Discover 20 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Olympia (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Tivoli Fountain, Winged Victory Statue, and Capitol Lake. Also, be sure to include Vietnam Veterans Memorial in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Olympia (Washington).
Table of Contents
Tivoli Fountain
The Tivoli Fountain is installed on the Washington State Capitol campus in Olympia, Washington, United States. Dedicated on April 15, 1953, the copper and cement fountain is a replica of the Roman-style fountain in Copenhagen's Tivoli Park.[1]
Winged Victory Statue
Monument in Olympia, Washington. Winged Victory is a World War I memorial in the U.S. state of Washington, which consists of four figures of uniformed persons atop a granite pedestal eclipsed by a fifth figure depicting the Winged Victory of Samothrace.
Winged Victory is located in front of the Insurance Building and adjacent to the Washington State Capitol in Olympia, Washington. Completed in 1938 by Alonzo Victor Lewis, it is dedicated to military personnel from Washington who died in World War I and is notable for its inclusion of a Red Cross nurse in the group of figures depicted.[2]
Address: Angle Dr, 98501 Olympia
Capitol Lake
Lake in Washington State. Capitol Lake is a 3 kilometer long, 260-acre artificial lake at the mouth of Deschutes River in Tumwater/Olympia, Washington. The Olympia Brewery sits on Capitol Lake in Tumwater, just downstream from where the Tumwater Falls meet the artificial lake. The Washington State Department of Enterprise Services manages the lake, as part of The Washington State Capitol Campus.[3]
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Veterans organization in Olympia, Washington. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial by Kris Snider is installed on the Washington State Capitol campus in Olympia, Washington, United States. The granite memorial was dedicated on May 25, 1987.[4]
Mima mounds
Mima mounds are low, flattened, circular to oval, domelike, natural mounds that are composed of loose, unstratified, often gravelly sediment that is an overthickened A horizon. These mounds range in diameter from 3 to more than 50 m; in height 30 cm to greater than 2 m; and in density from several to greater than 50 mounds per hectare, at times forming conspicuous natural patterns. Mima mounds can be seen at the Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve in Washington state.
"Mima" is a name derived from a Native American language meaning "a little further along" or "downstream".
Theories for the origin of Mima mounds include burrowing by pocket gophers; accumulation of wind-blown sediments around vegetation to form coppice dunes or nebkhas; seismic ground shaking by major earthquakes, though none have been observed to form Mima mounds; and shrinking and swelling of clays in hog-wallow or gilgai landforms.
Though the definitive Mima mounds are common in North America, it has not been shown that all North American mounds result from the same causes. Superficially similar phenomena occur on all continents, and the proposed causal factors do not occur in all regions that have been studied. Nor is it clear that all such mounds really are the same, either physically or functionally; for example, the so-called fairy circles of Southern Africa tend to be less mound-like and occur in different climatic and ecological conditions from mima mounds. Furthermore, it has been argued that the possibly distinct heuweltjies of the South Western Cape region of South Africa are of an origin far different from either.[5]
Heritage Park
Park in Olympia, Washington. Heritage Park is a 24-acre state-owned park adjacent to the campus of the Washington State Capitol, Capitol Lake and downtown Olympia, Washington.[6]
Address: 330 5th AVE SW, Olympia
Artesian Commons
Park in Olympia, Washington. Artesian Commons is a 0.2-acre park in downtown Olympia, Washington built in May 2014 around an artesian spring. It is described by the city as Olympia's first urban park.[7]
Address: 4th Ave, 98501 Olympia
Percival Landing Park
Park in Olympia, Washington. Percival Landing Park is a public park located in Olympia, Washington.[8]
Address: 217 Thurston Ave NE, 98501-1171 Olympia
Capitol Theater
Theater in Olympia, Washington. The Capitol Theater, at 206 East Fifth Avenue in downtown Olympia, Washington, was built in 1924. It was designed by architect Joseph Wohleb and has a capacity of 1,500. Since 1986, the Olympia Film Society operates the theater.
The theater suffered major plaster damage to the ceiling during the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, but has since undergone repair and has re-opened. The marquee, a 1940 addition, was removed in January 2008.
The theater played host to the International Pop Underground Convention, a punk and indie rock music festival in 1991, as well as the similarly themed Yoyo A Go Go in 1994, 1997, 1999, and 2001.[9]
Address: 206 5th Ave SE, 98501 Olympia
Hands On Children's Museum
Museum, Children's museum
Address: 414 Jefferson St NE, 98501-1124 Olympia
Du Pen Fountain
Fountain in Olympia, Washington. The Du Pen Fountain is a water fountain at the former Washington State Library building on the Washington State Capitol campus in Olympia, Washington, in the United States. The sculptor, Everett Du Pen, was well known in the Northwest, and chairman of the Sculpture Department at the University of Washington when he was commissioned for the piece in 1955. The fountain is made of 900 pounds of copper-enriched bronze, green terrazzo, and cement. An element of the fountain is a pair of salmon spitting water. The fountain, along with the nearby and much larger Tivoli Fountain replica, is shut down by the state property administration agency during summer droughts. The artist also created the Fountain of Creation at the Seattle Center for the 1962 World's Fair. The Seattle fountain is also nicknamed Du Pen Fountain.[10]
Puget lowland forests
Puget lowland forests is a temperate coniferous forest ecoregion the Pacific coast of North America, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund categorization system.[11]
Priest Point Park
Park in Thurston County, Washington. Priest Point Park is a public park located in Olympia, Washington. Established in 1905, it was the city's first waterfront park, providing access to the Budd Inlet of Puget Sound.[12]
Address: 2600 East Bay Drive Northeast, Olympia
Yashiro Japanese Garden
Garden in Olympia, Washington. Yashiro Japanese Garden is a Japanese garden located in Olympia, Washington, United States. Designed by Robert Murase and dedicated on May 6, 1990, the garden was created to symbolize the relationship between Olympia and its sister city of Yashiro, Japan.[13]
Address: 900 Plum St SE, 98501 Olympia
Tolmie State Park
State park in Thurston County, Washington. Tolmie State Park is a public recreation area covering 154 acres on Nisqually Beach on Puget Sound, eight miles northeast of Olympia, Washington. The state park includes 1,800 ft of saltwater shoreline at the mouth of a creek known as Big Slough as well as forest lands, a saltwater marsh, and an underwater park with artificial reef for scuba diving.[14]
Address: 77360 61st Ave, 98506 Olympia
Watershed Park
Park in Olympia, Washington. Watershed Park is a 153-acre temperate rain forest public park located in Olympia, Washington that supplied almost all the city's water from privately established wells in the late 1800s. The city acquired and operated the wells starting in 1917 until the 1950s when the municipal water source was replaced. In 1955 the forest was to be logged and the land sold but strong local opposition resulted in an ordinance preserving the area as a city park. Throughout, remnants of the waterworks are visible from the park trails.[15]
Address: 2500 Henderson Boulevard Southeast, Olympia
Nisqually Reach Nature Center
Museum, Nature and wildlife, Park
Address: 4949 D Milluhr Dr NE, 98516-2311 Olympia
Boston Harbor Marina
Outdoor activities, Sailing, Marina
Address: 312 73rd Ave NE, 98506-9771 Olympia
Olympic Flight Museum
Museum in Tumwater, Washington. The Olympic Flight Museum is an aviation museum at the Olympia Airport in Olympia, Washington, USA. The museum has more than 10 vintage planes and helicopters on display, most of which are in airworthy condition. The museum also hosts the annual Olympic Air Show, featuring a selection of heritage and current military aircraft demonstrations.[16]
Address: 7637 A Old Hwy. 99 SE, 98501 Olympia
Washington Governor's Mansion
Historical place in Olympia, Washington. The Washington Governor's Mansion is the official residence of the governor of Washington. The Georgian-style mansion is located on the grounds of the State Capitol campus in the capital city Olympia. It is on the crest of Capitol Point, with a view of mountains, Capitol Lake, and the city.[17]