Widlife Refuge & Myrtle Falls

10 June 2017

Today we toured the Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge and hiked up to Myrtle Falls..both a short drive from Bonner's Ferry. The Refuge is located in a beautiful valley between the Selkirk and Purcell Mountains. It provides a diverse habitat for moose, elk, deer, bear, otter, bald eagles and migratory waterfowl. The auto drive tour which is one lane, one way is 4.5 miles. The refuge is open year round and free. Unfortunately, we saw no wildlife except on the hike up to Myrtle Falls.

Map of Refuge

Kootenai River

After the auto tour, we went back to the refuge station and did the hike up to Myrtle Falls seeing several deer along the way. The first part of the trail is paved until you reach the foot bridge over Myrtle Creek. The trail then narrows and is rocky. They say the remaining part of the trail is only 0.4 miles, but seemed longer to me. The falls thunders 35 to 50 feet downwards. It is more impressive during spring runoff.

Posing Deer

Myrtle Creek

Myrtle Creek

Myrtle Falls

Foot Bridge Across Creek

It was a nice drive and hike even though we did not see any wildlife in the refuge.

Tomorrow we are going to Kootenai Falls and Swinging Bridge in Montane off Hwy 2 between Troy and Libby.