Sign in with Facebook- Join for free
- Sign In
Sign in with FacebookLatest Olympia hotel reviews
Pro
Great coffee, close to Seattle, Portland and the mountains...
Con
Rain, rain and more rain....
In a nutshell
If you can handle 9 months of rain, you'll be rewarded with an incredible summer.
Visiting the Capitol and its Grounds
glabah Says: In the very early 1900s, there was a movement to create artificial and massive classical public works as part of the "City Beautiful" efforts. This era reached its pinnacle in such structures as the 1911 designed (and not completed until the late 1920s) Capitol Building in...
glabah Says: In the early 1980s Weyerhaeuser decided it was time to cease operation of its railroad between its properties in the Cascades foothills and Puget Sound. Parts of this railroad remained in operation into the 1990s, and one shop facility stayed open until around 2005.However,...
glabah Says: Olympia and Tumwater are cities that today essentially form one urban area. At one time downtown Tumwater was slightly south of Capitol Lake. However, much of what was once downtown Tumwater was destroyed over the years due to construction of what is now Interstate 5. The...
glabah Says: The above photo shows Capitol Lake from the trail that surrounds the northern part of the lake. To the left side it is possible to see the dome of the "new" (old) Capitol Building. The northern part of Capitol Lake and the forests surrounding the lake dominate this...
143 Opinions
158 Opinions
The Oyster House: Long Tradition of Sea Food
glabah Says: The building in which The Oyster House lives today has a long and storied history in the world of sea food. It was the original culling house for the Olympia Oyster Company, which harvested oysters from Budd Inlet and surrounding waterways starting in the 1850s. There are...
Plenty Restaurant - Downtown Olympia
Ewingjr98 Says: We had a late afternoon lunch at Plenty in Olympia while driving through the area. I'm not a fan of chain restaurants of any kind, and I had never visited the Capital of Washington, so we decided to drive through town and find a local place for some food. Plenty Restaurant...
Amtrak Station isn't in Olympia!
glabah Says: The best routing for intercity passenger trains between Portland and Seattle wound up not passing through downtown Olympia due to nearby hills. That was acceptable at first, since adequate train traffic existed on the branch line to meet the needs of Olympia.Unfortunately,...
Small Transit Service is Award Winner
glabah Says: While the resources for providing public transit in Olympia and surrounding areas are somewhat limited due to the population level and the sheer amount of sprawl all over any available piece of ground, Intercity Transit does a reasonably good job with what it has...
Olympia Farmer's Market: Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, Artwork, and More
glabah Says: Located in a section of town that was once part of the Port of Olympia, the Olympia Farmer's Market is housed in a new building that does honor to the traditional building practices of the old port side warehouses and related buildings. The market has been a part of Olympia...
Procession of the Species: Annual Celebration
glabah Says: Part Carnival Parade (in the South American sense), part environmental awareness campaign, part folk art festival, part sculpture show, and part costume party, the annual Procession of the Species is only part of a long event surrounding environmental education and...
Pockypuppy12 Says: I live in Olympia, I have read some of your reveiws, the houses are BEAUTIFUL! Plus downtown olympia is the only kind of gross place, there is the countryside!There are like 5 cupcake shops, and yes the water is a little icky in the Puget Sound, but all you need to do is...
Hazardous Water and Ground - Wash after Touching
glabah Says: Like much of the waters of Puget Sound, the area around Olympia suffers from heavy industrial contamination. Thus, if you have contact with the water or soil near the water, it is recommended that you wash whatever came in contact with the water or soil. It is best to not...
glabah Says: Percival Landing is the name for the area at the south end of the west bay, at the southern end of Budd Inlet. This is the more commercialized section of the Olympia waterfront, including the Olympia Yacht Club and the Port of Olympia (at the north end).A board walk, some of...
Chehalis Western Trail: Chambers Lakes Trailhead
glabah Says: As noted in my Chehalis Western Trail tip, this Thurston County trail network is fairly long, and covers places well outside Olympia. There are a number of places where the trail may be accessed, and a few more developed trailheads.The Chambers Lake Trailhead is one of those...
Woodard Bay Natural Resources Conservation Area
glabah Says: The official address of the Woodard Bay Natural Area is in Olympia, but its actual location is approximately 5 miles north of Olympia, and located close to the community of Boston Harbor. I have put a more extensive set of tips about this location in my Boston Harbor pages,...
glabah Says: While I have put this tip in the Olympia section, as that is the closest significant city, the fact is that Burfoot County Park is actually located in the small community of Boston Harbor several miles north of downtown Olympia.The biggest attraction here is the beach, which...
glabah Says: While the name of this location implies that it is a wildlife refuge, the fact of the matter is the reason this little area got preserved has probably more to do with the drinking water of Olympia, and the Olympia water pump station located on the property. Pets are not...
McLane Creek Nature Trail (Capitol State Forest)
glabah Says: The area that is called Capitol State Forest covers a huge area of land, from western Olympia west to approximately Elma and south all the way to Rochester. Thus, the area covered really needs to be split into multiple tips covering multiple different communities near the...
glabah Says: In 1991, artist Myrna Orsini went on a quest to visit every art museum in Europe. While she did not accomplish this specific goal, she did return home with an eccentric idea: why not build a place where artists can work, exhibit and live at the same time? While they might...
Has a nice 2 to 3 mile hiking trail through it's lush green woodland and a lovely shore
(Nisqually Beach) to walk on that over looks the lower portion of the Puget Sound. It's located near the city and is just a short drive, a good thing if you can't get out to the Olympic Peninsula or Mount Rainier. On some mornings you can sit on the shore and watch someone clamming with their dog, a very Northwest moment.
Equipment: None needed, the trail is easy.
Updated Oct 31, 2006
Website: http://www.parks.wa.gov
Sponsored Links
Welcome to Olympia - I actually grew up here, moved away for college, and then came back as an adult. It's a great place to live if you don't mind the rain. And if you come at the right time of year...
Olympia, the Capital City of Washington State
When we go to Oregon, we always passed by Olympia, the capital of Washington State. When we go to Ocean Shores or to Greatwolfe Lodge for a weekend getaway, we pass by the Capito, but we really never...
Along with being the capitol of Washington, the city has a number of smaller and lesser known activities. Alas, one of the more interesting ones, even for those who don't like alcoholic beverages,......
Tumwater Falls Park is a small urban park constructed by the old Olympia Brewing Company. The Brewery is now out of business but the park remains. The park, City and falls were named after a Chinook...
Olympia is a small city of about 50,000 people. Located at the southern most point on Puget Sound, it was the first city founded in Western Washington. The state capitol complex is located here,...
Build your own Olympia page
Sponsored Links
Comments