Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge

Nisqually NWR, Olympia, Washington: Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge’s three hiking trails take visitors through three vastly different ecosystems. This one is through the mixed hardwood-conifer forest, where one can find black-tailed deer, rabbits, coyotes, and all manner of brightly colored songbirds. Another trail traverses a dike across the marshes and wetlands where one will find beavers, river otters, and long-legged wading birds. And the area adjacent to Puget Sound’s southern shoreline is home to such saltwater species as harbor seals, four species of gulls, western and horned grebes, and three species of scoter. And all is within the shadow of beautiful Mt. Rainier.