Forests around Olympia? (Priest Point: house, activity, best place)

[bohosoul]

Could someone give me an idea of the landscape in and around Olympia? Are there lots of trees? How close is the nearest forest?

Thank you. :-)

[captiv8ed]

Yes, lots and lots of trees. Capitol Forest is just outside of Olympia, about 30 minutes from downtown. Priest Point Park and Watershed Park are both lovely forests about a mile from downtown. The Olympic National Forest is about an hour or two away.

[lady fern]

There are a lot of trees in and around Olympia although sometimes I wonder if the developers are determined to cut all of them down. Capital Forest runs from just by the ocean all the way down to somewhere around Porter so you get a nice view of the Black Hills from various places in Olympia. We had a house close to the foothills of the Black Hills and occassionally a herd of elk would come down to munch grass in a field along the road in.
If you are looking for hiking close to Olympia, I would not bother with Capital Forest and stick to Olympic National Park. It is about an hour to most of the nice closer hikes, but it's a nice drive along Hood Canal. Capital Forest is a bit sketchy and I would never hike there alone. It's a multi use area with motorcross and logging and the trails for hikers only aren't really kept up. I really don't know of any locals who do hike there.

[captiv8ed]

Yeah, I agree. Especially during hunting season!

[bohosoul]

Thank you all for your replies! And thanks for the hiking tips...good to know. <3

[captiv8ed]

There is a little park called McLane Creek that is in the Capitol Forest, but easy to get to. It has a nice boardwalk and good wildlife viewing.
South Sound's Best Places to Birdwatch

[Andy]

Originally Posted by lady fern

If you are looking for hiking close to Olympia, I would not bother with Capital Forest and stick to Olympic National Park. It is about an hour to most of the nice closer hikes, but it's a nice drive along Hood Canal. Capital Forest is a bit sketchy and I would never hike there alone. It's a multi use area with motorcross and logging and the trails for hikers only aren't really kept up. I really don't know of any locals who do hike there.

Lots of locals camp, hike, bike, and ride in Capital Forest. Look at the DNR maps to see which trails to use for whatever activity you seek or seek to avoid.

The more southerly areas is where most of the local hikers roam.

[sams]

Lots of trees but north of Olympia is where most of the forests are (Olympic Mountains).

[lady fern]

Originally Posted by Andy

Lots of locals camp, hike, bike, and ride in Capital Forest. Look at the DNR maps to see which trails to use for whatever activity you seek or seek to avoid.

The more southerly areas is where most of the local hikers roam.

Do the DNR maps have the meth labs marked?