![]() Predominate trees are aspen, blue spruce, willow and Douglas fir. The refuge is 6 miles wide and 10 miles long. There is an observation deck at the visitor center. The mini -vans run every 20 minutes during the season.Īs a National Refuge, hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, wildlife photography, education and interpretation are acceptable uses of the refuge. With wind and temperatures in the 20's or lower, blankets are useful. You can not get out of the sleigh and binoculars are a real asset. The sleighs take you into the refuge to where the elk are located. From the visitor center and van takes you to where the sleighs are located. It is here in the winter that tickets can be bought for their sleigh ride to see the elk. One end of the refuge is located near the Jackson Visitor Center. Prior to 1912 elk migrated through this area for centuries. The National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole Wyoming was established by an Act of Congress in 1912 It is one of 568 National Refuges. We stayed at Rustic Inn, just up the way and didn’t realize until our last few days that we had a direct view to the refuge from a park across the street. I’m sure you can find most of the info on the website □ but it’s nice to hear the details from a live person. ![]() You can drive around the refuge and there are trails around the backside over the butte. It was nice to get to visit the horses up close after the ride. They also do rides, camping, and chuck wagon experiences throughout the year (differing locations). He informed us that his family holds a contract with the federal government to run the excursions, so he grew up doing these tours. Our driver was good spirited and tolerated a very inquisitive group of riders very well. It was a short tour and moderately informative ride. Take a blanket with you if it is cool - or you can purchase one from the ticket booth. A shuttle will take you to the refuge and bring you back. Tickets are available at the white trailer parked in front of the visitor center. ![]() The wagon ride onto the refuge was $27 pp so if you have a car, or are staying close, there is no reason to pay for an expensive tour. For me this was the highlight of our Jackson stay. I have driven this road in the fall and summer and seen very little but this trip we drove the road twice and were delighted to be in close proximity of a large herd of sheep both days (40 to 50). To find the road, drive past the Jackson hospital and you will arrive at a large National Elk Refuge sign. This road goes through part of the refuge and while we did not see elk on this road, bighorn sheep were prevalent. Well worth the $27 fee for the tour.Īn even better bargain is the refuge road scenic drive (Free). We had three or four stops for photos along the perimeter of the herd. We did not see any huge bulls on our tour and Bridger indicated this was the norm as they prefer to form small bachelor groups rather than join the large herds at the refuge. Our guide was Bridger and he did an excellent job of discussing the purpose of the refuge and providing information about the elk herd. The sleigh is pulled by two draft horses and can be rather bumpy (and cold). On our tour everyone was in compliance in regards to wearing a mask. The sleigh’s capacity is 20 guests but they are limiting the tour to 10 due to COVID. The first tour begins at 10 and we were loaded on the bus around 10:10 for the short ride to the refuge. We arrived a little after 9:00 A.M to purchase our tickets. The Visitor Center is actually closed due to COVID but a mobile ticket center is operational. Tickets for the 90-minute sleigh ride tour can be purchased on-line or at the Jackson Visitor Center on the north outskirts of town. This review will consist of two parts: the sleigh ride tour of the elk herds and the refuge road scenic drive. The National Elk Refuge was at the top of my list to visit. I have had the opportunity to visit the Jackson Hole area numerous times during the spring, summer, and autumn season but this was the first time I visited the area during the winter.
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