The Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge near Stevensville is right across the Bitterroot River from homes, but provides views of mountains such as Little St. Joe Peak. LAURA SCHMERKER

Metcalf refuge provides short walks, plenty of wildlife

By JEFF SCHMERKER

STEVENSVILLE – Leave your bear spray, crampons, hydration pack and avalanche probe at home for this hike – but bring along a picnic, binoculars and telephoto lens.

The handful of short trails in the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge offer no elevation gain, partially paved surfaces and picnic shelters, as well as ample opportunity to study, up close, wildlife big and small. These hikes are well suited for children and adults of all ages and abilities. The main trail is paved and wheelchair accessible.

The refuge was established in 1963 to provide habitat for migratory birds. The name of the refuge honors the late U.S. Sen. Lee Metcalf, a local high school graduate with a lifelong commitment to conservation. The 2,800 acres cover forested river bottoms, grasslands and fields, hedgerows and shrubs, marshes, open mud flats and ponds. A series of dikes and impoundments have been constructed to hold and manage water.

The refuge is home to 235 species of birds, 37 species of mammals, and 17 species of reptiles and amphibians. Bird life is most prolific, but since most birds are migratory, a visit to the refuge in different seasons will reveal a different array of visitors.

The main trails area is on the south end of the refuge, just west of Wildfowl Lane. There is a pit toilet and trash can here, as well as an interpretive board.

One trail loops northward from this trailhead in a one-mile swing through rich bottomland and along the Bitterroot River.

This compacted dirt trail receives the fewest visitors and offers the most solitude, though it’s possible to hear road noise for much of the trail’s length and the portion along the river offers views of private homes. Don’t fret, though. Downed trees and stands of timber offer cover for wildlife, and ospreys and eagles circle the forest canopy. We watched what we thought was a marmot pick through downfall and then hide when we scuffed our boots on the forest floor.

Back at the trailhead, a paved path heads for about a half-mile south to a covered pavilion at the edge of the river, where families picnic and kids skip stones into the water. Fly-fishers cast from dories and rafts as they go with the flow downstream.

Two half-mile loops curve off the paved trail – one running through stands of ponderosa pine adjacent to the river, one heading to dikes and a stream toward the east, where my hiking partner and I watched a great blue heron pick through the shallows and a muskrat paddle along the shore.

A second trail area is found near the visitor center. Here a short loop leaves from the amphitheater and skirts ponds to an accessible scope, which offers powerful magnified views of the marshes and their plethora of swans, geese and ducks as well as Little St. Joe Peak and St. Mary Peak, which rise to the west.

The refuge’s trails can be walked in less than an hour, though that’s not the point. My hiking partner and I spent the better part of a cloudy Sunday here and could have stayed longer.

A list of wildlife in the refuge, along with their frequency and the best seasons to see them, can be found at www.fws.gov/lee
metcalf/wildlf3.pdf.

Ravalli Republic reporter Jeff Schmerker can be reached at 363-3300 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .