After a long drive through Seattle area traffic we found a green oasis to stretch our legs in. Watershed Park is located just off Interstate 5 in Olympia, the capital city of Washington State. This 150 plus acre park is a protected valley in the midst of a sprawling metropolitan area.
The trees here are beautiful, it's another example of a Temperate Rainforest. Some trees are rather large as conservationists lobbied for their protection 70 years ago, which would mean a few trees which were saved are hundreds of years old.
Creeks run through the valley and it is quite swampy so lots of bridges make up the path system. You can walk for about a mile and a half in here, making it just enough of a walk to get your heart rate going.
You don't feel as if you are in a city down here. The trees block the sound and what little gets through is drowned by the babbling brooks.
The trail is well worn and popular with locals. There are a few paths leading up to the adjacent suburbs.
The greenery was intense, ferns covered the forest floor and a wall of green surrounded us. It smelt like a coniferous forest.
Where a large tree falls, sunlight can filter through to the forest floor. One forgets about the hustle and bustle of daily life in a place like this.
It's nice to see that the people of Washington care about their nature and preserve it in the best possible way. This will allow future generations of humans and animals to thrive in their environment.
There were a couple of maps to let you know where you were in the park and they have an infographic in the Henderson BLVD parking lot. On the other side of the Interstate from this park you can visit the State Capital Buildings. We prefer walking around nature any and every day.
Thank you for reading. For more info about the park you can visit the Washington Park Hiking Website.
All photos taken with an s22 or iphone 14 pro