Water quality is a major problem at Bowdoin. Lake Bowdoin has become a large evaporative basin with salt accumulations reaching quite high levels during low water periods. Discharging salty water into Beaver Creek is regulated by the State of Montana. The primary access to Bowdoin is from Malta, a small town located seven miles west of the refuge. Visitors should proceed east on U.S. Highway 2 for about one mile, and then turn right on Old Highway 2 and proceed another six miles to refuge headquarters.
Signs help direct traffic to the refuge.
Access is also available from the east, although the road is in marginal condition. A sign on Highway 2 just west of the Sleeping Buffalo Resort turnoff directs traffic to turn left, proceed two miles on a gravel road, and then turn right on Old Highway 2 and proceed nine miles to refuge headquarters. The Mountain-Prairie Region Refuge for Waterfowl Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge lies in the Central Flyway of a great waterfowl migration corridor extending from Canada to Mexico. Approximately 7 miles east of Malta, in Phillips County of north-eastern Montana, Bowdoin serves as a major resting area for waterfowl on their journeys to and from prime nesting areas in Canada. Waterfowl from the Pacific Flyway also use the 15,550- acre refuge.