After driving 2-3 hours each way for the last 3 weekends, I decided to stay close to home for this week's furlough day adventure. I was excited to see that the wildlife refuge had re-opened last month! I arrived at the parking lot at 6:00am to only two other cars. By the time I left at 7:45 or so there were maybe 6-8 other cars in the lot. I was such a beautiful morning! I was glad to have gotten there before the heat really starts later today. 

Trail & Hike: All of the trails and boardwalk seem to be in good shape! I saw a tractor headed out towards the river, so there may be some work going on over there. I opted to take the gravel path next to the open field to get to the the estuary instead of the boardwalk since that allowed for more space in case I ran into anyone else. I walked out to the end of the boardwalk and back, which is about a 3 mile trip. Mt. Rainier was out this morning and the light on the estuary and Puget Sound was gorgeous!

Wildlife: The tide was somewhere between low and high, which meant I got to see a variety of critters! I saw a bunny, two bald eagles (male and female), ducks, gulls, herons, and other birds I couldn't identify. I snapped a pic of some birds I saw that I originally thought may have been herons, but looking closer I'm not sure what they are - I'll link the photo here in case anyone can help me identify it! 

Social Distancing: There's a cute sign reminding people to social distance on the trails near the Visitor's Center - evidently 6 ft is roughly the same length of a harbor seal, 2 red-tailed hawks, or 36 pacific chorus frogs! I passed two other people on the way out to the boardwalk and maybe another 8 or so on the way back in. All but one person had a mask on and the trail was wide enough that I was able to keep 6+ feet of distance from them. I wore my mask as soon as I saw another person coming. This can be a pretty hopping place later in the day, so I was glad to go early in the morning to get some time to myself.   

This place is always worth a trip! If you're in the area, I recommend stopping at one of the Olympia Coffee Roaster locations to pick up a coffee and pastry from Left Bank Pastry :) 

Got on the trail at 7:45AM and only encountered a couple of people. Saw many birds, including adult and juvenile eagles. Beautiful views. Walking out (9:45ish) there were more people, most wearing masks when approaching. 

A local favorite! Parking has been limited to only the parking lots, no parking along the road. Learning center is still closed as were the bathrooms. There are two port-a-potty’s (one larger and one regular sized) located at the old barns. Lots of people but almost everyone was wearing a mask. Boardwalks make social distancing difficult. 

We saw 5 mature Bald Eagles and one immature Bald Eagle, several Herons, Gulls, Willow Fly Catchers, Red Winged Black Birds, Sparrows, tree frog, a Garter snake, and a great view of Mt. Rainier from the pier! 

We actually kayaked into the Wildlife Refuge from off of Luhr Launch. It was pretty wonderful to glide around and between the little islands in the estuary that were teaming with birds. It gets very shallow in spots and looks very sandy. We saw MANY Herons, Plovers, Sandpipers, Swallows, Cormorants, Kingfishers and a Seal. 

The trails on land were pretty quiet. A couple of people very spread out.

The sun was in and out as was the bottom of Mt. Rainier. Fun to see the south side looking north as we normally see it from the north, looking south.

Just a reminder for those times you can't get out on rhe mountain trails that there are gems like this right off of I-5. This is one of my favorite early morning walks. I go at least once a week and there are always surprises. Yesterday, it was seals on a tiny little "island" just off the boardwalk. Last week, heron and eagles and woodpeckers, deer and songbirds. 

The buildings and main bathrooms are locked up, but there are portable toilets in both parking lots and near the twin barns. There is room to spread out on the gravel roads and probably 80% compliance with mask wearing on the boardwalk areas. 

This is a great place to enjoy the fresh air and learn a few things as you navigate the trails. Great for young and old alike. A few more photos linked at the blog mentioned below.