The Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge is an outstanding facitility that offers variety for those of all ages and abilities. The refuge is open sunrise to sunset with specific hours for the Visitor Center. The highlight of the refuge, along with the many birds, ducks, geese and wildlife, is the new Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk which officially opened February 1, 2011. If one is looking for solitude, arrive early as the parking lot fills up fast which means throngs of visitors on a nice sunny day. The beginning of the trail is a one mile Twin Barns Loop Trail that winds behind the visitor center and along wetlands. The boardwalk includes many educational signs providing pictures, descriptions and information of the local birds, ducks and wildlife. Also included is the history of the original Brown Farm. Continue past the barns onto a gravel trail that hooks up at the Observation Tower - the beginning of the new boardwalk. The boardwalk is an impressive structure which is wide and comfortable to walk which includes a blind for viewing, a second covered platform and at the end, the Puget Sound Viewing Platform - a third covered viewing station. Although today was a hazy, cloudless morning, Mt. Rainier could still be seen from the boardwalk to the east. On the other hand, the Olympics were showing off in the morning sunshine. The sights and sounds of Canadian Geese were entertaining. Also seen were many ducks and birds, a belted kingfisher, a blue heron in the distance, a hummingbird, an eagle and nest in the distance discovered by others and a owl with two babies discovered at the Riparian Forest Overlook near the Visitor Center. Visit http://www.fws.gov/nisqually/ for more details and don't forget your binoculars.

This was my first visit to the Refuge, and the trip marked my return to hiking following recovery from foot surgery. We couldn't have picked a better day -- I think I actually came away with some evidence of sun on my face! About the most interesting flora note was some Indian Plum starting to bloom. There were rains the night before, so the fauna was the star of the show. We saw mallard ducks, Canadian geese, a bittern, sandhill cranes, herons, and (distant) bald eagles. And many humans -- the parking lot was overflowing when we left. The new boardwalk takes you from the Twin Barns along McAllister Creek all the way to the Puget Sound -- it's rock solid and a first class construction effort that should stand for decades.

Just thought I'd drop a note that the new Nisqually Wildlife Area's boardwalk opened up last week. Dikes have been removed and the tide was in during my walk. From parking lot to end of boardwalk & back close to 5 miles. Foggy and cold on way out but cleared up on way back. Check it out if in area.

There were colorful, noisy song-birds everywhere, some water fowl, and a raptor or two. The only real open trail is the boardwalk loop (1+ mile if you include the overlooks), so this isn't much of a hike. Even so, the boardwalk is a great walk for kids, especially very small children. The boardwalk is about 5 feet wide and has a 3 foot railing on each side so even our 18-month boy safely staid on course and made it most of the way round (with lots of stops to point and ask about everything, especially the water birds). Usually he just wanders off exploring the minute we put him down so we have to either carry or stap him in to something if we actually want to go anywhere in particular. He really enjoyed walking on his own and burning off that limitless little boy energy.

Baby Aliza had her first "hike" at Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday. We chose this hike mainly because we could stroll her on the boardwalk and so that her big brother Aidan could see wildlife. We weren't the only ones with the idea to flock to Nisqually on the first springlike day of the year. The parking lot was teaming with vehicles (including a bus) upon arrival and overflowing when we left a couple hours later. But while there were certainly many people enjoying the refuge, it didn't seemed as packed as I would've thought. With the young kids in tow, we limited our hike to the one mile loop boardwalk trail, though we certainly could've taken the stroller on the towpath along the river. We tried to get our three year-old to notice the variety of birds flying about. He took a passing interest in the one blue heron we saw and the sound of frogs, but he was most interested in examining the moss, lichen and benches along the way. Aliza immediately dissed the stroller and insisted upon a perch from the Bjorn. It was encouraging to see the tell-tale signs of spring: flowering currant and Indian plum in bloom and skunk cabbage brightening up the wetland area. Still too early for the nesting herons to be feeding their young. Now that would've been a sight that Aidan would've enjoyed. All in all, a good spring walk with kids in tow. But if you're bringing young kids, beware that it is hard to keep them quiet enough that they don't disturb the wildlife. You really can't let them go wild on this hike.