Dungeness River Nature Center — Attraction in Washington

Am I the only person who looked at the outside of the new Dungeness River Nature Center and felt that they "Paved Paradise & put up a Parking Lot"? The old Railroad Bridge Park was my favorite place to commune with nature. The river, the old trellis RR bridge, the sounds of nature, the summer days spent walking along the quiet dry rocky areas watching the currents and putting my feet in the little offshoot streams to cool them, all are a part of sweet memories of that place. I was happy when the Audubon Society helped the community build the nature center there. The short paved walkways were an okay addition, to make the river more handicapped accessible. I enjoyed biking on Discovery Trail to the bridge on the west side of the river. The parking lots were basically covered with gravel and cedar bark. The small open air lecture area was tastefully done and the salmon and nature art was cool and subtle. I attended the free evening lectures on birding presented at that old Audubon Nature Center that doubled as an indoor classroom and visitor center. It was unobtrusive and fit well with the riverbank. I could park and easily walk to enjoy a peaceful end to a long day of errands. Well, seems they took all that alway. The quiet farm and field is gone. The older trees are gone. The new ones planted in their place are in holes in the cement. The easy handicapped access is gone. Now that I use a cane due to arthritic knees, sadly the paved walk from the new parking lot to the bridge seemed cold, long and uninviting. Instead I felt like, "They took all the trees and put them in a tree museum and suggested donation is more than a dollar and a half.just to see "em."( Yeah, I know there are no expected donations here, but that may be next) To be fair, I haven't seen the inside of the museum yet. It was afterhours and the sun was about to set. I was just there to take a quiet walk, happy to have access to the river again. I'm sure the museum is an impressive place and the design was well intentioned, but I turned around and left with my eyes tearing. I walk part of the Dungeness Spit trail now when I want to enjoy Nature. "Well-intentioned People" still haven't ruined that for me yet. My gut reaction is that Nature doesn't need pavements, fancy walls, fountains or bigger parking lots to make people value it more and want to preserve it Naturally beautiful places need to be allowed to stay natural and be discovered by people, not exhibited in this grand manner. Once the initial shock wears off and I actually see the exhibits there, perhaps I'll write a more positive review. But it may take me a while to want to return, to what once was a very special...

Fantastic Sequim stop for families! Plenty of indoor and outdoor activities to do. Our 3yo and 7yo had so much fun they didn't want to leave.

Highly recommend taking the time to visit this modern educational center with thoughtfully curated content thanks to the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society. There's a lot to do packed into a relatively small footprint.

We watched birds from the cozy Wildlife Viewing Room using special telescopes, binoculars and aides by the extensive birding library.

Then we walked across the scenic Old Railroad Bridge over the Dungeness River (the new bridge wobbles slightly naturally--don't worry, it's not an earthquake!) The path extends far enough to make for a lovely stroll or bike ride and includes a thoughtful ramp, making it easy for anyone in a wheelchair or on a bike to access it from the center's parking lot.

In the back near the bridge are three picnic tables and outdoor wheelchair accessible restrooms, as well as a Cafe window that appeared closed for the slow season.

We then headed back indoors to explore the exhibit. There are helpers available to explain how it works, I recommend taking 5 minutes with them to listen to their orientation. Of particular note were the listening stations and salmon fry hatchery aquarium. Our 7yo loved the treasure hunt bingo game and it immediately got her engaged in exploring everything.

Our 3yo loved the interactive bird wing and microscope exhibit--you can pick them up and look at them under a microscope that you learn to adjust yourself. The gift shop features beautiful books from Pacific Northwest tribal authors.

What an unexpected gem! We will definitely be...

Grand open lobby with information counter, classrooms, wildlife museum and gift store. Your visit is free, but there is a friendly "donations accepted" spot. The display in the nature / museum room is phenomenal- has dozens and dozens of taxidermied PNW birds and mammals! Amazing and educational as all animals are numbered and identified. Raptors and owls are displayed "flying" overhead . They even have a bear, cougar, mink, otter and weasel. Fun for the whole family to see. You will need an hour to discover it all in an excellent natural habitat display . There is a well stocked gift store with many fun and educational items. In the lobby you can visit the small cafe for lattes, sparkling drinks, and various snacks and treats like blackberry coffee cake. Take it outside onto the large patio that has some small patio tables and benches, one with an umbrella. Past the patio is a walkway and bridge over to the Dungeness river. Great view! Separate Men and Women Restrooms inside the lobby are clean and gorgeous. We stayed an hour but wish we...