Olympia Parks and Gardens

(Olympia, Washington - WA, USA)

For a relatively small state capital, the city of Olympia certainly comes with a great deal of green space and opportunities for recreation. There are numerous large parks with good sporting and family facilities, which are accompanied by a growing number of nature conservation areas, such as the expansive nearby Capitol State Forest (37,000 hectares / 91,500 acres), to the west.

Many of the green spaces and public gardens make the very most of Olympia's attractive waterside setting and often borrow the scenery of the Pugent Sound. Lying at the bottom of Capitol Lake are both the Interpretive Park and the Tumwater Historical Park, the latter of which was established in the early 1980 around Crosby House and comes with 7 hectares / 17 acres of grounds, picnic shelters, play areas for children and riverside trails.

On the eastern side of downtown Olympia and intersected by the Henderson Boulevard Southeast is the Watershed Park, which encompasses an area of almost 50 hectares / 120 acres. This is actually the site of the capital's very first water works and today boasts a lengthy loop named the G. Eldon Marshall Trail, as well as forested areas and much wildlife. The Moxlie Creek meanders its way through the Watershed Park, while large maple, cedar and Douglas fir trees provide shade if you are coming here for a picnic. If you look carefully during your visit, you will be able to spot evidence of the old water works in some places.

General Information

An important parcel of 240-hectares / 600-acres of land, the Woodard Bay Natural Resources Conservation Area is to be found roughly 20 minutes north of downtown Olympia, where it is bounded by the Henderson Inlet and its bays.

This location was once used by the local logging industry and is now nothing short of a wildlife sanctuary called home by everything from harbor seals and river otters to bald eagles, blue herons and cormorants. The park is popular with local families living in Olympia, since it has plenty of valuable recreational space, along with picnic tables, seating and many attractive waterfront settings.

Priest Point Park sits just a few minutes to the north of Olympia city center and alongside the Puget Sound's Budd Inlet. The park has been around for more than a century, being founded in the first decade of the 20th century, and now covers in excess of 125 acres / 310 acres. Basketball courts and a playground for children draw families all through the year, while the trails alongside the Ellis Cove, a rocky beachfront and seasonal floral displays at the resident Samarkand Rose Garden offer additional interest.

Additional parks and recreational spaces around Olympia include the Lake Lois Park and Habitat Preserve, Mission Creek, the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, Percival Landing, Woodland Creek, the Yashiro Japanese Garden and the Olympic National Forest - home of Mount Olympus. At just over 60 miles / 97 km to the east of Olympia, an excursion to the enormous Mount Rainier National Park (over 93,000 hectares / 230,000 acres) may well be in order if you fancy camping, visiting waterfalls, trekking through valleys, admiring wildflower meadows and photographing glaciers.