The Capitol State Forest is a

state forest A state forest or national forest is a forest that is administered or protected by a sovereign state, sovereign or federated state, or territory (country subdivision), territory. Background State forests are forests that are Administration (gov ...

Thurston Thurston may refer to: Places Antarctica * Thurston Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Thurston Island, off Ellsworth Land United Kingdom * Thurston, Suffolk, England, a village and parish ** Thurston railway station United States * Thurston County, Neb ...

and

Grays Harbor Grays Harbor is an estuarine bay located north of the mouth of the Columbia River, on the southwest Pacific coast of Washington state, in the United States. It is a ria, which formed at the end of the last ice age, when sea levels flooded the ...

counties in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, used for both commercial

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucksBlack Hills The Black Hills is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk Peak, which rises to , is the range's highest summit. The name of the range ...

, is surrounded by various preserves and wildlife areas; it contains

Mima mounds Mima mounds are low, flattened, circular to oval, domelike, natural mounds that are composed of loose, unstratified, often gravelly sediment that is an overthickened A horizon. These mounds range in diameter from to more than ; in height to ...

geologic features and is the headwater for McLane Creek. Capitol State Forest is managed by

Washington State Department of Natural Resources The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages over of forest, rangeland, range, agricultural, and commercial lands in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The DNR also manages of aquatic areas which include sh ...

and considered

public land In all modern states, a portion of land is held by central or local governments. This is called public land, state land, or Crown land (Commonwealth realms). The system of tenure of public land, and the terminology used, varies between countries. ...

History

Prior to logging in the early 20th century, large old-growth trees up to in height and in diameter occupied the forest.

Geography

Capitol Forest is approximately bounded by

U.S. Route 12 U.S. Route 12 or U.S. Highway 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90 ...

to the southwest,

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

to the east and State Route 8 to the north. It roughly contains the

Black Hills The Black Hills is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk Peak, which rises to , is the range's highest summit. The name of the range ...

. The

Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve is a state-protected Natural Area in the southwest corner of Thurston County, on the outwash plain of the Vashon Glacier. It was established in 1976 to protect examples of mima mounds. The site comprises of ...

is directly east and units of the Scatter Creek Wildlife Area, such as the Black River Wildlife Area and Glacial Heritage Wildlife Area, are to the southeast. Cities and towns near its borders include Olympia,

Tumwater Tumwater is a city in Thurston County, Washington, United States. The population was 25,350 at the 2020 census. The city is situated near where the Deschutes River enters Budd Inlet, the southernmost point of Puget Sound; it also borders the sta ...

, Littlerock, Oakville, and McCleary.

Recreation

The forest is open to the public for

off-road motorcycles Off-roading is the act of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, dirt, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, or other natural terrain. Off-roading ranges from casual drives with regular vehicles to competitive events w ...

mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...

horseback riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the u ...

, and

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

McLane Creek

The forest contains the McLane Creek Nature Trail located in an eastern portion of the park. A flat, looping, with an additional extension, it contains a mix of boardwalks and natural pathways with wildlife viewing platforms. Visitors can walk to McLane Creek, the

headwaters The headwater of a river or stream is the geographical point of its beginning, specifically where surface runoff water begins to accumulate into a flowing channel of water. A river or stream into which one or many tributary rivers or streams flo ...

of which begin in the forest, and through

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

areas and

second growth forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused disturbances, such as timber harvest or agriculture clearing, or equivalently disruptive natura ...

. Visitors can view avian wildlife such as Canadian geese,

kingfishers Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species living in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

, and

mallards The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. It has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argen ...

and the creek is host to migrating

Chum salmon The chum salmon (''Oncorhynchus keta''), also known as dog salmon or keta salmon, is a species of anadromous salmonid fish from the genus ''Oncorhynchus'' (Pacific salmon) native to the coastal rivers of the North Pacific and the Beringian Arctic ...

, usually in December.

Mima Mounds

The forest includes

geologic features, located at the

Mountain biking

Several

Cross-country cycling Cross-country (XC) cycling is a discipline of mountain biking. Cross-country cycling became an Olympic sport in 1996 and is the only form of mountain biking practiced at the Olympics. Terrain Cross-country cycling is defined by the terrain on w ...

and

Downhill mountain biking Downhill Mountain Biking (DH) is a style of mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with ot ...

trail systems are maintained by volunteers throughout the forest.

Gallery

File:McLane Creek Nature Trail Pond - beaver dam pano 01 (cropped to square).jpg,

Beaver dam A beaver dam or beaver impoundment is a dam built by beavers; it creates a pond which protects against predators such as coyotes, alligators, cougars, foxes, eagles, wolves and bears, and holds their food during winter. These structures modify th ...

and

pond A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression (geology), depression, either naturally or artificiality, artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing ...

with boardwalk on McLane Creek Nature Trail, March 2019 File:Two people hike in Capitol State Forest along a recent clear cut 01.jpg, Two people hike along a recent clear cut, April 2025 File:McLane Creek Nature Pond 02.jpg, Beaver pond at McLane Creek Nature Trail, April 2022 File:Pond Loop, McLane Creek Nature Trail, Capitol State Forest, Olympia, Washington, June 24, 2025.jpg, McLane Creek Nature Trail, June 2025

References

External links

Capitol Forest Community WebsiteFriends of Capitol Forest volunteer organizationMima Mounds Natural Area Preserve
Washington (state) state forests Protected areas of Thurston County, Washington Protected areas of Grays Harbor County, Washington {{ThurstonCountyWA-geo-stub