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When to catch Loess Bluffs Refugeat its best

Loess Bluffs Refuge through the year: spring migration (local timing: from mid-February, peaking in mid-March), wildlife by season (local timing: June - August are good times) and winter wildlife (local timing: from mid-October, peaking in mid- to late November). Each has its own page with spots, sources and the latest reports.

RIGHT NOW · SEP 30

  • Latest reportNo dated report this season; the posters below show each usual window.
  • This weekend (NWS)Sat sunny, 70°F · Sun sunny, 71°F
  • Park alertsCheck the managing agency before you go

When are you going?

Fall at Loess Bluffs Refuge

Good in fall

  • Fall snow geese (peak in mid to late November)

From each place's own sources; no peak claimed.

Best spots

Where each event's source says to go

Spring migration

  • 10-mile auto tourStarts at the observation deck by the main entrance and loops 10 miles past wetlands, grasslands and forest, with spotting scopes along the drive; open daily from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunsetU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
  • Loess Bluff TrailA moderately hard 0.8-mile trail from the visitor contact station through forest to the top of the bluffs, for a panoramic view of the refuge; the climb is 200 stone steps laid by hand by the Civilian Conservation CorpsU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗

Wildlife by season

  • 10-mile auto tourStarts at the observation deck by the main entrance and loops 10 miles past wetlands, grasslands and forest, with spotting scopes along the drive; open daily from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunsetU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
  • Callow TrailAn easy, accessible 0.6-mile paved out-and-back trail from the headquarters parking lot, relatively flat, skirting the edge of the loess hill woodlands to the foothillsU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗

Winter wildlife

  • 10-mile auto tourStarts at the observation deck by the main entrance and loops past wetlands, grasslands and forest, with spotting scopes along the drive; open daily from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunsetU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
  • Eagle Overlook TrailAn easy 1.2-mile out-and-back walk from the south end of the auto tour, along the levee between Pelican Pool and Eagle Pool to a viewing towerU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗

Next 7 days at Loess Bluffs Refuge

Forecast: National Weather Service
  • TodayShowers And Thunderstorms74° / 66°94% rain
  • ThuChance Showers And Thunderstorms then Showers And Thunderstorms71° / 53°77% rain
  • FriSunny68° / 49°2% rain
  • SatSunny70° / 54°1% rain
  • SunSunny71° / 49°1% rain
  • MonSunny68° / 52°–
  • TueMostly Sunny72° / 58°4% rain

Heads up: NWS Flood Watch: Flood Watch issued September 30 at 12:47PM CDT until October 2 at 1:00AM CDT by NWS Kansas City/Pleasant Hill MO.

Today: sunrise 7:17 a.m., sunset 7:06 p.m., light until 7:33 p.m. · moon waning gibbous, 78% lit (our calculation)

Nearby, and when they peak

Straight-line miles; roads are longer

Towns nearby

Straight-line miles; each town page has frost dates and its nature year

Loess Bluffs Refuge in pictures

Illustrative photos, not current conditions
A dense raft of white snow geese on blue water, with more geese flying above a far shore
Mostly snow geese at Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge in spring 2014 (March 25, 2014; a past spring migration, not young wildlife or the summer season). Photo: Bill O'Brian/USFWS · public domain · resized
A dense flock of snow geese rising together over Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge
A big flock of snow geese lifting off in the afternoon at Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge (date not given). Photo: Robert L. Keyser III · public domain · resized

Questions people ask

Are there spotting scopes?

Yes, at the visitor contact station, on the hiking trails and along the auto tour drive.Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge: Visit Us ↗ (opens in a new tab)

When is it busiest?

Friday through Sunday are the busiest days.Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge: Visit Us ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Is spring bigger than fall?

More snow geese use the refuge in spring, sometimes millions at a time; at the peak the wetland turns from blue to white.Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge: Species ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Why does the refuge lower its water in spring?

To uncover food for birds passing through. In a Fish and Wildlife Service story, a former refuge manager explains that staff draw the wetlands down in spring so mudflats are exposed, where migrating ducks and shorebirds feed on small clams and other invertebrates.Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Story: Wildlife Corridors ↗ (opens in a new tab)

How we know

Every timing above, from these pages; checked Sep 28