The Emerald City of Seattle has plenty of secrets up its sleeve for the nature-loving traveler. Drive west and you can set foot in one of the largest rainforests in the United States. Go northeast, and you can drive the scenic byways around Mount Baker that resemble Glacier National Park. Even closer to the big city, the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge offers something a little more off the beaten path. With around just 200,000 annual visitors compared to the over 3 million seen at Olympic National Park, the refuge is a relatively untrodden and serene corner of the Washington wilderness, offering enticing boardwalk trails that weave through the protected wetlands and tidal habitats at the mouth of the Nisqually River.
The park has been hailed as one of the wildest river delta preserves on the whole Puget Sound, but it’s still within easy striking distance of the Seattle metropolis. You can swap the Space Needle for the wetlands by driving just an hour south on Interstate 5. It’s even closer to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport — a mere 45-minute drive gets you from the arrivals area to this land of wading birds and enticing coastal nature trails.
Talking of enticing coastal nature trails, there’s a web of designated walking paths that promise to whisk visitors through pockets of tidal forest, among groves of looming cottonwoods, and past floodplains and ponds, showcasing a wide array of environments and habitats along the way. Keep your eyes peeled as you stroll because there’s wildlife spotting aplenty — the park is a major nesting point for migratory birds, plus a cozy home for salmon, harbor seals, sea lions, and more.
Discover winding trails at the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge
The Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge might not have trekking like Yosemite’s world-famous, soul-satisfying Half Dome hike, but it does come with 4 miles of fantastic walking on maintained paths that are open year-round. What’s more, many of the routes on offer are ADA accessible, featuring wide gravel paths or timber-built boardwalks.
The refuge’s standout trail has to be the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk. The 1-mile romp that lofts you high above the salt marshes. When the tide is up, the water will slosh below your feet; when it’s low, you’ll be able to survey the muddy coastal plains rolling all the way to the edge of the Puget Sound. The boardwalk can be combined with a loop on the Twin Barns Trail to create a 4-mile there-and-back route that showcases everything the refuge has to offer, including forests that grow on the tideline, wetlands laden with birds, and estuary ponds.
If you’re not feeling energetic enough for a hike or if the Pacific Northwest weather is doing its thing, consider dropping into the Norm Dicks Visitor Center. The on-site interpretive center tells the story of the Nisqually River all the way from its source high on Mount Rainier to its end in the surrounding wetlands.
Be wowed by Washington’s wildlife and pristine habitats
