It’s cold. It’s wet. It’s the Pacific Northwest in winter – and that includes Northwest Trek. But there’s also a certain magic out here in winter: hushed silence, frosted ferns, thick bison coats.
Don’t wait until spring. Here are seven reasons to visit Northwest Trek in the most magical season of the year – winter.
1. Peace and Quiet
Feeling cabin fever? Step onto our paved trails and experience nature at its most tranquil: tall, solemn trees, quiet meadows, and a lake so still it reflects the mist. Spend the day in the kind of peace that refreshes you deep inside.
2. Thick Winter Coats
We aren’t the only ones that bundle up in winter! Our bison, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, and bears grow a thick, lush coat to protect them from the chill. You can almost feel the softness.
3. Take a Wild Drive in your own vehicle
Fresh air is bracing – but cozy warmth is welcome, too, and at Northwest Trek in winter, you get plenty of both! Book a Wild Drive tour to drive yourself in a caravan around the Free-Roaming Area, home to elk, bison, deer, moose, and more. Look out for fluffy mountain goats with winter coats, or spot the bison calf with her orange fur slowly changing to brown.
4. Birds, Birds, Birds
With many leaves gone from trees, birdwatching became much easier.
“Pileated woodpeckers are much easier to see,” says staff naturalist Gabby Huffman. You can also spot tiny kinglets, varied thrushes that have migrated down from the mountain tops, and waterfowl like common mergansers – plus bald eagles sparring and red-tailed hawks hunting. And, of course, you can walk the paths to see our own birds: bald eagle, barn owl, and golden eagle.
5. Burn Off That Energy
At Kids’ Trek, our nature-based playground, kids can run, jump, bounce, and build tree-branch forts to their hearts’ delight. (While you have a well-earned hot drink nearby from the café.)
6. Bear Dens
Our bears have been busy! Our black bears Benton and Fern are in torpor, making good use of the den they built a few years ago. Our grizzly bears, Huckleberry and Hawthorne, have dug an enormous hole in their habitat. So far, they’re not using it to den up, but it’s an impressive display of grizzly power.
7. Explore our Neighborhood
Northwest Trek has some fantastic places nearby that make for plenty of winter fun. Explore the majesty of Mt. Rainier, clad in snow and glaciers. Take a hike in the UW Pack Forest or around Alder Lake, check out the vintage shops and cinema in Eatonville before grabbing a burger, drive up to Elbe to see historic trains, chainsaw sculptures, and the Ex-Nihilo metal sculpture park, or keep going to Ashford for more mountain scenery. Find more trips at visitrainier.com.
