The whole family came out for a nature walk! I love this one because it's mostly on boardwalk and there are tons of fallen leaves so it's fun to kick around some big maple leaves (because you can never be too old to play in the leaves right?)

some of the boardwalk can be slippery at times, but that's about the only challenge you could possible face. We walked around the loop and looked out over the riparian forest overlook and it was so peaceful. The fall colors there are incredible! Also saw plenty of ducks and herons. 

Drizzly on the boardwalks but the Big Leaf Maple did a good job keeping me dry. 

This place is awesome. Boardwalks in excellent shape. Informational signs all along the loop. Lots of tree frogs creaking and croaking. Birds singing, even in the rain  

On the Riparian Trail I watched a big salmon work her way up stream. She went back and forth looking for a clear path, then she worked up some speed and jumped a log. No wonder they’re so tired when they reach the end!

Because the pup was in for minor surgery today, mom and I took the opportunity to do a “no dogs allowed” hike.  We rolled in a little after noon to find an almost completely full parking lot, which included an Olympia School District school bus.  Right away we saw four birds or the mechanized variety.  Additionally, we saw four deer, countless double breasted cormorants, seagulls, common mergansers, herons, a peregrine falcon which caught a fish, warblers, and possibly a plover (although it doesn’t appear to be in their range).  A number of folks previously had seen a whimbrel over the past few days, but we didn’t see it.  (FYI- The farthest reaches of the boardwalk are open through Oct 13, at which time it is closed due to bird hunting.)  All in all a great outing!

This was a walk through wildlife that you could customize to be as long as you want it to be! We walked for several hours through part of a forrest and out a boardwalk over the Sound. There were tons of tree frogs, birds, turtles, and deer around us, but unfortunately, we did not see any weasels. There were a lot of families walking around us but it was still quiet and the trails were in really good condition!