Very nice place to go for a relaxing walk. The whole loop around was 4.5 miles. The trail is all basically flat with minimal elevation change. There is the section from the wooded area to the observation deck where you are on a gravel road. The rest is all a wooden walkway. There are a lot of bald eagles, I seen about 5-7 yesterday and what I'm assuming where juvenile eagles. Then today I seen seals. Tons of ducks, swallow ect. It's a popular area for bird watching and photography. There is a $3 parking fee, or if you have an American the beautiful pass that works too according to their website. I recommend getting the America the beautiful pass if you frequent any national areas.. I'd your a vet or active you get one for free. Just show your ID to the ranger. Good place for all ages!!

Took the family here on a beautiful Sunday. It was an hour drive and totally worth it. My kid had a great time exploring the visitor center and there's a little park for younger ones. I walked the boardwalk and took photos of all the wildlife it had to offer in early summer. I saw Bald Eagles, lots of Heron and Tern, Cormorant, and plenty of smaller birds. I even saw a deer in the nearby field! Limited parking, and there is legitimately a chance that if you can't find parking you can't go in. Great fun in a beautiful area.

Lovely way to spend a day. So many duck and other bird species (saw owls, eagles and heron). Take care on the boardwalk, can be very slippery in spots during the rainy months. Walk is about 5 miles or so RT and parking can fill up on a decent day. FYI, waterfowl hunting is allowed certain months of the year incase the echoing of gunshots bothers you. Bring $3 cash for the day use fee.

Great place for taking a peaceful walk and bird-watching. Cost is very affordable (3 dollars per car). You can also use a national park pass. There are public restrooms and a drinking fountain. A gift shop is open seasonally. There are some trails near to the visitor center that follow deeper water and are mostly shaded. Near the barns, about a 10 minute walk from the parking lot, are picnic tables and outhouses. You can continue from there along the gravel path to the boardwalk that goes out into the tidal flats. Water levels will vary by the tide. I always see at least a few birds when I come, no matter the time of day!

Such a sacred place. Learn about its history, check out Billy Frank Jr.’s good work for the salmon and all of us people. He is a hero. I’m happy they named this spot after him. This is a sacred valley with a long history! Learn about the nisqually people and then come check out these trails to learn even more.

Always a lovely place to be. Tons of wildlife, we see something new with every visit. Deer, frogs, seals, and an endless amount of seabirds. The staff in the visitors Center are lovely as well. They will lend you binoculars for your walk if you leave your ID with them - highly recommend! They also have a nice gift shop with local art and more. To walk the entire trail and boardwalk takes about 1-2 hours depending on your pace.

All positive remarks and reviews. So positive you might have trouble finding parking. Come for the wildlife. Move and observe mindfully. Say hello to a stranger with a lens or binoculars and learn something new about the wild. Also look up the chapters of history of the place you're visiting and the 3 bodies of water that flow through it. Safe adventuring! P. S. Wouldn't it be fantastic for all of us animals if we had more than one National Wildlife Refuge in South Puget Sound?!?!

Spectacular national park! I came during the winter so couldn’t observe the rich diversity of species here but still very interesting to see different types of birds and enjoy the wetlands. The bridge has a lots of signs about the animals here and also marked the land that was from a man who went bankrupt in 1910s and sold the land to US Wildlife. Highly recommend this park to everyone!

I've been going to Nisqually for several years, starting back in 2011 when I first moved to WA and then again in 2020 when we came back. There's a decent amount of parking, less on the weekend, and the entrance fee is only $3 (free if you have a military ID or America the Beautiful pass). Small visitor's center with information about the refuge and a gift shop. Well maintained bathrooms. There's a boardwalk loop that goes through the woods around the marshes where you can see birds, deer, bugs, etc in addition to all kinds of plants. A much larger boardwalk goes out over the water where you can see eagles, crabs, seals, whatever. On a clear day, Rainier is visible in one direction and the Olympic Range to the other. Doing both boardwalks comes out to about 4 miles, all flat. Great place for kids, no dogs allowed. It poured on us during our recent visit but we still enjoyed it!

Fun park to explore! Nice folks at the visitor/gift center. Lots of different types of birds. Kid friendly. First part of trail was partially shaded. Accepted American the Beautiful pass. Also found out that you can purchase passes in the information center. Restrooms available near the parking lot. Open from sunrise to sunset.

A nice long nature walk. Definitely support the reserve gift shop! 🎁 Prepare for hiking! Bring a water, bandaid, and snack(please take your trash with you, don't litter.) Great place to walk with your kiddos. ⚠️ The wooden boardwalk gets VERY slippery when wet, so if you cannot balance or take your time, go on a dryer day.

Outstanding nature preserve with lots of old trees. It is an admirable example of the Wildlife Preserve system. Wetlands are supremely important for a number of bird species and conscious efforts to preserve them go a long way in ensuring birds get the support they need to thrive in this otherwise too crowded world. It is almost unbelievable to read that this was a commercial farmland a few decades ago. A number of new trees have been planted and there are lots of old, very old trees as well, primarily big leaf maples and oaks. Very thick undergrowth creates an environment that birds love. I would love to go here again and again and I recommend everyone to visit there at different times in the year.

Our party of six arrived mid-morning on Friday, June 23. Parking was not a problem. We were a bit warm as we walked the boardwalk in the bright sunlight. The boardwalk is well maintained and wide enough to easily pass by other visitors. The tide was out during our visit, revealing thousands of little crabs in mud. We saw various birds along our walk and got to watch a group of 6 eagles soar above us.

We had a beautiful visit today. The parking fills up fast, so it's good to get here early. But the trails are flat and there are plenty of benches and picnic tables to sit with families. None of the buildings are open due to Covid, but the bathrooms at the parking lot are open and clean, and there are port-a-potties by the barns. We highly recommend for families and anyone wanting to get our and enjoy nature.

This is a wildlife refuge teaming with local wildlife. It is very beautiful and a nice little hike for nature lovers and photos. Very clean and well taken care of. Go support your local wildlife and see the many birds and animals that make a home here. You just pay to park. Very worth it.

The parking lot isn't a large one but it's not the worst either. With that said it can fill up quickly. A beautiful area to simply walk in a nature preserve and enjoy a few different paths. There is a boardwalk that takes you around the preserve which is about a mile long loop. There are other paths as well for additional walking. Bring your camera... Take in the nature and photograph wildlife in the area. It's a great short hike for the family and around half mile mark theres a small picnic area and portapotties. If the weather is nice bring yourself some food and have a picnic!

I loved it here! I came here for bird watching and was not disappointed! Ther we're plenty of other more experienced bird watchers around and willing to help me out. Lots of calm walking zones. Tons of bald eagles! Great place to also see other wildlife like snakes and frogs.

Very very nice spot to visit. I visited during a weekday, there are plenty of parking in the parking lot. The visitor center opens 9-4, and they are definitely worth checking out, they have a little gift shop area, and a small exhibition in the back, teaching about the history of Nisqually river and the wildlife. The loop itself isn’t that long of a walk, but I will highly recommend to take the fork by the twin barn, and go onto the Nisqually Estuary trail following the signs, that takes you to the estuary boardwalk. It’s about 3 mi starting at the twin barn slip round trip. It was amazing!

It was New Year’s Day, so it was pretty packed with people. A majority were bird watchers with cameras and binoculars. Others were families with children. Plenty of space and the trails were gravel or boardwalk. It was low tide and many different birds and fowl. Parking was a bit of a challenge, but we managed. Just need some patience. Beautiful place.

Great place for a walk and for families with kids to see nature. So many different types of animals, eagles and other various types of birds, frogs, small snakes, etc... Depending on the time and day you go, parking can be difficult, so you might have to find a spot on the side of the road or in grassy areas of the parking lot. If you have kids, recommend to stop at the visitor center and get a pamphlet that engages kids to find various things and animals that can be found along the trail. The staff and volunteers are very kind, friendly, and helpful.

Up close and personal with the wildlife. An eagle landed right by us. A level and easy walk. Parking was $3 up to a car of four people. There's a gift shop and bathrooms.

Such a spectacular place! So easy to walk on the trails and boardwalks. It's flat and long. Easy to get a stride going. And then, the wildlife! So many different birds all year long. Walking over the water is so experiential! A must go if you haven't already. You can turn around at any time.

Beautiful place for watching birds and taking long, easy walks. This is one of the best options anywhere in the Puget Sound region for anyone looking to see some wild birds, or do some easy hiking. The entry fee is an almost negligible $3 per four adults, they are open from sunrise to sunset, there is plenty of parking, the walking is all on level boardwalks and gravel, and you get to walk around as much or as little as you want. There are several different loop trails and options for people who want to do either 1 mile or 4+ miles of walking. This place is also incredibly easy to get to, being just off of the Interstate, but there is also plenty of trees between the refuge and the highway so you don't have to hear the cars while you enjoy your hike. We saw Cow Birds, Barn Swallows, Red Wing Black Birds, Herons, and Bald Eagles!

We visit family every couple of years in Lacy and have seen the boardwalk but never visited, but this time we did. Cost to enter is free but parking is an honest pay of $3 which for the walk views and wildlife is very reasonable. Loved the walk to the end of the board walk watching the birds. Will definitely do again when we revisit next time we will try to time it when the tide is coming in.

I love the walk from the visitor center through the marsh to the end of the boardwalk trail. Every time I visit it is so different! On this trip I saw frogs, turtles, countless song birds, a large sized rabbit, deer, geese and many varieties of ducks and shore birds! It always inspires me to purchase a large camera lens for doing wildlife photography! Looking forward to my next walk at this wonderful place to explore.

Military can bring up to 3 people for free with the national park pass (which they issue there). Otherwise it's $3 for one vehicle and three people. You can do a variety of hikes from a one-mile loop to a 4 mile out-and-back hike. The scenery completely changes based on the tides, so come here often for a variety of amazing views, wildlife (birds, weasels, turtles, bullfrogs, coyotes, etc.) and flora. No dogs allowed, no bikes allowed. Walking only.

This was my first time here, so my review is going to aimed towards first time visitors. With my first impression, I was a little ‘put off’ that the refuge is literally right next to the highway. That was disappointing. I was hoping for a more remote location. Secondly, there’s a $3 parking fee on the ‘honors system’ that must be paid in cash- so make sure you bring some with you. When we first started our hike, it seemed a little scrappy-looking and overgrown and we didn’t see many birds. Things improved and we ended up seeing some cool tree frogs along the path perched on the stinging nettles. Later, we walked down the boardwalk and saw about 20 bald eagles. They were very prolific and easy to photograph, because they were flying low and landing on the raised areas of dirt along the boardwalk- which reminds me, it was low tide when we were there, so the area along the boardwalk was completely dry. Check the tides before you go, so you’ll know what to expect. Bring binoculars or a camera with a long distance wildlife lens or you won’t see much. It’s a pretty cool place overall- probably the closest I’ve ever been to an eagle in the wild, because I always see them soaring at high elevations but here you can get a closer look.

We go there often as it is local for us. You can see Ospreys, Bald Eagles, Sea Gulls, Seals and other PNW wildlife. Plan to go while the tide is coming in, it's fascinating to watch. Pets are not allowed and neither is running. However, if you have an infant it is stroller friendly.

Very clean peaceful place. Can get busy at times and not much parking. Very nice kid friendly area with recreational opportunities. After Covid I'm sure they'll do more interactive, educational activities. Beautiful scenery and they have done cool projects for the environment and animals.

Beautiful treasure just outside Lacey/Olympia! We walked the boardwalks, enjoyed the birds chirping, and kept our eyes out for the various plants working on blooms. I’ll be back later in the spring to see the results— Overall, very family friendly and likely good for those whose physical conditions may prevent hiking on trails. It’s still gorgeous and a way to enjoy the outdoors. There is a fee to park if you don’t have an interagency pass (like the national parks annual pass). This is federal land, so a state pass won’t do.