USFWS · Utah

Ouray National Wildlife Refuge

Ouray National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge in central Uintah County, Utah, in the northeastern part of the state. It is part of the National Wildlife Refuge system, located two miles northeast of the village of Ouray, 10 miles (16 km) southeast of the town of Randlett, and 30 miles (50 km) southwest of Vernal.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
Ouray National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by PD-USGov-Interior-FWS. Original uploader was Mattisse at en.wikipedia, in the public domain, from Wikimedia Commons.
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateUtah
Size11,940 acres
FWS regionRegion 6
Center point40.15° N, 109.62° W
Night skyVery dark ground, a faint glow at most (Black Marble reading 28)

Boundary map

7 outlines

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground

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 Ouray National Wildlife Refuge10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°January: 0.34 inches of precipitation, 4.4 inches of snowFebruary: 0.33 inches of precipitation, 3.1 inches of snowMarch: 0.49 inches of precipitation, 1.1 inches of snowApril: 0.73 inches of precipitation, 0.5 inches of snowMay: 0.84 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJune: 0.40 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 0.56 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 0.64 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 0.93 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 0.92 inches of precipitation, 0.4 inches of snowNovember: 0.42 inches of precipitation, 1.3 inches of snowDecember: 0.43 inches of precipitation, 4.7 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 16.8°F averageFebruary: 26.2°F averageMarch: 41.5°F averageApril: 50.6°F averageMay: 60.5°F averageJune: 70.1°F averageJuly: 76.7°F averageAugust: 73.6°F averageSeptember: 63.9°F averageOctober: 49.9°F averageNovember: 35.0°F averageDecember: 20.9°F average0 in1 in2 in3 in4 in5 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Ouray 4Ne, 2 miles from the center point at 4,674 feet, station USC00426568 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 7 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 16 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.

Where to camp

Campsite Atlas →

None of the 1 federal campground within ten miles sits inside the boundary. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.

Most refuges do not allow overnight camping. The campgrounds listed are outside the refuge.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Register listings within 15 miles · 1 in all · Register Atlas

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

Guidebooks for Utah

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

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

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Ouray National Wildlife Refuge?

11,940 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Ouray National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Ouray National Wildlife Refuge in?
Can I camp at Ouray National Wildlife Refuge?

The refuge page says whether camping is allowed here. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.

Source: Where to camp

How do I get to Ouray National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 40.148° N, 109.617° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Are there historic places near Ouray National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 1 listing within 15 miles, including Wong Sing Warehouse.

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 (Q7111273), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: Ouray 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.