Open - Pelicans - ... for the Lake Walcott Open. Lake Walcott State Park is located in the Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge also includes an important nesting area for a population of American white ... | | Idaho Industry, Development and Community - About Us - ... from two nice golf courses and is less that fifteen miles from the Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge Minidoka Dam Lake Walcott Walcott Park. Pomerelle Ski Resort, with twenty-two ski runs, is only ... | | Area Campgrounds | | |
| Directions: |
| To reach the refuge office and Walcott State Park, take Route 24 northeast from Rupert, Idaho; there are some tricky turns in Rupert so watch the signs carefully. About 5.5 miles from Rupert, turn right on the Minidoka Dam road and follow it to the refuge.
From Interstate 86: Take exit 21, Cold Water, and follow the gravel road on the north side of the interstate to the refuge gate; or take exit 15, Raft River, then follow the signs on the north side of the interstate to the Gifford Springs boat ramp. Another route to the refuge can be found on the south side of the reservoir from Old Highway 30.
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