Explore a CLT Preserve this Summer

If you’re looking for easy, free access to nature, we’ve got you covered.

Capitol Land Trust owns and manages four properties for public access, each with a unique conservation story. While Bayshore Preserve undergoes improvements this summer and fall, consider visiting one of our other preserves!

Capitol Land Trust’s Randall, Darlin Creek, and Hilburn Preserves are fully open, don’t require a pass, and each offers a peaceful trail, vibrant habitat, and a unique conservation story. Whether you’re a longtime supporter or just discovering our work, these preserves are here for you—to walk, wonder, and reconnect with the land.

Explore CLT’s Public Access Preserves

Randall Preserve

7 acres along marine shoreline in West Olympia

Randall Preserve is a small but mighty shoreline preserve in the southern part of Eld Inlet. It was first conserved in 1997 when Marjorie Randall donated a conservation easement—and later the property itself—to Capitol Land Trust (CLT). Restoration work began early, removing old infrastructure and invasives to bring native habitat back to life along this vital stretch of shoreline.

Today, Randall Preserve features lush vegetation and a short interpretive trail that tells the story of conservation and recovery. It’s one of several CLT-conserved lands in the lower Eld Inlet area—helping form a mosaic of protected shoreline and upland habitat. Settle in at the bench overlooking the inlet for a quiet moment in nature, just minutes from downtown Olympia.

Plan your visit to Randall Preserve

Darlin Creek Preserve

312 acres of forest, wetlands, and wildlife just outside Olympia

Protected in 2016 after a ten-year conservation effort, Darlin Creek Preserve is Capitol Land Trust’s largest public access preserve—and part of a larger network of conserved lands totaling 372 acres.

With shaded forest trails, birdsong overhead, and wetlands shaped by active beaver populations, this preserve offers a rich and refreshing escape into nature. It’s also a living example of ecological restoration in action. An invasive plant called scotch broom has been actively managed across the site, and a number of areas were replanted with native trees and shrubs between 2016–2017.

To improve habitat for salmon and other aquatic species, multiple culverts were removed from the preserve to restore natural stream flow and fish passage—reconnecting vital waterways throughout the system.

Visitors today can enjoy looped trail options, cross seasonal streams, and pause at restored wetland and forest habitat where amphibians, songbirds, and beavers thrive. Every visit offers a chance to witness nature’s resilience up close.

Plan your visit to Darlin Creek Preserve

Hilburn Preserve

10 acres along the banks of Goldsborough Creek in Mason County

Against the steady flow of Goldsborough Creek, Hilburn Preserve protects forested riparian habitat in a watershed where Capitol Land Trust has conserved a network of nearby properties. Though modest in size, this preserve plays an important role in the health of the watershed and the wildlife that depends on it—including salmon.

Situated downstream from other CLT-conserved lands, Hilburn is part of a larger system that supports salmon as they move through and rely on high-quality habitat at every stage of their journey.

Visitors are greeted by a handcrafted trail kiosk—built and installed by students from CHOICE High School, a nearby alternative school in Shelton. Their work reflects the preserve’s spirit of community and connection, and the power of engaging the next generation in conservation.

Hilburn Preserve is a serene spot to slow down and enjoy the rhythms of the creek and the surrounding forest.

Plan your visit to Hilburn Preserve

Find Your Place in Nature

While Bayshore Preserve undergoes temporary access improvements this summer, Randall, Darlin Creek, and Hilburn preserves remain open and ready to welcome you. While improvement work is underway at Bayshore Preserve this summer, sections of the preserve will be closed (see updates here). The preserve’s open areas are accessible through an alternate trailhead at WDFW’s Oakland Bay Recreation Area (3990 WA-3). Please note: this access point requires a Discover Pass. Be sure to check current access details before you visit.

Grab a friend, pack your water bottle, and discover your next favorite trail. Whether you’re here for solitude, birdsong, or a deeper connection to conservation, you can’t go wrong.

Find maps and directions to all CLT public-access preserves
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