Columbia National Wildlife Refuge

The heart of the refuge is the Drumheller Channels, recognized as a National Natural Landmark for being one of the finest examples of scabland topography anywhere. It is a bewildering tangle of more than a hundred separate channels and countless rock basins.

The channels were cut by the Missoula floods, the same catastrophic Ice Age torrents that carved Dry Falls and the Grand Coulee. As the floodwaters tore across the basalt plateau, they braided into many channels at once here, scouring the rock into the strange, broken country you see today, and leaving basins that now hold water.

Each spring, the refuge and the fields around Othello host a remarkable gathering of sandhill cranes, a very large portion of the entire Pacific Coast population stopping to feed and rest on their way north. Tall, gray, and red-crowned, they stalk the fields by day and gather in wetlands to roost, their bugling calls filling the air.

The town of Othello celebrates the migration with a Sandhill Crane Festival built around guided tours and viewing, and for many visitors it is the reason to come. The cranes are the headline, but they share the refuge with a great cast of other birds.

Beyond the cranes, the refuge is a magnet for waterfowl, from ducks and geese to grebes and pelicans, and for raptors that hunt the open country. The mix of open water, marsh, and dry shrub-steppe supports an unusually long bird list for the interior desert.

Trails and refuge roads lead to lakes tucked below the cliffs, some of the prettiest quiet corners in the scablands, where the contrast of blue water and black rock is at its sharpest.

Away from the water, the shrub-steppe holds mule deer, coyotes, badgers, marmots, and rattlesnakes, along with sagebrush specialties among the songbirds. The lakes hold fish, and some are open to seasonal angling.

Spring is the standout, cool and green and full of migrating birds, especially the cranes. Summer is hot and the refuge quiets down, fall brings another wave of waterfowl, and winter is cold and stark on the open plateau.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

Columbia National Wildlife Refuge, near the town of Othello in central Washington, protects a striking landscape of rugged basalt cliffs, canyons, lakes, and wetlands within the Channeled Scablands carved by the Ice Age floods. This diverse habitat, dotted with pothole lakes amid the dramatic coulee terrain, provides important refuge for abundant wildlife, especially birds, making it a superb destination for birdwatching. The refuge is particularly famous as a spring stopover for large numbers of migrating sandhill cranes, celebrated with the Othello Sandhill Crane Festival. With its dramatic scablands scenery, lakes, trails, and rich birdlife, Columbia National Wildlife Refuge offers rewarding wildlife viewing and hiking in central Washington.

You can hike trails through the dramatic scablands terrain of basalt cliffs, canyons, and lakes, watch for abundant birds and wildlife, especially waterfowl and the migrating sandhill cranes in spring, fish in some of the lakes, birdwatch, and photograph the striking landscape and wildlife. The refuge's mix of cliffs, water, and wetlands supports rich birdlife. Bringing binoculars enhances the experience. The Crab Creek and pothole-lake areas are scenic. With its scablands scenery, hiking trails, lakes, and exceptional birdwatching, Columbia National Wildlife Refuge offers a rewarding outdoor and wildlife-viewing experience in central Washington.

Large numbers of migrating sandhill cranes stop over in the Othello area near Columbia National Wildlife Refuge during their spring migration, typically in late winter into spring, roughly around February and March, when thousands of the birds gather in the fields and wetlands, creating a spectacular sight. The area celebrates this with the annual Othello Sandhill Crane Festival, usually held in spring. For the best chance to see the cranes, plan a visit during the spring migration and check the festival dates, when the sandhill cranes are present in abundance around the refuge and the Othello area.

Spring is a wonderful time, bringing the spectacular sandhill crane migration and the crane festival, along with wildflowers and pleasant weather, while fall migration also offers good birdwatching, and spring and fall provide comfortable temperatures for hiking the exposed scablands. Summer can be hot, so early visits with water are best then, and winter is cold. Dawn and dusk are prime for wildlife. For the cranes and the best birdwatching and comfortable weather, aim for spring, at Columbia National Wildlife Refuge, timing a visit around the crane migration for the fullest experience.

Columbia National Wildlife Refuge is near the town of Othello in central Washington, within the Channeled Scablands, near the Potholes Reservoir and the town of Moses Lake, and within reach of the dramatic Dry Falls and Grand Coulee country to the north and the Columbia River. That makes Columbia National Wildlife Refuge a rewarding birding and hiking stop to combine with the scablands attractions, Dry Falls, and the other natural sights of central and eastern Washington on a visit to the state.