Bird lovers, plant lovers, walkers, runners, strollers and bicyclists can now enjoy a newly renovated outdoor opportunity with the recent improvements to Olympia’s Grass Lake Nature Park. The city park opened its new gates on Kaiser Road Northwest in June 2025 with upgraded amenities that added a new parking area, 1.45 miles of an ADA-accessible multi-use asphalt trail, a boardwalk, public art, additional trailhead, benches, and information kiosks and signs.
Take a moment to enjoy the Pacific Northwest’s outdoors with convenient access to this peaceful and educational local park, the second largest in Olympia. As the 1997 “Grass Lake Refuge Final Master Plan” describes, “People need quiet places, places removed from home and office to unravel daily stresses.”
Improvements to Grass Lake Nature Park on Olympia’s Westside Create Greater Access to Wetlands, Forests and Wildlife
Grass Lake was created by a small, six-foot dam installed in the wetlands in 1966 and is surrounded by swamp grasses, according to “Thurston County Place Names: A Heritage Guide.” The wetlands that include Lake Louise and Grass Lake East drain into Budd Inlet. “The park contains the headwaters of Green Cove Creek and one of the most environmentally intact wetland systems in northern Thurston County,” the city’s website notes.
The city acquired the Grass Lake Refuge in 1989 following work and input by the city and community members. While the park sat mostly idle for a while, the 1997 master plan for the park laid out a potential future as a sanctuary serving wildlife and people. Today, the 195-acre Grass Lake Nature Park’s trails provide access to observe local wetlands, forests and wildlife. “Over 100 bird species and 200 plant species have been recorded in the park. Grass Lake Nature Park’s primary functions are wildlife protection, wildlife viewing, and environmental education,” explains the city’s website.
Thanks to the recent enhancements, access is even easier. Park improvements include a paved new parking lot and trailhead access at 700 Kaiser Road NW, with vehicle stalls and a bus parking spot. That trailhead leads you to unpaved forest and marsh trails, the new paved trail to Harrison Avenue Northwest with a boardwalk crossing over the wetlands, and benches where you can sit and relax. New signs explain the park’s diverse habitat of deciduous forest, coniferous forest, an “in-between zone,” forested wetland and scrub-shrub wetland.
And whether moving or sitting, you can observe the wildlife. The park is in the Great Washington State’s Birding Trail Olympic Loop, with winged visitors of Wilson’s snipes, spotted towhees, chickadees, hummingbirds and herons. “Ducks, such as buffleheads, and other waterfowl can be found in Grass Lake, and songbirds like black-throated grey warblers, common yellowthroats, and various sparrows can be found in the forest brush and wetland bushes,” adds the Washington Trails Association. Other wildlife such as the Pacific tree frog, deer and squirrels also call the park their home.
Repurposed Steel Tank Transforms Into New Public Art at Grass Lake Nature Park
The recent improvements also mean you can now appreciate new nature-themed public art along the park’s trails. The Grass Lake Public Art Project centered around a large 10-foot by 23-foot steel tank that was existing on the site, repurposed by metal artist Abe Singer for three sculptural elements titled “Recomposing.”
Singer re-used the tank’s steel to create a bird blind along the new boardwalk that enables visitors to view birds without being seen by them. And he utilized the steel to fashion two new elements as mushroom sculptures that welcome visitors to the Kaiser Road Northwest and Harrison Avenue Northwest entrances.
The three metal sculptures “fuse art with environmental stewardship” Singer’s website on the project explains. “Drawing inspiration from the natural surroundings and shaped by input from the local community—including students from Thurgood Marshall Middle School’s Citizen Science Institute—these artistic creations will highlight the park’s ecological and historical significance in a creative and engaging way.”
Grass Lake Nature Park Renovations Made Possible by City of Olympia and State Recreation and Conservation Office
The park’s renovations were made possible by the City of Olympia, along with a Washington Recreation and Conservation Office grant, and community input. The park is open year-round. The new Kaiser Road Northwest lot is the best place to park when traveling to the park by car, and you can quickly start your excursion on the trailhead there. A small gravel parking area at 814 Kaiser Road NW near the paved lot provides a couple additional spots. The new trailhead on Harrison Avenue Northwest, located near the Yauger Way Northwest cross street, does not provide parking. For more information, visit the Grass Lake Nature Park website.
Grass Lake Nature Park
700 Kaiser Road NW, Olympia (Parking lot)
