Capitol State Forest — Attraction in Tumwater

Capital State Forest is a large multi use area nestled West of Olympia. There are so many trails here you could walk for a week or more if you still desired. Today we walked out on the Rock Candy trail. You can get there via hey 8 out of Olympia. Just head from Olympia like you going to the Ocean. You will turn left off of hwy 8 at Rock Candy road. The trail head is right around the corner. During the winter and early spring is the best time to walk this trail. After April 30th ATV and dirt bike traffic is allowed on the trails, but most of the year you will see them breaking the rules. Not a Big deal since motors are noisy so you can hear them coming. The one thing I want to get across here for this entire forest, no matter where you hike, the signage is very poor and confusing. Make sure you pay attention to every road you cross. The map at the trail head is also very old and does not really show you all the roads you cross. The Rock Candy trail is a loop trail about 5.5 miles long. You start out going up for 1.7 miles. Its not too steep, but you will get a work out. At the top you get a nice view of the Was Dell Creek Basin below. Continue to the left on the logging road for about anmile, maybe a little less. Look for the Rock Candy trail to the left. Follow this and it I'll eventually take you back to the trail head. If you are looking for a longer hike head to the right at the top and follow the North Rim trail. This trail goes 30 miles around the forest. We walked about 20 miles through these woods and had a wonderful time. Lots of clear cutting here gives you awesome views of the...

I used to come here lots as a kid, it's just depressing the older I get to see the state the forest is in. Lot of younger folk here do not understand or appreciate what Capital Forest provided back then.

It's like a rugged Point Defiance Park that's 4x the size and logged. It seems so busy, even on weekdays, theres someone at every shooting pit or in your way on the road. But that's not why I'm giving this review. Urban sprawl is bound to happen.

I tried to bother going hunting and its just depressing bumping into beer cans, garbage, furnature etc dumped on the trails and deep in the forests. I'm trying to escape the city and enjoy nature but I cant stop asking myself what kind of loser spent their whole day coming up here, taking 12 garbage bags of stuff from their household to come here and sprew it around? Or, is there homeless out here and am I safe? The trash sits for a year too, when I revisit every few months I see the same refrigerator, car tires, including even bigger trash build ups.

I dont know if its allowed but have witnessed what looks like unauthorized people cutting down fauna and trees to clear and make trails later becoming dirt bike paths.

There are many beutiful patches of Capital Forest left but it's become a dirty city forest. The animal population over the years has been lacking and frustraiting especially when you bump into about 3-6 hunters in a day. But hey atleast you still come home to find some...

Fuzzy Top is several acre patch of Forest that did not get harvested and did not burn in the early 1900s or later forest fires. It is now in a preservation status. It's a patch of 'Old Growth' forest. Surrounded by recently harvested forest land. The Google Maps pin is not in the right place to get you to the trail head. Watch for markers along the road where there is a turnout. Oddly the trail to the summit goes down significantly before going up. It can be quiet and serene with all the moss and thick layer of duff muffling sounds. You may hear a Raven or more, but generally there aren't a lot of small birds on Fuzzy Top. Good views of the surrounding territory can be had here. The Google Pin is closest to a short road to harvest landing. You'd have to make your way through a bunch of brush to make it to the summit from this point. Accessing from the Bordeaux Entrance leads passed an area of very well mossed trees that appear rather eerie in the fog/low clouds. The road may not be suited for passenger cars, there are few turnouts for passing...