Where to skip lines and get outside this Black Friday
The day after Thanksgiving, retail stores will of course be offering deep discounts and limited-time promotions. But if you’d rather follow the lead of outdoor retail giant REI — which, since 2015, has closed its doors on Black Friday to #OptOutside — options are just as plentiful.
The state is stocking lakes with prize catches, birds and salmon are out for the watching, Olympia’s ice rink is up and running, and local outdoor enthusiasts provided The Olympian with recommendations for peaceful walks and challenging hikes.
Fishing lines, not check-out lines
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife is “offering anglers tight lines rather than long lines” by stocking lakes with big rainbow trout ahead of Black Friday. The trout average 15 to 16 inches in length and could weigh up to 3 pounds, according to a department news release.
Black, Long, and Offut lakes in Thurston County will be stocked — anglers can check the department’s catchable trout plant reports online for details on the size and number of fish that have been introduced per lake in recent stocking.
The department has been doing this for the past few years around this time as an opportunity for people to get out, make memories, and enjoy the outdoors, according to Steve Caromile, WDFW warmwater fish program manager.
“This is just giving people that are off on their Thanksgiving break a time to stay away from the malls and away from shopping,” Caromile told The Olympian. “To get out and spend some time with their family.”
Anglers need to be 15 years or older and have a current Washington freshwater fishing license valid through March 31 of next year to participate, according to the department’s news release.
Licenses can be purchased by phone at 866-246-9453, at https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov, or at a license vendor. Vendor locations are available on the department’s website: https://wdfw.wa.gov/licenses/dealers.
Bird watching, not price watching
Thousands of ducks and cackling geese are at Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge daily, wildlife biologist Ryan Munes told The Olympian, and 16 tundra swans were spotted there earlier this week.
The refuge isn’t having any special events on Black Friday, but trails will be open from sunrise to sunset and the visitor center will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Munes confirmed.
Renovations that closed a portion of the refuge’s boardwalk trail recently concluded. During the closure, the trail was down to about 2 miles round trip. Now, it’s back to its full length of about 4.5 miles — except for the last 700 feet, which are closed through Feb. 2 because of waterfowl hunting, according to Munes.
The Estuary Boardwalk Trail is fully accessible to anyone using a wheelchair. The website advises that pets aren’t allowed, and estuarine bird species are most visible within two hours of high tide.
One last tip from Munes: Bring binoculars.
Ice skates, not long waits
The Oly on Ice skating rink opened for its second season at the Isthmus Park in downtown Olympia last Friday.
On Black Friday, the temporary attraction is open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Parking is free to the public at the lots east and west of the rink — and, since the city lists the day after Thanksgiving as a city-recognized holiday on its website, any on-street-parking is free downtown.
General admission plus skates is $12. If you bring your own skates, it’s $9. Discounts are offered to youth, seniors, military, foster kids, and first responders.
Salmon and trails, not sales
Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail, off U.S. Highway 101 between Olympia and Shelton, will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Black Friday. While there aren’t any special events that day, salmon-viewing opportunities are “still very good,” trail coordinators Cole Baldino and Jerilyn Walley wrote in an email to The Olympian.
“There are lots of freshly returning chum to the system this year as the water has been so low, it seems they are coming in slower or waiting in the estuary for more rain,” the coordinators wrote.
According to the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group’s website, access to the trail is free, and dogs aren’t allowed on the trail. It’ll be open to the public this weekend and next — Dec. 1 is its last day this year.
In an email to The Olympian, Deb Nickerson, communications chair at the Black Hills Audubon Society, suggested watching salmon spawn at McLane Creek as another option for spending the day outdoors.
While the local Audubon Society chapter doesn’t have any field trips scheduled for Black Friday, Nickerson recommended taking a walk at Darlin Creek, Black Lake Meadows Reserve, or from the Deschutes River by Tumwater Historical Park to Percival Landing.
She also suggested biking the Chehalis Western Trail or the Willapa Hills Trail.
“Quiet walks, stopping to observe the birds, plants and wildlife with family and friends, helps make holidays more special,” Nickerson wrote.
If an intense hike is more your style, Douglas Hansen, secretary and communications chair of the Olympia branch of The Mountaineers, has some suggestions that may require a bit of a drive.
“For this year, we’ve had such a dry November, I would suggest catching any number of hikes in the Olympics,” Hansen wrote in an email to The Olympian. Hansen recommended these hikes, sorted by difficulty:
Easiest
- Lena Lake
- Mima Falls
More difficult
- Marmot Pass
- Valley of the Silent Men (toward The Brothers in the Olympics)
- Mount Townsend
Most difficult
- Wagon Wheel Lake
- Mount Rose
- Lake of the Angels
- Mount Ellinor
When asked for broad hiking advice, Hansen wrote to always carry the “10 essentials” and research the hike, conditions, and weather. He also suggested hikers tell someone where they’re going and when they expect to be back.
The 10 essentials he referenced are navigation, headlamp, sun protection, first aid, a knife and repair kit, the ability to start a fire, shelter, nutrition and extra food, hydration and extra water, and extra clothing, according to a Mountaineers blog post.
Nov. 29 is also a State Parks “free day,” so no Discover Pass will be required to visit Washington’s state parks, according to the parks website.
Free days only apply to day use, and a Discover Pass will still be required to get to lands managed by the state departments of Natural Resources and Fish and Wildlife, according to the website.
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