Northwest Wildlife Online
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Since I am a member of the Northwest Trek Wildlife Park Citizens Advisory Council I wanted to present a page and brag about this beautiful place. With more than 700 acres Trek is not only one of the most beautiful parks in the northwest it is probably the most unique. Like this website Trek is devoted exclusively to animals of the Pacific Northwest.
Located on Highway 161, 35 miles east of Tacoma, Northwest Trek is a publicly owned non-profit zoological park. More than 200 species are exhibited here, and all are displayed in natural settings that enhance the visitor educational and viewing experience.
Northwest Trek Wildlife Park is dedicated to conservation, education, recreation by displaying, interpreting and researching native Northwest wildlife and their natural habitats.
Northwest Trek is striving to become the premier native wildlife part in North America - recognized internationally as uniquely superior in its quality or display, conservation, education, and scientific research.
Summer or winter, Northwest Trek is a joy to visit. This beautiful bronze sculpture of a moose greets visitors at the entrance to the park. The photo at the bottom left is Dr. David Hellyer. "Doc" Hellyer and his wife Connie donated the land for the park to Metro Parks, Tacoma in 1971. From the original 625 acres donated by the Hellyers the park has grown by another 100 acres of surrounding woodland.
The single thing that makes Northwest Trek different from other zoological parks is the atmosphere of quiet, spacious peace that pervades the entire park. This is not a zoo jammed with displays. Enclosures are large; lovingly emplaced along a winding shady pathway that gives the feeling of a pleasant walk through a Northwest forest. Great Douglas Firs, Red Cedars, and Broadleaf Maples tower over visitors and muffle sound. A lovely nature walk branches off of the display area and leads the visitor deep into five miles of real Northwest woods. The calming effect is immediate.
But Trek's delights do not end there. Take the tram on a guided tour through the Free Roaming Area. Amidst 435 acres of ponds, meadows, and forests, visitors are treated to American Bison, Mountain Goats, Big Horned Sheep, Black Tailed Deer, White Tailed Deer, Moose, Elk, Caribou, Sandhill Cranes, and Trumpeter Swans. The tram is spacious and enclosed with huge windows ideal for photographers.
Here's a sample of the animals Northwest Trek offers:
Looking like a pre-pre-historic monster a larval Pacific Giant Salamander gives us the big eye. An endangered Western Toad peers from his enclosure in the Cheney Center.
A display you don't find in most zoos. On the left is an adult wolverine. Rolling around and playful as a kitten is a wolverine kit, born on Valentine's Day 2006 at Northwest Trek. This is the only wolverine birth in an American zoo that year. But this achievement was followed up in May 2007 by three more births, the little guys on the right.
And you have to love beavers, especially when they are just one week old.
Out in the Free Roaming Area a pair of elk get ready for the rutting season and a female moose poses for visitors riding the tram.
The pictures above are just a sample of what Northwest Trek has to offer. If you're tired of long drives to hot, crowded spaces visit Northwest Trek. Enjoy the day. Let your kids see animals in a native setting. Bring lunch and have a picnic in the covered picnic area or relax by the fireplace in our restaurant. It's a day you are going to love.
Birds Mammals Reptiles Amphibians Fish Invertebrates Library NWWOL Online Store
Mission Editor Bio Site Map Contact Wildlife Park Links Further Study Wild Employment Northwest Trek