Beebe Springs Wildlife Area - River Trails — Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016

Central Cascades > Entiat Mountains/Lake Chelan

Getting out to stretch our legs while returning from the Methow we discovered this new wildlife area. The Washington Department of Wildlife manages this former orchard squeezed between Hwy 97 and the Columbia River. Acquisition of this land by the state occurred in just the past 10 years. It was a blustery late winter day that was trying it's hardest to pretend that it was spring. The surrounding hills are all but capped in winter's brilliant white and the river is still a steel grey. The ADA accessible trail winds north to south for a total of ~2 miles with many benches to watch migrating birds and other resident fauna. We found racoon tracks on the beach, trees felled by beavers, and tracks of visiting ungulates. Factories hum on the opposite bank of the Columbia and the spindly Beebe Bridge rises above the river to the south. Despite this, a fun little corner of our state is being created as a natural area for migrating birds, resident indigenous animals, and for us to watch them.