CSKT Bison Range
Bison Range
A bison refuge established in 1908, where you can drive the Red Sleep Mountain loop to see three to four hundred bison up close, along with pronghorn, bighorn sheep and elk.
The Bison Range (formerly the National Bison Range) was established in 1908 and is one of the earliest refuges in the United States set up to save the American bison from extinction. Since 2022, it has been returned to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) for management. Its roughly 7,500 hectares of rolling grassland and mountains are home to about 300–400 bison, as well as pronghorn, bighorn sheep and elk. The most classic route is the roughly 30 km gravel Red Sleep Mountain loop, which takes about 2 hours and is generally open from mid-May to October, with views from the top over the Flathead Valley and the Mission Mountains. The short grassland road is open year-round. Admission is about $10–20 per vehicle (check the official website). Visitors must not get out of their cars to approach wildlife. The range is about 60 km north of Missoula.
Opening hours
Approx. sunrise to sunset; Hongshuishan loop open approx. mid-May–Oct
Nearby sights
- St. Ignatius Mission
- Montana Snowbowl
- Smokejumper Visitor Center
- Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Elk Country Visitor Center
- Rattlesnake National Recreation Area
- Missoula Farmers Market & Clark Fork Market
- Downtown Missoula
- Missoula Art Museum