We really enjoyed exploring Middle Mashell Falls. We learned a lot by reading previous posts…read more Nicely maintained. Pet friendly. Next time we will pack a picnic & stay longer!! There is a bit of an incline before you get to the falls. Signage is very small & easy to miss on your first visit. We parked at Bud Blancher Trailhead

This is a great hike in the area. Trails are nicely maintained. There are many options for making…read moreyour hike, shorter or longer as you wish. There are a few different trailheads you can start at for example, and you can choose to visit just one or 3+ falls. Each fall is beautiful and a lot of fun to explore!

The Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge is incredible! The best $3 (cash deposit) I…read morehave ever spent! Over 3 hrs of birdwatching, deer sighting, eagle watching, heron mating dances, moss, frogs, snakes, and more. The brackish water and estuary allow for diverse life cycles across fresh to salty habitats. The boardwalk is well maintained, gravel moving into wooden slits. Incredible! Highly recommend. Big parking lot, fairly busy on a Monday in March.

Always a great solitude hike to clear my head and solve my problems. Frankly, I like to talk with…read moreGod out here. Somehow, I feel closer to him when surrounded by the beautiful Nisqually nature trails. Only $3 to gain access (honor system drop box), there are miles of gravel trails and boardwalks to enjoy. No biking, no jogging, and no pets allowed, but plenty of bird enthusiasts taking pics with long lens cameras. It's a quiet place to be in your thoughts. Occasionally, you see deer, rabbits, seals, coyote, lots of birds, and awesome eagles! Makes it so worth it? I highly recommend coming out here for a low effort hike, the quiet, and all things beautiful in nature!

Sequalitchew Creek is a pet friendly and an ideal easy stroll for families. It is a total of 3…read moremiles round trip. Half a mile of it is paved and the remaining mile is rock path. Decline going there and incline on the reverse. You'll see beautiful views of the puget sound at the end. Most of the trail is surrounded by trees. If you decide to go there to watch the sunset, you'll have to use your cell phone flashlight. There is no lighting on the path. Respect the aina (land, earth, environment) and take your trash back with you since there are no trash cans.

Beautiful hiking trail that is only 3 miles in total - out and back with great views of the Puget…read moreSound. Plenty of free parking available and restrooms on site. I would recommend if you are looking for an easy hike. My kids and I enjoyed this trail a lot plus it wasn't crowded at all on a weekday!

The map was a little confusing at first. We did the hiking trails and we're surprised how the paths…read moreare mainly kept up. We loved going out the falls. We didn't see the upper falls but the middle and the bottom. Was a little ways to figure how to get inside the waterfall but was awesome when we made it over :) but there was alot of trash at the bottom that needs to be cleaned like beer bottles.

Really solid place to hike. Very clear trails with varying difficulty. We chose to go to the falls…read more The maps and markers were very clear which was great. The walk to the falls had good elevation and an amazing view.

I really wish we had a better experience at this campground. We were looking for something near…read moreMount Rainier, and this fit the bill. Some of the sites were basically right in the parking lot, but most of them were really nice. Ours was a walk-in site up the hill with lots of trees and greenery. It had a nice flat area along with a picnic table. The bathrooms were close and clean, and I loved having the lake nearby. However, the campground was really loud and rowdy. We stayed for two nights, and each night there were two to three large family groups that were loud until after 11 pm. We heard a car playing music with loud bass. A groups of kids entered the echoing bathroom and played, screaming, turning on the hand blowers, and spraying water everywhere. It was just really loud and the quiet hours were not enforced. The campground had all the ingredients to make a great stay. We just had a few loud groups that disturbed the otherwise quiet campground. I hope we just had bad timing.

Nice little stop over on the way to Mt Rainier or if you are exploring the area…read more We went on a weekday in the fall so parking was plentiful and it was very quiet. The weather was also clear enough to see the lake, with a dock to walk around and stretch our legs. I didn't see much else to do aside from exploring the lake and whatever other water activities are involved like fishing, kayaking, etc. The restrooms are actual flush toilets with soap and water, and they were pretty clean aside from the hard water stains on the toilet bowl that is inevitable with park bathrooms. Still a better option that pit toilets. Fun Fact: The code name for Intel's 12th gen desktop processors was based on this lake.

This is the biggest national forest I've ever visited! There are many ways to get in, but one thing…read moreis for sure..do not follow this Yelp address. It will only take you to the headquarters. The forest is an hour away from this building. You can type in the name into any map and choose one of the entrances. The way we went was through a back road passing several homes in the flat valley that's surrounded by mountains and woods. It will lead you to the welcome sign, then you'll pass a camp ground. There are less people going this way, so the hikes might only have 1/2 a dozen people on it. You will see many trails options, and they will all be gorgeous! The Skokomish Lower South Fork Trail is a great one. It has a very small gravel parking area, and it is a 6 mile hike in total. You'll go in 3 miles to Brown Creek, and then back 3 miles. I would say it's a semi strenuous hike. There's some down hill, and uphill, but mostly its level. Bring plenty of water, SPF, and snacks. Also stop at the restroom just before heading up the gravel road to the beginning of the trail. You'll pass a few little ice cold babbling brooks that will be very easy to walk across without getting your feet wet.

went here with Brandon and it was so nice with the clean air coming in at any elevation. There are…read moreshort and long hikes, so up to you what you want to do. There are levels to the hiking trails if you want steepness or not. Just do your research beforehand where it is you want to go and what it is you want because there is no signal here at times. this is a reeaaalllly big park, so a lot to do, but also a lot where you could get lost. there are winding roads to drive through and it gets a bit scary if you going during nighttime because the downhills make u go fast...especially with the snow ;-; watch urself and have gps on!!!!

We recently visited for one night. We stayed in one of the few open spots, right near the front of…read morethe campground. The only sections open for winter were the small section we stayed in and the open field area. Unfortunately for us, the sections closed for the season were the prettiest...much more treed and private feeling there. We enjoyed one hike, the boardwalk-old growth-orchard sections and back to the campground. Apparently there is some damage to parts of the trail system here, but those we took were in good shape, just a bit muddy. Although we didn't get around to the lake, it looked gorgeous when we passed by driving in. Aside from the site across from ours after the teens left that morning, the grounds were all very clean. Pretty area and park...although I probably would only return if I could stay in the closed sections. :)

I moved up from SoCal where I have access to beaches and pools and easy access to the airport so I…read morecan be somewhere tropical in the winters when I want. Moving to Olympia, I was near none of that. So how cool was it to discover we lived almost around the corner from a nice park that has access to a lake where you can rent kayaks and duck boats or swim in the lake. Yes, after a couple months of summer, the water is a little gross from all the lie bottom being stirred up and mixing with the sunscreen and people soup, but if you want to get a cool dip on a hot day, it's nice (just don't dip your head into the water). Lots of picnic tables, but they do run out on weekends, so when we want to go we bring our own tables and can park it underneath the forest shade). On the first lake side parking lot when you come in, you're close to a place that serves beer and pizza. Halfway down in the next parking lot, you're near the place that sells nachos and ice cream. The parking is limited to the point that on the busiest summer days, they have to refuse entry and tell you to come back in the afternoon. For all the problems, it's a good park and one of our favorite places to hang out with our dogs.

Visited this lake for the first time in the 9 years that I have lived in Lacey. Very clean and well…read moretaken care of. People out fishing were friendly including some friendly pets out and about walking the trails. Gorgeous lake.

Come here almost everyday with my little brother during break. Great place for kids during the…read moresummer and lots of fun with floats, sand, and lots of new friends!! Very beautiful trails that lead to different sand areas, waste cans, and friendly environment towards pets and people :)