USFWS · Montana

Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a 12,459-acre (5,042 ha) National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in the central part of the U.S. state of Montana.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge12,387 acresUSFWSMT
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by USFWS Mountain-Prairie, licensed CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons.
1 fire
active
Monarch Unit 141 Piles Rx (prescribed burn) · 46 mi from the center · 3 acres
Interagency incident data as of 2026-11-01
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateMontana
Size12,387 acres
FWS regionRegion 6
Center point47.67° N, 111.33° W
Night skyVery dark ground, a faint glow at most (Black Marble reading 21)

Boundary map

2 outlines

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge20°30°40°50°60°70°January: 0.46 inches of precipitation, 7.1 inches of snowFebruary: 0.43 inches of precipitation, 6.9 inches of snowMarch: 0.59 inches of precipitation, 7.5 inches of snowApril: 1.60 inches of precipitation, 5.3 inches of snowMay: 2.48 inches of precipitation, 1.6 inches of snowJune: 2.61 inches of precipitation, 0.2 inches of snowJuly: 1.19 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 1.19 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 1.18 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 1.05 inches of precipitation, 2.1 inches of snowNovember: 0.58 inches of precipitation, 6.1 inches of snowDecember: 0.44 inches of precipitation, 5.7 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 23.2°F averageFebruary: 24.9°F averageMarch: 32.9°F averageApril: 42.2°F averageMay: 51.5°F averageJune: 59.4°F averageJuly: 67.8°F averageAugust: 66.6°F averageSeptember: 57.0°F averageOctober: 44.2°F averageNovember: 32.9°F averageDecember: 24.2°F average0 in2 in4 in6 in8 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Carter 14 W, 10 miles from the center point at 3,450 feet, station USC00241525 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 14 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 43 inches a year on the same inches scale.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Prescribed
    Monarch Unit 141 Piles Rx

    46 mi from the center point · 3 acres

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge, and is measured from the center of a boundary that may be many miles across. Check the agency page for closures.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Register listings within 15 miles · 21 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Guidebooks for Montana

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • Camping Montana
    Kenneth L. Graham, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Best Backpacking Trips in Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado
    Mike White and Douglas Lorain, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Moon Montana
    Carter G. Walker, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge?

12,387 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge in?

Montana.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 47.666° N, 111.334° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Is there a fire near Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge right now?

1 active incident within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Monarch Unit 141 Piles Rx at 46 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Are there historic places near Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 21 listings within 15 miles, including Russell, Charles M., House and Studio and Tenth Street Bridge.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge boundary layer.
  • States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
  • Acreage: geodesic area of the published polygon. The agency’s official acreage can differ where the boundary includes water, easements or inholdings.
  • Photograph: the image Wikidata records for this refuge (Q4890586), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.