Beautiful and peaceful walk.

Decided to finally stop and see this place after living here my whole life. It’s easy access right off of I-5. The cost to get in is $3 but if you have an America the Beautiful pass it’s covered under that.

The loop right by the visitors center is a wooden boardwalk that is ADA accessible and about 1.5 miles in length. I did counter clockwise and enjoyed views of a forest, river, marsh land, tide flats, and old farming lands. Even though there were people there it was quite and relaxing. You really got to feel like you were in nature.

The birds were plentiful and lots of blue herons on the tide flats. The tide was out so there wasn’t the sea life I really wanted to see. But lots of gulls.

The 1.5 miles out to the end of the boardwalk over the tide flats is currently open. It looks like they are going to be closing it at some point to redo parts of it. This section is ADA accessiBle as well however there is a half mile of gravel over a dyke.

Along the tide flats there are signs telling you about the area and what wildlife you can see. What I really liked about this trail is that the stationary binoculars that you normally have to pay to get to use were free.

On the tide-flats trail you can see the Tacoma Narrows Bridges to the north. This area was once home to a large farm and was protected from the sea by man made dykes which were removed in the early 2000’s to return it back to its natural state. The land sits between the Nisqually river to the north, McAllister creek to the south, Puget sound to the west, and the interstate to the east.

The entire thing is flat which makes it a great hike for kids of all ages. In total if you do all the trails it’s about five miles.

Until next time,

HAPPY TRAILS

On our way home from hiking the Four Cedars Trail, we went to Nisqually NWR and walked the Twin Barns Loop taking side trips to the Twin Barns Overlook and the Nisqually River Overlook. We were mostly in the shade and there was a nice breeze. We had never been there when there so so little open water as the water areas were covered with vegetation and algae. Our only sightings were a heron, a female mallard, a female wood duck, a deer and a squirrel!

A great day, mostly cloudy with a nice breeze.  The Refuge has a visitor center with restrooms, the walk is suitable for all ages as it is flat and either gravel or boardwalk with resting benches along the way.  On this trip there was one small section closed due to bridge work.  Also there were signs to watch out for wasp nests.  The illustration was of the aerial paper wasp nest.  While there were wasps patrolling the foliage, we had no problems.   Blackberries were ripening along the trail.  Touch-me-not or jewelweed (Impatiens noli-tangere) was bloomingThe usual wildlife was present:  great blue herons, cormorants, multiple kinds of swallows, gulls, terns, plovers, puddle ducks, immature bald eagles, a harbor seal and a bull frog.  The tide was coming in on this visit.  America the Beautiful pass or get a pass at the visitor center.   Be sure to bring binoculars, although there are viewing binoculars at a couple of places.  Always worth  a visit.

Early morning clouds gave way to a full sunny Pacific Northwest day. The Twin Barnes Loop trail is in good shape, although there are warnings that there are currently wasp's nests in the boardwalk in places. We didn't come across any major stinging issues. We did come across one beautiful garter snake and many little tree frogs clinging onto leaves alone the banks of the wetlands. This section of trail was glorious and shaded.

Once out onto the  Brown Farm Dike trail heading for the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk trail the sun came out. I would recommend a hat, parasol and all the sunscreen. There is no shade. You will begin to smell like burnt bacon. It will be filled with tears and complaints. The walk out to the estuary was sun-beaten but lovely. There were heron, cormorants, hawks, eagles, barn swallows, and harbor seals. 

All trails were in good shape. The barn swallows are currently nesting in the gazebos along the estuary boardwalk so there are a few large piles of guano to avoid. There was signage stating that there would be work done along the boardwalk, but it had not begun by the time we had gone there.