Mima Mounds Trail is a 2.6 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near Olympia, Washington that features beautiful wild flowers and is good for all skill levels. The trail is primarily used for walking, running, nature trips, and bird watching and is accessible year-round.
SEASONAL CLOSURE: This area is subject to seasonal closure due to weather conditions. For more information, please visit https://www.dnr.wa.gov/Capitol. A Discovery Pass is required to enter Capitol State Forest. Off-road vehicle users and horse-back riders can use Capitol State Forest Trails from May 1 - November 30 only. Mima Mounds are a natural prairie land of puzzling mounds that have baffled scientist and geologists for years. They are definitely worth a look if you're in the Capitol State Forest area. The mounds are the major attraction with a couple of kiosks that explain the possible reasons for their existence. There are a couple of loop trails to take you through the area that are paved. There are also side trails (unpaved) where you can walk around the mounds and experience them, as well as the wildflowers, up close and personal. Accessibility: There is 1 designated handicapped-accessible space in the small paved parking lot off of Waddell Creek Road SW at the north end of the trail. It is van-accessible with a striped access aisle. There are wheelchair-accessible restrooms at the trailhead. The trail surface is paved (asphalt, wooden boardwalk) or natural surface (dirt, rock, and grass) and ranges from 3 to 6 feet wide. The most accessible portion of the trail is the 0.5 mile, ADA-compliant and smoothly paved, loop. The estimated grade is gentle (3% or less). Where the pavement ends has been marked with a waypoint. All-terrain tires or motorized equipment may be needed for the surface type past the initial loop.
Large Parking Areas, a restroom and interpretive kiosks with viewing areas of the mounds.
To get there, take I-5 South to Exit 95 the Littlerock/Maytown exit. Follow Maytown Road through Littlerock as it turns into 128th Street for 3.7 miles to a T-intersection. Take a right at the T. You will see the sign for Mima Mounds. Continue about 3/4 of a mile and turn left into the signed entrance to the Mima Mounds.
February 28, 2021Beautiful! Especially nice during summer evenings!
February 27, 2021"it's so weird!"
February 27, 2021Close to shooting ranges (too close). Can see Capital Forest peaks. Interesting geology behind the mounds.
February 19, 2021Very nice trail! Very few people and not too cold. No dogs on this trail though.
February 11, 2021Very easy trail. Kid friendly. Sunset was beautiful.
February 1, 2021A great trail for me and the kids (between 2yrs and 11yrs). Even as it POURED down rain, it wasn't muddy (1/31). Nicely maintained. love the long trail or short cut option.
January 18, 2021December 27, 2020Lots of gunshots on the weekend but still a cool hike.
December 6, 2020I loved this trail! There was a lot of dog poop on the trail and graffiti on the building. But the trail itself was great!! We will be back
December 5, 2020November 27, 2020Unique setting of unexplained geo features, beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
November 27, 2020Just some mounds of dirt in a flat field.
November 14, 2020You can listen to Nick Zetner on youtube talk about how the mima mounds formed about 15,000 years ago and how there's other mima mounds in eastern WA, eastern Or, and Mississippi Plains.
November 7, 2020October 10, 2020Came out to see the mounds and collect an earth cache (geocaching) - great trail, interesting history.
September 5, 2020September 5, 2020August 23, 2020The trail is pretty, but the constant gun shots from the range nearby are really annoying.
August 13, 2020July 25, 2020my personal opinion- kind of boring. I mean, after 5 minutes of reading about the mounds and going through a couple there's really not much to see and no scenery change for the 3 miles. not my cup of tea, I think I'll stick to the forest and river trails. oh- and lots of bugs, which I didn't mind, but just beware. It was alright, but not a trail I'll do again. We were the only ones there when we got there early Saturday morning, but by the time we left there were quite a few people. If you want to avoid people then go right when it opens
July 23, 2020I went for a walk with a friend that needed the ADA path and it was a nice trip out to Mima Mounds. It was a short trail so we looped it twice. Great day and really nice my friend could enjoy the outdoors!
July 3, 2020Flat easy walk and a couple of different loops you can take. Great signage at the start explaining the mounds. Mounds abound!
June 29, 2020June 27, 2020beautiful flowers
