Lac qui Parle County

11,521 acres, 5,000 of which are wetland

Entrance and information kiosk
N45 16.135 W96 24.647

One-mile self-guided footpath

Six-mile self-guided auto tour route (open May through September)

Province

Prairie Parkland Province

Section

North Central Glaciated Plains

Subsection(s)

Minnesota River Prairie

Land Type Association(s)

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Refuge home page

Brochure with road map

Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus), Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis), and many other species of waterfowl are summer residents. This is one of the few locations in Minnesota that the Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) is known to breed.

Minnesota River Valley Birding Trail

Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Bird Checklist

Northern river otter (Lontra canadensis), muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), and whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are among the mammals seen here.

Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Mammal Checklist

One plant species with protected status in Minnesota is found here:

Endangered – ball cactus (Escobaria vivipara var. vivipara)

The only population of ball cactus in Minnesota is maintained in this refuge.

Plants frequently found in:

Crystalline Bedrock Outcrop (Prairie): Minnesota River Subtype ROs12a1

Dry Hill Prairie (Southern) UPs13d

Mesic Prairie (Southern) UPs23a

Wet Prairie (Southern) WPs54b