By:
Submission
Bear Creek @ Little Pend Orielle Wildlife Refuge, east of Colville WA
Camping is allowed on a first come-first serve basis from April 14 through December 31. Established campgrounds have a vault toilet and metal fire rings.
No drinking water is available. Do not leave campfires unattended. High fire danger will cause campfire restrictions. Information will be posted in all campgrounds and at the Headquarters kiosk.
**Dispersed hunting camp sites are open from October 1 through December 31. These are primitive campsites with no amenities. Campsites must be within 50 feet of a dispersed campsite carsonite marker. Bury all human waste in a hole 6 to 8 inches deep and at least 200 feet from water, camp or trails.
Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge is federal land so a state issued Discover Pass is not required. The easiest way to get to the Refuge is to start from downtown Colville, Washington. From Main Street (Highway 395), follow Third Avenue (Highway 20) for 6 miles – you will be traveling east toward Tiger, Washington. There is a brown and white sign at the intersection of Main and Third labeled “Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge 13 miles.” Just after passing White Mud Lake, make a right turn onto Artman-Gibson Road. The sign states the Refuge is 7 miles away. Travel 1.7 miles until reaching a 4-way intersection. Turn left onto Kitt-Narcisse Road and follow it for 2.2 miles where the road forks. Take the right fork onto Bear Creek Road (a dirt road), and follow it for 3.3 miles. The Refuge headquarters is a brown log building with a flag pole in the yard.
Trails are VERY POORLY MARKED. IF YOU ARE A LPO FIRST TIMER, IT'S EASY TO GET LOST OR RIDE THE WRONG TRAIL! THEY COULD DO A MUCH BETTER JOB OF MAINTAINING THE SIGNAGE.
Our first time on the riding trails. Easy, medium and difficult. Good size parking area with bathroom, no sink. Nearby camping and small store and restaurant.
This place is really nice for minibikes. The trails are easy and they go in all directions. The bathroom was unfortunately really gross and not cleaned. There were so many dead flies on the bathroom floor I don’t know why I didn’t take a picture. Probably too grossed out. Sherry Creek Campground is down the road across the highway and the bathrooms are well kept. Even with burn bans all over Washington this was one of the only ORV parks open. 7 mile and Liberty Lake were closed. I am so glad we ended up at this one anyways because the scenery was beautiful and there was no cell phone reception what so ever. It is nice to unplug and not worry.
