I often find pairs of otter tracks crossing the roads in northern Minnesota with no obvious destination remotely close to either side of the road. Question is how far will otter travel daily and how often will they or do they revisit a trail?

There is really no good answer to either question.

Otter often will stay in an area not moving far for week(s) at a time. Then for some reason (Cold Front, Lakes Freezing Up, Rut..) they will travel many miles in day.

Generally they will follow the same generally path when they come through an area. But it can be days or months before they come back to that same trail.


If your trying to target otter, try to find the places where you can connect the dots on where an otter is traveling to/from. These areas are often going to be traveled more frequently and by more otters.

Are you sure their isn,t a creek water feature somewhere near. I have found and seen many overland trails that are going to water. Sometimes for a good distance. One in particular is nearly 1000 yards.

A mile or more is not beyond an otter to travel dry land if it takes them another water/flowage they want to get too. Also breeding travel and search for new home territory can really send them overland.

Never caught a critter yet that has been carrying it's behavior manual on where it should or shouldn't be or do or shouldn't do. It is we that want to pattern them.

For my headwaters area deep winter lock up sends most otter many miles down stream to larger water that they can find livable space/food under the ice.