Willapa Bay Salmon Trail: a boardwalk on the wild side

It begins with the gentle music of a stream, the perfect introduction to the treat of this small jewel of a trail.

Located at the headquarters office of the Willapa Bay National Wildlife Refuge just off Highway 101 near the Long Beach Peninsula, the recently completed Salmon Trail at Headquarters Creek offers a look at the interconnected ecosystem of the bay, and features the work of public art students from the University of Washington.

The trail begins with a winding, 300-foot boardwalk over the creek. Fully handicapped accessible, the boardwalk is just the spot from which to watch the glissades of bald eagles cruising overhead.

The boardwalk is also graced with 25 life-size bronze sculptures of the 13 species of amphibians found in the refuge. Consider the chorus frogs, so small two could nestle on a saltine, perfectly rendered, all the way to their tiny toe pads.

The Salmon Trail is at the headquarters of the Willapa Bay National Wildlife Refuge, on Highway 101 about 13 miles north of Ilwaco. Open 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays-Fridays (usually closed on weekends and federal holidays). It is open on weekends during the chum salmon return, approximately mid-October to mid-November, when volunteers staff the trail. You'll want to wear hiking boots or other closed-toe shoes with good support; wooded segments of the trail are steep.

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Or the giant rough-skinned newt, posed in the bold strut of an animal so toxic that just about anything that swallows it dies. A fat toad, sculpted with pinpoint, warty accuracy, reposes on a rock in bulge-eyed welcome.

Another sculpture depicts the many creatures that depend on the salmon, and that the salmon, in turn, are nourished by.

At the end of the boardwalk, the trail heads two-thirds of a mile steeply into the woods, up steps set into the hillside. The trees at the beginning of the trail swim with 50 life-size steel salmon silhouettes, a reminder of the fish that feed these forests with the gift of their bodies after spawning.

It's peaceful among the trees, with the path studded now and again with interpretive signs, indicating the tracks of animals that share these woods, from elk to black bear. A copper cover over the name of the animal allows hikers to guess at the track, then lift the cover to see if they are correct.

The quietest section of the trail, furthest from the highway, is home to a seating area. It is encircled by trees, and overlooks the creek, which saw a record run of more than 500 chum come back in 2003.