Nature is calling you. To fun. To adventure. To an enchanting forest filled with amazing animals to see and learn about.
Nature is calling. And Northwest Trek Wildlife Park is answering with exciting adventure-filled days that enthrall adults as well as children.
The 725-acre wildlife park near Eatonville is just a short hop from most places in the Puget Sound region. And it’s well worth the drive.
Hop aboard a comfortable, heated tram for a naturalist-narrated tour through forests and meadows that are home to American bison, the national mammal; elk; caribou; bighorn sheep; moose; deer and a variety of other animals. All roam free in 435 acres of stunning meadows and forest through which your tram will wind. Many animals get so close you can see steam rising from their nostrils, hear their grunts and bugles during the fall mating season, and watch mothers tending calves, lambs and fawns in the spring and summer.
Walk paved pathways through the forest and stop to view native Northwest animals like black bears, gray wolves, foxes, Canada lynx, bobcats, river otters, beavers, wolverines and other animals in natural habitats.
And when the kids need to expend a little energy—or just have some fun—they can spend minutes or hours exploring Kids’ Trek, the half-acre, $1.9 million nature-inspired playground that opened in 2016. Toddlers to ’tweens have a blast climbing up and down rope nets and ladders, playing in the replica of a two-story-tall hollowed-out tree stump, splashing in a stream, constructing imaginary forts, building sand castles, whizzing down three different slides, and playing make-believe in kid-sized log cabins.
All of these activities are free with admission or membership to Northwest Trek, which is a recognized leader in the conservation of native Northwest animals.
Want even more adventure? Register for one of the Zip Wild zip line/challenge courses at nwtrek.org/zipwild. There is an added fee for these thrills. More than 50,000 people have tested their mental toughness and physical agility on these courses over the last five years. They are open to ages 5 and up and sized for various ages and abilities—with two of them soaring more than five stories into the tree canopy.
So spend the day in awe. Nature is calling. And Northwest Trek is the easy-to-enjoy answer. KRIS SHERMAN
Northwest Trek Wildlife Park
11610 Trek Dr E, Eatonville
360.832.6117
nwtrek.org