Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge Parks and Outdoors Travel Guide

The Upper Red Rock Lake Campground is probably the most popular place to watch for birds at the refuge, in part because of its accessibility and also because it supports a variety of habitat. Seek snipes and sandpipers in the willows, Trumpeter Swans and geese on the water, and nuthatches and tanagers in the woods.
Lower Red Rock Lake is marshier than its upper cousin, and it's an excellent place to spot nesting Trumpeter Swans and the Sandhill Cranes for which the refuge is known. Numerous pairs of migrating cranes summer in the park from April through September—be sure to keep your distance.
Four breeding pairs of Peregrine Falcons are known to nest in the Centennial Valley. Watch for them (and the park's numerous other raptors) hunting in the sagebrush uplands and other open areas around the refuge.
Winter at the park means far fewer species, but unsurpassed silence and solitude. The only way to reach the park in the winter is by snowmobile. Those who leave their sleds to ski or snowshoe the refuge can glimpse Belted Kingfishers, Northern Goshawks, Great Horned Owls, as well as Golden and Bald Eagles.

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