- Woodard Bay Natural Resources Conservation Area was designated by the legislature in 1987, one of the first in the state. A wildlife sanctuary that is just minutes from downtown Olympia, this 922-acre site protects habitat ranging from marine shoreline and wetlands to mature second growth forest. The site has a rich and varied human history that includes Native Americans, early settlers to southern Puget Sound and the logging and shellfish industries.
- Sholes Creek Falls (waterfallsnorthwest.com)
Sholes Creek Falls is sort of the big brother to nearby Wells Creek Falls. Sholes Creek plunges over a two-stepped waterfall in drops of 62 and 103 feet into a very deep amphitheater at the head of a gorge just above its confluence with Bar Creek. Framing either side of Sholes Creek Falls are huge pillars of volcanic rock rising well over 200 feet above the creek at the base of the canyon, one of which effectively blocks views of the upper tier of the falls itself from all locations where views are unobstructed.