Tolmie State Park - Four Cedars Trail

Enjoy the sights of Nisqually Reach in this state park nestled close to Olympia. Explore the beach, visit an interpretive trail or undertake a slightly longer adventure, perfect for families with new hikers. 

From the end of the large, paved parking area, interpretive signs lead you along the Four Cedars loop trail in Tolmie State Park, where you'll pass through close coastal forest as well as shoreline and creeks. Learn about native animals and the role wetlands play in creating healthy habitat for the animals you will likely hear flitting about in the trees or scurrying through the brush. 

It's a 1.98 mile loop, but if little legs get tired you can cut out early using the Twin Creeks Trail, which bisects the loop, making it closer to a one-mile outing. Sections of the trail are boardwalk, so be careful when it's wet. Where it's not boardwalk, it is quite muddy, so in the wet season be sure to have good boots. 

A quarter-mile of exploring can be added if you wander along the shoreline's Sandy Beach Trail, where you might see shorebirds like teal or seagulls, and ducks like buffleheads or mallards.  Or, up the hill from the main parking area is a short interpretive trail at the ranger station. This features signs identifying red huckleberry, orange honeysuckle, thimbleberry, salmonberry, and many other plants native to the area.

Note: In summer, the park is open from 8 a.m. to dusk. However in winter (mid-September through mid-April), the park is open Wednesday - Sunday from 9 a.m. - dusk, and closed Mondays and Tuesdays.