McLane Creek Nature Trail

Mclane Creek is a wonderful place, if it weren’t for the unruly people who let their dogs roam off leash. Every time I have visited, I witness dogs chasing wildlife, and three times I was startled by dogs racing around a bend and barking and lunging at me. I have had filthy dogs rub against me, making my clothes gross and dirty, and have gotten sprayed with swamp water that the dogs get soaked in as their owners let the chase ducks and baby geese into the water. The owners are callous and often either rude, or act like their dog is the grand exception to every rule.
It is really sad that this Habitat Reserve is open to dogs at all, but it wouldn’t be so bad if folks obeyed the leash law in the park. But 100% of the time, we encounter these awful dog owners that believe the rules apply to all dogs but theirs.
Because of this, we rarely go any more. When the people and their off leash dogs are exceptionally active, there is no wildlife to see anyhow, because they are hiding from the dogs and their jerkish owners.
When you get a few dozen people who genuinely think their dog is too good to be on a leash, you wind up with dozens of unruly and irritating encounters. That is Mclane Creek.

Cool nature walk. Went here as a child to take water samples and look at small bugs. Generally a small crowd and people out walking a dog or with their kids. That being said its been a good park.
However, just FYI a couple years ago there were 2 shady guys that followed us and when we tried to increase the distance or loose them they would keep up and keep watching us specifically. Clearly up to no good, we did manage to get back to the car and leave, they then followed us.
Honestly don’t know if this has happened to others, and i haven’t went back to check to see if there are still dudes hiding in the bushes. So social commentary aside, don’t go alone and watch out for kreepers.

A beautiful nature area with a pond, creek, and trails. From early November through mid December chum salmon come up the creek from Mud Bay by the thousands and are very visible from two viewing platforms. It’s close to Olympia and Evergreen State College and makes an easy lowland hike, especially in winter when higher areas are snow covered.