I love visiting the wildlife refuge and couldn't think of a better place to take my twin for a walk/hike before she went back to Oregon this morning! We went just in time for high tide and enjoyed seeing a heron, Canadian geese, tons of sea gulls, terns, goldfinches, a garter snake, a bunny, seals, and even three bald eagles huddled together on a little grass "island" just beyond the viewing platform at the end of the boardwalk. The highlight was seeing a mother and baby seal hanging out near the boardwalk!

As always, the trail and the boardwalks were in great condition. There were a ton of seagulls hanging out on the rails of the boardwalk - I have never seen so many, it was actually a little creepy. I will note that my Fitbit has always said that from the parking lot to the end of the boardwalk over the estuary and back is about 3.4 miles, but my sister's Garmin said it was 4.6! 

Had a really lovely morning at the refuge. The bathrooms are open as is the Nature Store. Check the website for hours. Masks still required indoors so don't ditch them just yet. 

I walked with a friend out to end of the estuary boardwalk. It's a beautiful walk, with no elevation and a lot to discover. I watched barn swallows fed by mama, a squirrel come charging at me like I was made of good nut butter and eight (yes 8!) juvenile and adult bald eagles hanging around in the mud flats just off the dike road. A wonderful mix of boardwalk and gravel make for an easy walk for most. A great place to teach kids about wildlife and birds and there is an outdoor education/play area for the younger kids. Always a great day. More photos on my blog linked below. 

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Arrived at the parking lot at 10:45 am and there were still a number of  parking spots available.    The visitor center was closed, but the restrooms are open.

From the boardwalk I could see eagles and herons.    In the bushes lining the trail we spotted a young coyote.   There is a picnic area with benches and a porta potty by the Twin Barns.    It's a nice, shady area to eat lunch.

I was looking for the least rainy option for a hike and looking at the weather maps seemed like the Olympia area was my best bet in Western Washington at least.

Decided to try the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge as it's been a few years since I've made it down there.

Got to the parking lot around 10AM and lot wasn't even a quarter full.  There were several signs in the parking lot noting an increase in car break-ins in the are, so be sure to take your valuables with you.

Restrooms at the visitor center were clean and well stocked.  I didn't try the port-a-potties near the two barns, though I did see others using them.

Boardwalks were all in good condition, though you can certainly tell that the main trails get more love.  The boardwalks to the Two Barns Observation Platform (to the north of the barns) and to the Riparian Forest Overlook were not in bad condition, but mossier and not quite as well maintained as those along the main thoroughfare.  You're not going to have to worry about loose/ rotting boards along any of them, however. 

Wildflowers are out in abundance. The gravel portion of the Nisqually Estuary Trail was lined with hairy vetch.  There was also clover, St Johnswort, starwort, yellow glandweed, blackberry, and littleleaf miner’s lettuce.

Saw a few unripe blackberries, but unsurprisingly the birds are nabbing them up as soon as they can, so I wouldn't count on finding any ripe ones for nibbling.

Got to see a heron fishing, which was fun, as well as a bald eagle, several ducks, and many songbirds that I'm afraid I can't identify.  Watch out if you head into any of the covered viewing / seating areas along the boardwalk, as the birds have built nests on the underside of the roofs (you can see the splatters on the boards below warning you where not to linger). 

You can hear the highway the entire time, but by concentrating on the bird song (which was constant), I found I was able to mostly ignore it.  I would say all of these trails would be accessible to a wheelchair as long as you're ok on gravel (not deep gravel, just a top coat if you will on the solid packed dirt pathways that aren't boardwalked).  There were several people with strollers out having no trouble on any of the trails/ boardwalks.

Overall a pleasant way to spend a couple dry hours while the rain was coming down elsewhere.

The rain seems to have deterred most people from walking out the boardwalk.  Herons, eagles, swallows, red wing blackbirds, gulls...  Always a lovely walk.