Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge — Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014

Southwest Washington > Vancouver Area

It can be so easy to overlook nearby options when deciding where to go hiking. This pleasant hike fell off my radar for a while, and now I am wondering why I think “going hiking” entails a long drive to a trailhead. When you go to the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge, you can immerse yourself in nature in less than 30 minutes from downtown Vancouver. I was hoping for luscious fall colors in the preserve, but the million-dollar views were on the drive to get there. The oak trees inside the refuge had pretty-much dropped their leaves, so I traded looking at pretty leaves for the crunching sound of walking through dry leaves. I’ve always seen and heard large flocks of geese and ducks at the reserve, but this time I got to see a large flock of trumpeter swans and hear blue herons making a weird song-bird like sound. After hiking, I checked out Vinnie’s Pizza in Ridgefield. It’s traditional and not-so-traditional pizzas make it the perfect spot to end the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge adventure.