I love this hike. I like going with a small trash bag to pull some trash out with me every time I go. The ghost town is Visited often with lots of muddy trails, bring a change of shoes. Today I went and the bridge in has been removed. Found an additional vault, still has the old hinges from the door.

With the full understanding of the concerns that have been raised with vandalism issues at this site and the courtesy of removing it for protection of the site and as a courtesy to surrounding property owners, there should be some clarification. A large portion of the original Bordeaux site is on private land. However a portion of the site is on DNR public lands and per WA state Title and Records is not restricted or designated an archaeological site. I will refrain form mentioning the parcel number or abbreviated legal. The property that is public land was acquired by the state in 1989 from Three Rivers Timber Company. Again it is not the intention of this post to refute the site should be protected, however accurate information and public land access should be reported accurately.

Per requests from private property owners and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Bordeaux Ghost Town is closed to the public. The location is a protected archaeological site that sits largely on private property. Because of this, and concerns over graffiti and excessive trash, the land managers request that people refrain from visiting the site. There are other nearby hiking options in Capitol State Forest, including kid-friendly Mima Falls or McLane Creek and the more challenging Mount Molly or Capitol Peak.

The road in is all paved and conditions were great. I was following the WTA app driving navigation through Apple maps and it took me past the trail head where there were cars parked near the buildings. The GPS did take me to another trail head and perhaps it all connects but I didn't try it today. The trail conditions were thick with mud, no joke - bring some high boots if you want to explore. I had a hard time knowing if there was an established trail here. We could see the bridge over the water easy from the car with minimal foliage due to winter. From there, muddy/rain filled foot prints went in all directions and since it was our first time we were unsure we hit all of the sites in the area. Navigating through the mud and flowing streams was challenging but with boots, gaiters and rain gear (plus trekking poles) we had a good laugh and enjoyed it. The area does have quite a bit of trash strewn about (mostly beer cans, empty bottles, and other misc trash) and lots of graffiti on the structures which is really too bad. Otherwise - interesting place to explore and reading about the history before hand.