Spring sees wildlife burst forth in numerous forms. Washington’s coastal waters, alpine forests and sagebrush-covered hills are home to mammals, amphibians, and more than 340 bird species. Nine whale types reside or migrate in Washington alone — including spring’s gray whale northbound migration.
Here are prime destinations for spring, along with a few options for overnight stays, organized hikes and festivals featuring our feathered and finned neighbors.
The Washington Audubon Society’s Great Washington State Birding Trail guide offers self-guided driving tours with stops along highways and byways, prime viewing seasons and full-color bird illustrations. You can get an idea online, but ordering trip-friendly paper maps from the Washington Audubon Society’s website is best. However, compare map directions with current road closures and updates.
Central-Eastern valleys wildlife road trip
This loop offers particular advantages once Highway 20 opens in late spring. East of the Cascades, you’ll descend into the Methow Valley, drive down to the Chelan Valley and Wenatchee, and return through the mountains via Leavenworth.
Spring birding destinations include the 400-foot-high Index Cliff, Wenatchee Confluence State Park and Swiftwater Picnic Area, where you can spot spring ospreys and other raptors. White-tail or migratory mule deer live in the mountains and valleys around the Methow Valley, and Lake Chelan hosts four designated wildlife areas.
En route, stay overnight in popular villages, including Western-themed Winthrop, family-friendly Lake Chelan and Bavarian-themed Leavenworth, which hosts May’s Leavenworth Spring Bird Fest.
Olympic Peninsula road trip
This Western Washington birding loop presents one of the largest populations of shoreline migratory and native avian residents — and is also popular with visitors from Washington and abroad. The Olympic National Park’s rainforests host many creatures found only in this pocket of Washington, including Olympic marmots and the Lake Crescent cutthroat trout, beetles, butterflies, moths and a tiny mollusk (the Keeled jumping slug).
Wildlife-rich Olympic Peninsula shoreline destinations include Lake Quinault and the Hoh Rainforest, but you’ll likely need to plan far in advance to stay in summer or on spring weekends. Well-known towns along the loop include Port Angeles, Port Townsend and Forks, and camping-friendly parks and lodges abound.
Eastern Washington road trip
Slice through Washington’s eastern edge, just north and south of Spokane. Eastern Washington’s hundreds of avians include wild turkeys and grouse, warblers and finches. Bickleton is the “Bluebird Capital of the World,” with thousands of mountain bluebirds residing nearby.
Natural habitats include rivers and wetlands surrounded by Eastern Washington’s dry basalt cliffs and plateaus, offering the option to bird by trail or boat.
Spokane offers a natural central base for exploration. The Spokane Audubon offers free birding field trips, taking visitors on local hikes to popular destinations like Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge.
Seattle and nearby road trips
Stay closer to home and enjoy more time to explore near Seattle, including Mount Rainier, the Kitsap Peninsula, and local islands like the San Juan Islands, where you can enjoy whale-watching tours.
Lesser-known birding destinations include Edmonds Marsh and Waterfront, Marymoor Park (where you can join birders on walks) and the Tacoma Nature Center, and Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. Edmonds hosts the Puget Sound Bird Fest in late May/early June.
Late spring and early summer animal-spotting destinations include Deception Pass State Park and Mount Rainier National Park. But for certain viewing of more than 40 native Northwest animals, visit Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, where you can take a tram through laid-back herds of elk.
Wine country and southwest Washington road trip
Take I-90 into fertile, sunny wine country. Alpine passes, wildflower-bright hikes and dry shrub-steppe canyons fill with the sounds of birdsong.
Notable stops where you might sleep include historic Ellensburg, which hosts the Get Intimate with the Shrub-Steppe event in May, celebrating Kittitas County’s feathered, furred and fishy residents. Or stay the night in foodie-friendly Yakima, mellow Richland or wine-centric Walla Walla.
Drive back toward I-5 through the Columbia River Gorge, which can be particularly delightful in spring when there’s a burst of wildflowers and migrating birds.
Beaches road trip
In spring, thousands of shorebirds are on the wing at Washington beaches — celebrated at the annual Gray’s Harbor Shorebird and Nature Festival at the end of April. When birds migrate again in fall, the Long Beach Peninsula offers the Wings Over Willapa festival.
Washington’s Pacific landscapes encompass estuaries, beaches, bays and wetlands. Watch for sea life in tidepools, birds nesting in offshore sea stacks and deer ambling through coastal forests. Head for popular destinations like the Long Beach Peninsula, or quieter Central Washington and Northern Washington beaches.
Western Washington Toyota Dealers Association is a group of 21 independent dealers formed over 35 years ago promoting Toyota vehicles and services in the greater Puget Sound region. Member dealers live and work in their home communities across Western Washington.