As the tide rushes in to the forest cloaked reaches of Woodard Bay, so do the fish and nutrients that sustain the vibrant ecosystem that thrives there. Birds flock to this quiet corner of Puget Sound, and harbor seals bask on docks and pilings that are all that remain of the industry that once occurred here. Now industry has moved to other parts of the Salish Sea, leaving Woodard Bay to become once again a refuge for the wild things that call it home.
The main trail of this Natural Resource Conservation Area runs down the center of a peninsula, the pavement slowly being overtaken by the creeping greenery. Moss covered maple trees arch overhead, and in short order one comes to what was once a railroad hub of sorts, and here may be found viewpoints, art in the form of cement dugout canoes, and historical and ecological exhibits. |
| From above you can see through the water to submerged tidal flats, current paths, and the old railroad bed. |
Here one may look out at the remaining length of the railroad built on trestles across the sound, now cut off from shore and left as a home for bats and a roost for birds. With a keen eye or binoculars you may also observe harbor seals soaking up the sun offshore. Closer to shore, in fact right next to the shore, swarm jellyfish that bounce from rock to rock like leisurely pinballs until swept back out or sadly marooned.
Heading back, take the alternate route, and set off through the temperate jungle - both around and over bogs and marshes on a sturdy boardwalk that runs for nearly the whole length of the trail.
On the other side of the peninsula is the oddly titled Burfoot Park. Make your way via its warren of confusing and seemingly unmapped trails through fern encrusted gullies to the stony shore. Here the state capital can be seen in the distance like an iceberg resting on a distant shore. Watch as all sorts of watercraft, from massive ocean freighters to delicate sailboats, ply the choppy waters of the Sound, while above, the craggy heights of the Olympic Mountains look on in snowy silence.
Parks like these are hidden throughout the many reaches of Puget Sound, and each offers its own unique perspective on Washington’s defining hydrological feature. Life and beauty still thrive in the Salish Sea despite the rise of the metropolis around it, and it is worth the fight to keep this sheltered place a paradise for both wildlife and humans.
