Nisqually Reach Nature Center

Nisqually Reach Nature Center The Nisqually Reach Nature Center is a small non-profit focused on education and research. We are open Saturdays and Sundays 12-4 pm! Come check us out!

Volunteer opportunities and registration for camp and field trip programs are available on our website, nisquallyestuary.org. Inside the Center we have three saltwater aquariums with a wide variety of species from South Puget Sound including sea stars, sea cucumbers, shore crabs, fish, sea urchins, a huge fish-eating anemone, and much more! We're open to the public Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 p

m to 4:00 pm. Other exhibits include over 30 bird taxidermies, fossils, animal pelts, and much, much more. NRNC has been offering estuarine environmental education at Luhr Beach since 1982. Through the years, our emphasis has changed from general public outreach to our current focus on providing supplemental classroom, laboratory, and field trip opportunities for schools in Thurston and Pierce counties and beyond. In a typical year, upwards of 2,000 school kids, mostly in grades 5 through 12, visit the Nature Center with their teachers and parents. We also support and sponsor estuarine research opportunities for South Puget Sound college students. We perform a variety of research from the Nature Center within South Puget Sound. This includes forage fish surveys, pigeon guillemot surveys, and more. NRNC is the site proponent for the Nisqually Reach Aquatic Reserve and we help support related research and outreach. We receive use of our building through a cooperative agreement with the Washington Dept. of Fish & Wildlife, which also maintains a boat launch here at Luhr Beach. We are organized as a nonprofit corporation, with 501 (c) (3) status. We are governed by a board of directors with members drawn from the local business community, higher education institutions, and state resource management agencies.

06/06/2026
We see so many eagles out here at the Nisqually Estuary, but one of the best times to see them is during low tide as the...
06/02/2026

We see so many eagles out here at the Nisqually Estuary, but one of the best times to see them is during low tide as the tide is about to come in! Eagles will wait along the water channels as the water slowly rises to catch small fish and critters in the shallow rising waters!

Photos taken by one of our Board Members, Peter

Join us on Saturday, June 20th for a documentary preview, director Q&A, light refreshments, and some activities! We hope...
05/30/2026

Join us on Saturday, June 20th for a documentary preview, director Q&A, light refreshments, and some activities! We hope to see you there! It’s FREE!

Get a closer look at the upcoming feature-length documentary, FLIGHT PATH. Currently still in production, “FLIGHT PATH pulls back the curtain on the work of people who do the science and activism advocating for these species [Marbled Murrelet and Northern Spotted Owl]. Largely out of the public eye, these experts work day after day, season after season, to monitor and rebuild populations, fight for habitat protection, and educate the public. Through the lens of these birds and the people who struggle to save them, FLIGHT PATH explores the consequences of species decline and extinction in the twenty-first century.”

You can learn more about the documentary at this website: https://johnhelde.com/filmography/flightpath/

New bench!!! Thank you so much to Ayden and others from Troop 9222B, for donating a bench and building this awesome path...
05/27/2026

New bench!!! Thank you so much to Ayden and others from Troop 9222B, for donating a bench and building this awesome path at the Nature Center as part of his Eagle Scout project.

Come check it out next time you visit us for a quiet spot to take in the beauty of the Nisqually estuary!

Live music at Feast at the Reach?! Of course! Moss in Madrone is an indie-folk duo featuring amazing musicians and . Th...
05/14/2026

Live music at Feast at the Reach?! Of course!

Moss in Madrone is an indie-folk duo featuring amazing musicians and . Their rich harmonies and intertwining guitar and cello create a lush atmosphere and their music is an invitation to lean in, breathe deeply, and find beauty in the deliberate details of the world around us.

Soak in the lovely sounds at our Feast at the Reach fundraiser on Saturday, August 29th!

Tickets at the link in our bio, on our website, and below:
https://nisquallyestuary.ejoinme.org/MyEvents/FeastattheReach2026/Tickets/tabid/1590414/Default.aspx

05/11/2026

We get tired of that sparkly blue green shimmer…

If you could name this color, what would you call it?

We are so excited to announce that our guest speaker this year for Feast at the Reach is Maria Mudd Ruth! Maria has been...
05/10/2026

We are so excited to announce that our guest speaker this year for Feast at the Reach is Maria Mudd Ruth!

Maria has been a long time volunteer with the Salish Sea Guillemot Network and Nisqually Reach Nature Center, doing surveys of Pigeon Guillemots. She is an acclaimed author and wonderful community scientist.

Don’t miss out! Will we see you for Feast at the Reach?!

Tickets available at the link in our bio, our website, or below:
https://nisquallyestuary.ejoinme.org/MyEvents/FeastattheReach2026/Tickets/tabid/1590414/Default.aspx

Address

4949 D Milluhr Drive NE
Olympia, WA
98516

Opening Hours

Saturday 12pm - 4pm
Sunday 12pm - 4pm

Telephone

+13604590387

Website

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