National Wildlife Refuge · Prairie Pothole Region · Prairie Pothole Region (northwestern ND); two major wetland pools, seasonal wetlands, native prairie
Verified coordinates from the source record. Still confirm the current entrance and road status before travelling.
April to May spring migration; September to October fall migration
Peak months in the record: Apr, May, Sep, Oct
Pick any day of the coming week for sunrise, sunset, the low-light windows and the forecast at Lake Zahl NWR.
Open year-round 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. ND-50 crosses the refuge; kiosk at the official point. Roadside viewing and walking.
Free
Remote; limited facilities; fall hunting on surrounding lands.
The notes on this page come from the guide's fixed records and can age. These links open what the managing agency publishes right now — always the last word on access.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (National Wildlife Refuge)
Agency pages are found by searching the place name, so the search may list nearby units too — no page here is a stored link to a specific trailhead or gate.
No access check recorded for this place yet. Once you have confirmed the current rules with USFWS, mark it here so you can see how fresh your information is.
This only records that you checked. It never changes the guide's access notes and is not a statement from any agency.
Nobody publishes an open fall-colour peak map, so these are the dates volunteers recorded coloured leaves in North Dakota — a handful of plants at a handful of sites, not a statewide peak. Use the official reports below for the wider picture.
Leaf-out and leaf-colour timing: USA National Phenology Network (usanpn.org).
Waterfowl
Tap for recent sightings, where to go and today's light →
Backlit dawn takeoffs from river roosts near Bismarck give clean sky backgrounds minutes from home.
Illustration, not a field photograph · Real photos on All About Birds
Waterfowl
Tap for recent sightings, where to go and today's light →
The most accessible duck subject; drake portraits in small potholes with vegetation reflections.
Illustration, not a field photograph · Real photos on All About Birds
These are historical public posts collected as supporting evidence. They are not live sightings and do not guarantee current bird activity. Photos are not copied here — each entry links to the original post.
No collected post is mapped to this place. Several posts name only free-text locations — see the evidence log for those.