wildlife in Montana/North Dakota

[james_webb3]

My wife and I are planning a trip this from North West MN and traveling to

Glacier National Park with stops in between. I plan on doing alot of

photography main focus will be wildlife and second to that landscape. When is a

good month to travel to Glacier ridge I would like to encounter alot of wild

life as well. Is there any "Hot Spots" for wildlife in MT and ND I dont mind

traveling off the beating path to get good chances. Also what are the must have

lenses for this type of photography. I am a hiker (thru Hiker of the AT) are

there any great trails in the park that we should focus on? Any help for this

trip will be great.

 

Thanks

[JDMvW]

I recommend the Theodore Roosevelt Park (ND Badlands). There are also archaeological parks along the Missouri River south of Mandan/Bismarck (e.g., On-A-Slant village, Huff site).

[lex_jenkins]

Keep a camera with flash handy in the car when driving at night. Last time I drove through Montana and Wyoming I had to be careful about the antelope grazing along the roadside!

[rdpufallphotography]

There's the old scenic highway you can take instead of the interstate when you approach Bismarck from the west. Usually covered in deer at dusk.

[dave_weber1]

Here's another vote for Teddy Roosevelt park. One of the best photos I've ever taken was there. I shoot a family of buffalo on a small hill slightly higher than me with an approaching thunderstorm in the background. I'm not sure what lens I used, but guess it was around 85mm - 150mm.

[brett_duval]

The South Unit of Teddy Roosevelt NP is a good place to go to see bison, elk, mule deer, and even rattlesnakes. If you go that way I'd reccommend continuing on to Missoula before turning north to Glacier. The National Bison Range is between these two places and you can find more bison, elk, pronghorn, etc there. If you want to stay to the northern roads of ND and Montana I don't know of any place in particular to go. If you go in the fall, however, you will see tens of thousands of ducks and geese passing through.

 

At Glacier I'd reccommend going to Logan's Pass on the going-to-the-sun road. There are two hikes up there that were full of mountain goats and there's supposed to be bear there, too, although I didn't see any. I only saw one bear in Glacier but I saw five or six in Waterton NP in Canada and I was only there for one day. Contact Glacier before you go, the going-to-the-sun road gets a lot of snow and might not open until July. Good luck.

[stemked]

Glacier and Waterton (Alberta) are both great parks for wildlife. We even had a young bull moose charge through our campground. Marmonts were abundant at the higher elevations and the ponds near our campground had abundant Red-Legged frogs (hope this is still true, its been several years now). In Waterton I saw my first ever Brown-phase Black Bear (several of the regular black ones as well).

[jim_flinchbaugh]

Mr. WEbb,

 

I live about 30 minutes from the south entrance to Glacier park. A lot of what you want to know is dependent on when you want to come. The Going To the Sun Road, will not likely be clear of snow and completely passable till mid June or later. You can travel most of it earlier, but the pass is usually snowed in. The park has lots of trails, most of which gets regular use. The back country trails get less use, but you need to get back country permit if camping(not hard, just more BS). South of Kalispell, (where I live) about 65 miles, is also the Bison Range. This is a preserve dedicated to the buffalo, but also has resident populations of big horn sheep, antelope, elk,bear, and deer. Provides great photo ops, with less crowds than Glacier. It is mostly a drive through thing with parking. Not sure about the regulations on hiking. (You can stop and get out for pictures most any place.) Its been along time since I've been there. I know they don't want you out of you car in the lower elevations where the buff's roam. They are ornery critters and have even chased and smashed cars before :-). If you're brave enough for grizzly bear habitat, I can fill you in where to go there as well. We have millions of acres of state and federal forest land available. Most out of stater's don't visit them because they don't know about it. We've also got lots of ghost towns in the southern and eastern part of the state that are fun to visit. In your research, if you need any specific help on places or things, email me, I'll try to help out however I can.

 

Jim

[mahonri_moriancumer]

North Dakota is loaded with wildlife refuges. Don't know how good they are for photographing, just that the maps and Wildlife Refuge sites show a lot of them. I don't think the landscape will still be frozen when you drive through then.

[tim_knight]

James, If you get close to the southern part of North Dakota you could slip down to Sandlake Refuge in northern South Dakota. I was there last spring and the place was full of all kinds of different birds.

[rjacksonphoto]

I second Brett's recommendation of the National Bison Range. Observed bison, pronghorn, coyotes (watched a pair hunt), and a black bear in a fairly brief visit.

[greg s]

"Glacier I'd reccommend going to Logan's Pass" << great place for Bighorn Sheep... this was taken in Sept outside the visitor center.

 

http://www.pbase.com/coraltown/image/66761321/original

[stefan_ekernas]

I spent a lot of time in the Bison Range last summer and I definitely recommend it for bison, elk, deer (mule and white-tailed), pronghorn, and the occasional bighorn. You have to be pretty lucky for coyotes and bears though -- I never saw bears, saw coyotes only once, and I was there 2-3 days per week for 2 months for a research project and had access to all the service roads. You're not allowed to hike except in a few limited places. It's a great area for raptors, as is the area surrounding Nine Pipes NWR just north of the Bison Range on Rt 93. Lee Metcalf NWR ~30 miles south of Missoula is supposed to be great for waterfowl -- it even has photographic blinds -- but I've yet to make it down there.