Mima Mounds 5/18/26
I schlepped out past Olympia to see the camas. It is past peak now but I was still happy with what I saw. Photos include common camas, golden paintbrush, meadow deathcamas, shortspur seablush (the pink flowers in the background of the white camas shot), prairie violets (purple in aforementioned photo), and reindeer lichen (unsure of species). The lichen are rare in the area. The hike is a flat 2.7-mile loop but it showcases a very rare prairie ecosystem in Washington State and I think it’s worth it if you are interested in plants and birds. You need the Discover Pass to park and there is a shooting range that abuts the nature preserve. I’ve seen people complain about it, but I only started hearing gun shots at the end of my hike this morning, around 11am (on a Monday). The weekend is probably a bit louder.