Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge is surrounding Lake Lowell which serves as resting, breeding and wintering area for the migratory birds. The refuge has two units - Lake Lowell (10,588 acres) and the Snake River Islands (800 acres).There are over 250 bird species and over 100 nest observed around the refuge. Ducks, Canada geese, bald eagles and other raptors are the main migratory bird here. There is a visitors center where the staffs discuss about the wildlife conservation projects.The Upper Embankment adjacent to the refuge is a 74 feet high and 4165 feet long dam impounding the water of the Boise River in offstream storage.The refuge has diverse recreational activities like bird watching, fishing, boating, hunting etc. Since it is only 40 minutes away from Boise, we used to go there for weekend picnic or just to enjoy the serene beauty of the refuge.This place is a must visit if you are in Boise.

Its so precious to birds watch here. Pretty quiet right now, so you can hear them too. The flora looks to be dusted in powdered sugar. A surreal winter delight!

Nice boat launch place.. The water had lots of algae floating. The docks were clean and stable. Great for bird watching

I love this place. Best place to ride a bike to and pass out. Just kidding, dont do that. Drink water and stay safe. Great place to ride, walk, avoid people, and see cool views.

Fun for the entire family!!

Nice trial walk around the lake. Great boat ramp

Pretty fun experience when we went. Lots of different areas you can walk, look at the lake, etc. Brought our dog with us and she loved getting to look at the water. Only downside was some people didnt pick up their dogs poop where we walked and some people walking their dogs just let them be all over the place. Other than that I recommend this place for a good place to walk, quiet, beautiful views, etc

Quite a beautiful, tranquil place!! Definitely worth a visit to when down in Caldwell/Nampa. The sunsets there are quite awesome with the fields in the background.

Nice place. Wish I saw some deers.You can hike, walk here. It’s really close to the lake. They also have porter potties.Nice place to take pictures too.

Wonderful place to take the family. Lots to see and explore!

I live right behind it. I love it. Very peaceful. Easy access all over the place. One of our favorite things to do is come here and get away from it all

Love this place..highly recommended for boating and tubing.. We go every Sunday

Wildlife abounds; fantastic place to get closer with nature.

So peaceful and beautiful. Close to the city hiking and swimming. Great for bird watching or just sitting by the lake watching the water. Youll always find something new to see. There multiple parking locations to access hiking trails, boat ramps, swimming areas all around the lake.

The Deer Flat Wildlife Refuge is a great place to get out of the house. You can go boating or explore the nearby trails.

Very nice, I can was looking for the firing range. I was way off, I didnt see some of the most beautiful scenery in the area. Go take a look and bring your dogs, theres alot great walking paths.

I am SO impressed with Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge. In my experience, state parks and wildlife refuges are second thoughts and it shows in the availability of staff and information. That is NOT the case here. Their staff is very helpful and informative. The Visitor Center is full of information about the animals, hiking, boating, hunting, and fishing areas of the refuge. They have a kids corner perfect for the little ones, with tons of activities: books, a microscope, puzzles, furs, birds that you can play the noises of, bones, a sand pit with animal footprint stamps... obviously a lot of thought went into it. There is also an auditorium where they teach classes. Near the VC are paved paths for easy hiking and a bird blind for viewing the birds without disturbing them too much. Certain areas are off limits at certain times of year, but it by no means takes away from the experience. Overall it makes for a very fun, relaxing, and perhaps educational outing.

Beautiful lake plenty of fish. Just wish that the wind wasnt blowing.

It was fun, but colder than a witches t......!

I love going to this NWR. Its a wonderful place to get lost in nature and feel at peace. I enjoy birding and this place is excellent to bird at.

Beautiful place to go take pictures of the sunset!

Im a 45 year veteran of Deerflat refuge and know every inch of it. So thankful that it has remained multiple use for all to enjoy (Boating, Fishing, Hunting etc.) and not locked up so no one enjoys it. Only in Idaho and a shining success story for all National refuges to follow. Yes, the wildlife is as abundant as ever, perhaps even more so

There are nice birding trails here. There is also an excellent bird blind at the end of one of the short trails. The facility itself has well-done displays, and a set of scopes trained on the bird feeders. Im sure this must be a spectacular site during migration. Even in December, I had some good birds, including a huge raft of Common Mergansers. Very friendly staff.

This was okay, no shade or benches, we were informed by the local sheriff that you should not go into the water as it isnt clean and grows algae that can be harmful to your health. It would have been nice to have a sign posted that let visitors know about the cleanliness/health concerns of the water.

I thought it was relaxing.and the people around there were polite.i will b going back over there.love the fishing also.

Nice place to do a little fishing. Porta potty by boat ramp. Closes at 10 p.m.

Pretty cool place to just to sit and vjoll

Beautiful place to take a walk along the lake. Sunset was awesome. Fun watching the ducks. Going to become a regular place for an evening walk.

Great place to get away close to home

The hiking trails are peaceful and good for whatever ales you.

Walking the top of the dam with my 50# pack is a good workout.

Great Place To Pass the Time Walk the Puppies or Just Go For A Walk.

Its a great place full of beautiful scenery.

Used to be awesome until STATE troopers come and look for a reason to give tickets

Good place to hike around or go for a run

Beautiful spot to look around. Usually is under water until mid summer.

The lake is great love it here.

It was great nice weather out always enjoy goin out there if I dont catch any fish

Its a nice little lake to fish. Too bad we cant eat our fish. Today the water is calm, a bit cloudy, the skies are magical.

One of my favorite places to go....nice trail to walk for miles and the water is cleaner to me anyway, also good fishing.

Nice and beautiful place. Always clean.

Cool spring day but nice to be on the water.

The employee are extremely helpful. And they have a huge variety of things

Good place to see some dirds and there some stuff for kids

It is hard not to love this place. Vintage Idaho.

Peaceful and quiet. Beautiful scenery.

Clean air goodno smoke.

Its a good place to go and relax to see beautiful scenery with friends and family.

Dirt access. Serine and peaceful. Exactly what I needed to clear my head and decompress. There arent any services so go before you head out. It is a fishing access and day use area. The gate closes at 5:30 daylight savings time, otherwise 6:30 pm. If youre closed in; just pull up to the gate and the sensor will open it for you to leave.

Great lake!!! Saw about 75 fish jump didnt catch a single one

Just like to get out on my kayak and relax not to busy today people are very friendly

The lake is beautiful and I got to watch the sunset there

Fun place for a stroll

Love exploring the trails!

Very muddy! Prepare to wade.

Great experience for kids. Story time, live critters....crafts and exploring

Nice hike then went to visitor center really nice place staff sat in office let us look around

Peaceful hike but lots of dog poop on the trail. Watch your step!

The refuge provides excellent water feeling in the surrounding lands.

Weve been out here many times. Its a beautiful area with lots of open space. You can explore the wildlife, water or just enjoy the peaceful landscapes. We love coming here during the week as its less crowded than on a weekend.

Fantastic place to walk, fish and boat. Loved the experience.

I grew up in this area and as a child always enjoyed hiking and exploring this area. Ive seen so many different types of waterfowl and deer over the years. I appreciate having a beautiful place to escape the city and allow animals to live naturally.

Beautiful views. Love the wildlife we have randomly come across. Always clean.

Nice picnic area with seasonal docks. Motor restrictions so be careful to check rules. Lake is subject to blue algee in the summer. Good place to view wildlife

Nice day for a walk. Not to hot and a little wind to keep the bugs away.

One of my wife and I favorite spot close to home...

Great hike around the lake. Well kept trails and people are kind and courteous when you encounter them.

Very nice park. Lake was a bit cold ha but very refreshing. Sandy beach. A few small rocks and water is not clear but we enjoyed swimming anyway. Several people had boats, jet skis and many swimming. Nice grassy & shaded areas.

Water was warm. Boat launch was good.

Beautiful view and fishing

No where to fish but pretty senerie.

This place has A LOT to offer, and I really enjoy coming here. Plenty of activities you can do, ranging from fishing, hiking, swimming, boating, hunting, disc golf, and wildlife viewing / nature photography. I only come here for hiking / walking, usually when I want to relax and unwind, and Ive always enjoyed this place.If you want to go hiking on some trails, Id recommend parking at the parking lot at the intersection of W. Roosevelt Ave & S. Indiana. This is actually the official entrance to the refuge, where there is a small & windy road down to the upper dam and visitors center. Once you park at that initial entrance parking lot, you will find the trailhead start up right across from the lot. There are a couple side trails that youll see branching off from the main trail. A great place to photograph the lake would be from the first trail that youll come across to the left, right before the wooden observatory deck. Its a very nice vantage point down at the lake, best time to take pictures here would be evening since the sun will be behind you.All the trails will lead you down to the visitors center / upper damn entrance, so youll have to hike back to the parking lot, which you can do via the paved road the cars use (speed limit is slow there so its safe to walk on). These trails do have inclines, but for the most part are super easy, and great for taking your dogs with you. On some days, youll be the only one out there, and I really enjoy the isolated feel of getting away.For days I want to relax and walk next to the lake, I park at Lake Lowell Park and walk along the upper dam. Its quite long, but is 100% flat and paved with gravel. Lots of people ride their bikes & jog along this path. Youll see the boats / jet skis on the lake and people fishing as you walk, and I really enjoy walking the upper dam on a stressful day. This is a great place for photographers to capture sunsets as well, since the sun will set right on the lake rewarding you with some cool shots. Id also recommend this path if you want a nice, relaxing, and romantic walk with your significant other at sunset.I REALLY like coming up here when theres bad weather (lighting storms & snow storms). You can get some fantastic pictures, especially from the 2 side parking areas that youll come across when driving down the main road that youd take to get to the visitors center. During the winter, your backdrop will have the snow covered mountains, which is pretty cool.Another good time to come here is during the winter months at sunset (when the mountains have snow on them). If you park at the parking lot where the trails start (intersection of W. Roosevelt Ave & S. Indiana), look east towards Roosevelt Ave. Youll see mountains in the distance that will be pink/purple at sunset due to the sun / sky, and since youre at a high vantage point, youll have Nampa in the background as well. Its BEAUTIFUL.Some days it can get super windy out there, like hurricane type winds. I hate the wind, so Id recommend taking a look at the forecast before coming here. On some days, theres an absurd amount of bugs on the trails when walking, some days there are none. Its always hard to tell when the good days are, but when its a good day, its a fantastic time.The only negative I can think of is youve got to watch your step when walking on the trails or the upper dam. Theres dog poop that people dont pick up, and if youre not constantly looking down while walking, it all kind of blends in and before you know it youre cursing everybody off lol. Ive even seen some bigfoot / sasquatch sized piles of poop, which either confirms that Nampa has a bigfoot roaming around, or people take their horses on the trails.Wrapping things up, this place has so many activities and places to discover that you could write a review all day. For being a free place to visit, its really incredible. 5 stars ALL DAY.

Nice place to relax and enjoy the evening.

Nice in the Spring before the summer algae sets in!

First time fishing this lake. Didnt disappoint.

We live fishing for Bass!! Great picnic areas and water access

Nice place to fish easy off the banks fishing for little kids

Its lost alot of what people enjoyed, now with the water resevoir so low there is a lot of sharper rocks and shards of glass to be seen on the beach from the seasons before. Along side with the water no longer able to swim in it for people and animals as it is a hazard. Signs are posted all alongside the shore depicting said warning.

A good day trip

My wife and I drove out to the wilderness area and parked at the visitor center. They have indoor restrooms and nice dioramas for educational purposes. If you are home schooling kids a day out to Lake Powell would be a great experience. We took our dogs with us to go on a 2 mile nature hike on gravel trails. WARNING the area is covered with GOATS HEAD thorns. We spent a lot of time pull thorns out of dog feet. Dogs must be on a leash and clean up after them to preserve the walk for others. Our October visit was a dud as far as birds go. No bird noises, no birds. We sported 1 large red hawk as well as ducks and geese swimming in the lake. We had an enjoyable counterclockwise driving tour around the circumference of Lake Powell that was 29 miles long. There is a 41 mile tour for those with more time. Go for landscape beauty, but bring your own birds!

Sunflowers are my favorite and the beauty created by nature is amazing

Wonderful place on the Snake river to view birds and other wildlife. Please pack out your trash.

We walked it was so nice... lots of wildlife... but we went when it was hot... so during the summer I suggested you go evening time. However I do suggest using the trail for running or walking... its very long and has alot of hills... it was so fun!

This is a favourite walking place of ours. From the top parking lot to the gate on the lower dam is 1.5 miles. So a round trip is 3 miles. I love watching the sun rise over the lake and the golden wild grass and sage smell. Quiet, calm, open, free.. Outdoor Idaho love and so close to all. Hope to see ya taking a walk soon.

Shocked to see some many motorboats and absent-minded littering in whats labelled as a national refuge.

So much to do and look at. Took my boy scouts on a day trip here and had a blast

Pretty in pre spring but it gets nasty and horrible by Summer.

Such a beautiful preserved area so close to civilization. great job IDFG!

Beautiful place to get in the water and cool off..I love watching the boats come in and out.Always fun to go boating.

It is just awesome

Always amazing and fun

Pretty place to go take pictures it walk the dog or stroll for 2.

Always a joy. Wish they would keep it cleaner

Love the trail. Often see deer, hawks bald eagles, sometimes a coyote.

Deer flat is a nice place to use your boat. Nice walking trails. There is a Visitor Center. But being Sunday it was closed. I enjoyed it

Love getting outdoors it has an excellent staff and trails for hikes. Good place for hikes and biking any time of day.

Good place to get outdoors

Lake Lowell is part of the wildlife refuge & is nice place to go boating & fishing in. You can see the visitors center while out on the lake. The center is a nice place to visit and learn about wildlife in the area.

Beautiful scenery of the lake and all the surroundings, nice peaceful walk while listening to the birds in nature. Our kids saw lots of birds, a bunny, and we all saw 2 turkeys during our walk. The bird blind was really cool and we will come back and visit again.

Great place to take a nice walk. It is close by, yet completely free from the noise of everyday life