Frequently Asked Questions

You can find our visitor center at:

58355 Bison Range Rd,
Charlo, MT 59824

Please visit our information page for the most up-to-date information on operation hours and fees.

Please check our information page for more details.

We are no longer federally funded and cannot accept any federal park passes, including the America the Beautiful Pass or the Golden Age Pass. 

We do not currently offer any military, senior, or student discounts.

We do not currently offer any guided tours of the drives. 

The Bison Range is a 18,800 acre wildlife refuge founded in 1908 by the U.S. Federal Government. Its average elevation is 2,582 ft and 4,885 ft at the highest point.

Red Sleep Drive is a 19 mile, 2 hour drive with two walking paths at the top of the mountain. Prairie Drive is a 14 mile, 1 hour drive along the Mission Creek. The day use area has picnic tables available and a short walking path along the pond.

Fishing is allowed in the designated fishing areas but you will need a Tribal Fishing License. You can buy them at the Bison Range, Mountain View Cenex in Mission, Westland Seed in Ronan, or Division of Fish & Wildlife in Polson, Sporting Goods Section of Walmart in Polson.

Hunting is currently not allowed on the bison range.

We do not currently allow camping on the bison range. Local camping areas are:

1. Jocko Hollow RV Park – 71370 Campground Ln, Arlee, MT 59821 | (406) 726-3336
2.  Palmer Park (Willow Creek) – 54632 Mt Highway 212 Charlo, MT 59824 | (406) 644-2356
3. Diamond S RV Park – 46711 Old US-93, Ronan, MT 59864 | (406) 676-2267

There are four walking trails at the Bison Range. Please do not get out of your vehicle except for designated walking areas:

• The Bitterroot Trail (1/4 mile roundtrip)
• High Point Trail (1/2 mile roundtrip)
• Short walking paths in day use area
• Fishing access trail

Trailers are not allowed on the drive for safety reasons. Visitors can leave their trailers in our parking lot for safe keeping.

Motorcycles and other open vehicles are not allowed on the drive for safety reasons.

We do not currently allow horse riding on the Bison Range.

Red Sleep Drive has a gradient of 10% and the road is steep and narrow. Due to safety concerns, we cannot allow visitors to drive Red Sleep during the winter.

The Bison Range gift shop has a small selection of drinks and snacks available. There are grocery stores & gas stations in Charlo, St. Ignatius, & Ronan. Visitors can picnic at the day use area & there are picnic tables at the end of High Point Trail (not available when bears are in area)

Tribally owned Restaurants:

• Malt Shop in St. Ignatius
• Burrito Brothers in Polson
• Bison Cafe in Ravalli

Other local Restaurants:

• Ninepipes Lodge on Hwy 93
• Post Creek Grill on Hwy 93
• The Branding Iron in Charlo

Yes, the Visitor Center has an ATM. In the event that it is down, the closest ATMs are:  

1. Charlo Grocery Store, 56609 Mount Hwy 212 Charlo, MT 59824
2. Coulter Automotive, 104 Main St, Charlo, MT 59824
3. Branding Iron Bar & Restaurant, 56721 Mt Hwy 212, Charlo, MT 59824

The closest gas stations are:

• Charlo – 8 miles North, HWY 212; 
• Ronan – 18 miles North, HWY 93
• St. Ignatius – 16 miles, Southeast, HWY 93

Due to changes in management approach, the gathering will be held every 2 years. When it does occur, it is usually the first week of October. Contact the visitors center in July for a more accurate date.

The CSKT is made up of three separate tribes, the Se̓liš, Qlispe, and Ksanka (also known as the Salish, Pend d’Oreille, and Kootenai). The Flathead Indian Reservation is a small portion of their traditional aboriginal territory, which previously encompassed nearly all of western and central Montana, as well as parts of neighboring states and provinces. The tribes were forcibly moved onto the reservation in the 1850s, as part of the Hellgate Treaty.

The CSKT are a federally-recognized tribal government. The Tribal Council consists of ten Council Members who are elected by the Tribal membership in accordance with the Tribes’ Constitution. The United States, as well as the State of Montana, deals with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes on a government-to-government basis. The Tribal government provides many of the same types of services to its citizenry and, in many cases, to the larger Reservation community, that other governments provide, including: law enforcement; health; education; and natural resources management.

The public law requires that the land and bison herd be managed for bison conservation purposes, as well as other wildlife and natural resource conservation. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are now the steward of the bison herd, which descends from animals that Tribal members had brought back to the Flathead Indian Reservation from east of the Continental Divide at a time when plains bison were on the verge of extinction.  See Sections 12(c)(1) and 12(c)(2)(C) of Division “DD” of Public Law 116-260.

The land will continue to be owned by the federal government but in trust for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. The only difference will be that, instead of being owned by the United States as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System, it will now be owned by the U.S. in trust for the Tribes – just as it had been from the date of the 1855 Hellgate Treaty until 1908 when it was acquired by the federal government for the Bison Range.

The land would not be removed from federal ownership but, under trust principles, the Tribes would be the beneficial owners. The federal government acts as a trustee for Indian tribes, including with respect to ownership of tribal lands.  The title to most property on Indian reservations that is referred to as Indian-owned or tribally-owned is actually owned by the United States in trust for such tribe or individual Indian.  The tribe, as the beneficial owner, enjoys the rights and privileges of ownership, but the tribe cannot dispose of, or otherwise convey, the land without approval by the United States. See Sections 12(a)(2)(D) and 12(c)(1) of Division “DD” of Public Law 116-260.  

The Tribal Council is committed to funding the Bison Range at a degree that will maintain or exceed its current level of operation.  The Tribes will assess the concession arrangement at the Bison Range visitor center to evaluate for expanded opportunities related to visitor needs and expectations, which could also assist with meeting annual funding needs.  

Maintaining or increasing the current level of visitation will be one part of the budget planning process, and will dovetail with planning for public education opportunities, which are a priority for the Tribes.  Maintaining reasonably-priced entry fees will be essential to supporting the Tribes’ interests in public education and visitor experiences at the Bison Range, whereas exorbitant fees will undermine those priorities.

The public law provides a two-year transition period during which the Interior Secretary is authorized to assist with resources, after which the Tribes will be responsible for funding annual operations of the Bison Range – the federal government will no longer fund them.  See Section 12(f) of Division “DD” of Public Law 116-260

Currently, we have around 350 bison. We can comfortably house up to 500.

When white settlers arrived in North America and saw bison, they assumed that they were a similar species to the buffalo found in Africa and Asia and called them buffalo. Today, we know that they are their own species and are not related to buffalo. However, many people still call them buffalo due to personal preference or cultural reasons.

Male bison typically live 15 years, and can weigh up to 2,000 lbs (907 kgs). Female bison typically live 20 years and weigh around 1,000 lbs (454 kgs).

The bison on the Bison Range are plains bison, which are smaller and lighter than their woods bison cousins. Plains bison have thicker bonnets, mane, and capes and their horns rarely extend over their bonnets. Though their ranges historically overlapped, there are currently no wild woods bison in the United States.

No, we do not feed any of the bison. There is plenty of food on the range, even in winter.

In addition to bison, visitors can expect to see deer, elk, and pronghorns. Occasionally, visitors may also see coyotes, bears, wolves, and many other smaller mammal and bird species. We do have mountain lions on the Bison Range but they are cryptic and not usually visible.

The Bison Range is home to a wide variety of native bird species, including raptors, owls, and migratory birds. Some of the most common species can be found in our bird pamphlets.

The bison in the museum is an 8 year old bull who was removed from the herd in 1979 and mounted to allow visitors to see one up close. He weighed 2,000 lbs at the time he was mounted and is average size for a bison.

Big Medicine was a Leucistic bison born in 1933. He was mostly white with a dark bonnet (patch of fur on the head) and blue eyes. He lived for 26 years and died in 1959. He is currently mounted and displayed at the Mountain Historical Society Museum in Helena, MT. We are currently working on bringing him back to the Bison Range in the next few years.