Went around 11am and the tide was beginning to recede. It was MLK Jr. Day and the nominal admission fees were waived for the holiday. There were a lot of families with young children out to enjoy the sunny winter day. Saw a lot of ducks, birds of prey, herons, more ducks, and lots of small birds in trees whose names I don’t know. The boardwalk was a little slippery from the first frost of the year, but still very walkable. Nice day to be outside!

A complete gem and a delight for the whole family! 

This refuge is about 15 mins from Olympia, and features two large parking lots and a visitor center. America the Beautiful passes are sold and accepted here for parking. Without a pass, parking only costs $3 and you pay at the kiosk in front of the visitor center. Super easy!

Also, the rangers who work at the park are super friendly and knowledgable, you can find them out on the trail willing to answer questions! 

The nature walk is about 4 miles roundtrip with negligible elevation gain. You start in a forest and make your way to lookout points, two historic barns, and then onto a paved road that leads you to the boardwalk. The boardwalk section offers breathtaking views where the sky seems to touch the water. 

The highlight of this trail is the opportunity to spot so much wildlife. On our trip, we saw 3 bald eagles, 2 deer, and easily over 50 seals (sunbathing of course). Tons of birds, keep your eyes peeled for Giant Blue Heron, which hang at the refuge all year round. 

I believe they have rules against dogs, running, biking, and clamming.

I have to remind myself that those who are willing to get wet will be rewarded. Birdwatchers apparently aren’t bothered by a little rain. I was surprised to find a couple dozen cars in the lot as the rain sprinkled down. After a quick stop at the restrooms and visitor center, I hit the trail. When I got to the Nisqually Overlook, I spotted a dozen eagles and caught a glimpse of a green heron flying off. As I continued, I heard the croaking tree frogs and woodpecker pecking. Lots of different ducks, geese and herons.
From the long boardwalk I heard shots across the way. With my new binoculars I spotted some duck hunters across the mud flats and watched their well trained and very energetic bird dog collecting their ducks.
When the rain stopped and the sun tried to pop out, the frogs quieted down and the little birds had a chance to sing. All in all, a very nice day.

This is the perfect hike for an active kid - four miles round trip, with most of it on enclosed boardwalks that leave the kid no option but to stay on the path. There is a bathroom at the parking lot that is open even when the visitor center is closed, and there are porta-potties about a mile into the trip, as well. There are many benches, and viewpoints with free binoculars installed. This three-year-old was entertained by the songbirds, herons, geese, three otters, and an owl, but the part that really got her to jump for joy - a literal joyful jump! - was when the frogs struck up a chorus around her. 

On our way out, some regulars let us know to come back in late February or early March for migration time - we're looking forward to it! 

My hiking group had Nisqually Wildlife Refuge on our schedule for today.  We pulled in before 9:30 and the parking area was 1/4 full.  The visitor center was closed but the bathrooms were open and clean.  It was 48 degrees with a stiff South breeze and threatening rain clouds. We donned rain gear and headed out on the Nisqually River Boardwalk Trail and a couple serious bird photographers were here capturing great heron photos.  Then we took a left on the gravel Brown Dike Farm Trail past the twin barns and on out to the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail.  The tide was completely out so lots of shore birds on the mud flats. There were oodles of duck and gull species, sand pipers, cormorants. The last 700’ of the boardwalk is closed at this time of year - annual seasonal closure from October to January for waterfowl hunting season. We learned the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge is not open to hunting, waterfowl hunting does occur on Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife land immediately adjacent to the trail.  On our return the sun tried to peak out and there were more heron, ducks and geese in the mowed grassland areas south of the dike. When we pulled out at 11:30 there were several large school preschool and elementary students out in the refuge - great to see little people wearing binoculars arounds there necks. It felt great to be out in nature after taking 7 weeks off my feet due to a plantar fasciitis flare up. Another fantastic day out enjoying nature with friends.