Well defined trail, dirt, gravel and wooden boardwalk.  Appears mostly ADA accessible.  LOVELY trail, but not well-marked.  I didn’t try to read the map of it, but one of my companions did and said it was hard to read. Ranger Station, bathrooms and water fountains closed til further notice.  3 good porta Potties in the parking lot.  The first one was getting pretty full.  Plenty of parking.  Bring your binoculars!  Saw lots of birds and a few tiny crabs in the water! Several Herons, bald eagle, swallows, finch, mama and several baby ducks.  Even heard some song birds!  The birds seem acclimated to folks and will allow you to get pretty close. We saw a couple of herons fishing for dinner.  Great breeze yesterday felt glorious on my skin!  Tiny purple wildflowers and a few others still survive.  Several women hiking alone yesterday and a few families and couples.  All good!  Check it out!

This is my 75th WTA trip report and it is fitting that it be at this place I spend so much time exploring.

The refuge could be seen as both sanctuary and classroom. There are dozens of bird species and the waters of the estuary are full of ducks, seals, geese and raptors and more. Bring your binoculars and a camera as you never know what you might see. I watched a family with three young children playing a "bingo" game with homemade cards. Each likely sighting had a square and it kept the young ones engaged and interested. There is also an area near the Education Center for younger kids. There is so much to learn here. 

There is a 5 mile loop that you can take that includes the mile long estuary boardwalk. Dogs are not allowed, nor are bikes, skateboards or jogging. Think of it as the home of this magnificent wildlife and you're a welcome visitor. 

Visitor Center as well as bathrooms remain closed. Portable toilets are available in both parking lots as well as near the Twin Barns. Bring your own sanitizer. There is a $3 fee payable at a kiosk in front of the building. It gets busy, especially on weekends, and parking can be challenging. 

There are birds nesting, young weasels, beavers, herons, muskrats, fawns and a growing chorus of frogs. So much to see and a lot of helpful people willing to share information. This is a Washington State treasure. A birders paradise. I often post my walks here with lots of photos on my blog linked below. Thanks for taking a look. 

The parking lot was almost full when we arrived around 3 pm.  Porta potties were available in the parking lot.  We enjoyed the views along the boardwalk and gravel trails, but besides a few birds we did not see much wildlife.  Also, the tide was out, revealing a large expanse of red mud with a few dead trees stuck in it - great location for a post-apocalyptic movie!

Inspired by Bob and Barb, I decided to check out Nisqually this afternoon. Not a lot of birds to see but was treated to a close gathering of 24 Great Blue Herons feeding.

3 mi RT

After walking the Tumwater Falls Trail, we went to Nisqually where we had many fun sightings! Near the beginning of the boardwalk we saw a peregrine falcon in the top of a tree across the beaver pond enjoying his/her recent catch which we think was a coot. A female mallard with 4 ducklings, a female wood duck with 15 ducklings, 2 male wood ducks, 6 female common mergansers on a log, a Pacific tree frog, 2 cedar waxwings and a beaver were also seen. We also saw an empty hummingbird nest.