Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Wildlife Week – Day6: Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Fernhill Wetlands 05/02/2025

Originally I had planned to do my hike at Finley Wildlife Refuge (post) on the Friday of Wildlife Week, but going into the week the forecast called for rain showers. I rearranged the order to move Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Fernhill Wetlands to Friday morning feeling in hopes that I could finish these hikes before 11am when the showers were forecasted to start. By the end of the week the chance of showers had been replaced by mostly sunny skies.

We visited Wapato Lake in February 2024 (post) and had enjoyed the short hike. Located in Gaston, OR the trailhead is just under an hour from Salem. A paved path leads to a footbridge over Wapato Creek and then dikes lead right for 2 miles and left for 0.6. We hadn’t done the full 2-miles to the right in 2024, so I started with that section then hiked to the end of the 0.6-mile section before returning to the car for a total of 5.6-miles with virtually no elevation gain.

All trails are open from February 1st through September 30th, then from October 1st through November 30th the final 1.3-mile stretch to the right (south) is closed, and there is no hiking allowed during hunting season from December 1st to January 31st.

There were a lot of ducks, geese, and herons at the lake along with smaller birds in the surrounding trees.
Geese

Osprey

Killdeer

Meadow checker-mallow

Wood ducks

Northern shovelers

Ducks, geese, and a heron.

Scrunched heron

Stretched heron (same heron)

Sparrow

A different heron and a duck.

Yep, it’s a nutria.

Spotted sandpiper

One of several benches located along the dikes.

American coot

Gadwall

Dove

Crow

American kestrel

Swallow

Cinnamon teals having a disagreement.

End of the trail to the south.

View from the end of the trail.

Wood ducks

Robin

Short billed dowitchers

Green winged teal

Hooded merganser and a gadwall

Ring-necked ducks

Heading to the left (NNE) now.

Red-winged blackbird

Egrets, herons, and ducks.

Great blue heron and egret

Cinnamon teal and northern shoveler

Hooded mergansers and a cinnamon teal

Northern shovelers and a northern pintail on the right.

California quail

End of the trail in this direction.

One thing to note is that the bathroom is currently closed due to budget shortages. Other than that, this was a great hike with a nice variety of wildlife and no other people.

From Gaston it was just a ten-minute drive to Fernhill Wetlands.

We had also been here in February 2024 (post), but not on the same day as Wapato Lake. I did virtually the same route today as on that trip which is described in detail in that trip report.
My 3.3-mile track with minimal elevation gain.

The wildlife was sparser here than it had been on our previous visit, but there were a few species about. I also saw my fourth and fifth Bullock’s oriole of the week. Every one of these I’ve spotted have been while flying past me with their bright orange feathers flashing momentarily only to disappear into a tree or bush. I did have some more cooperative subjects though including the first hummingbird of the week.
Swallow

Osprey

Killdeer

American coot

Mallard

Anna’s hummingbird

A bit of the pink on it’s throat.

Ring-necked ducks
Bald eagle

Gadwalls

Song sparrow

Purple martins

Pied billed grebe

Mallard and ducklings

Mallards

Fringecup

Rabbit

Sandpipers

Ground squirrel

American goldfinch. I’d seen a number of these this week but had only managed a picture of the back of one at Finley Wildlife Refuge.

This was another fun morning of looking for wildlife, but my feet and legs are more than happy that there is only one day of Wildlife Week left. The plan is for Heather to join me on the last hike, and we are hoping to check out a couple of waterfalls before stopping at Fern Ridge Wildlife Area west of Eugene. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Wapato Lake NWR and Fernhill Wetlands

Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge – 02/10/2024

While we didn’t have another hike scheduled for February a decent forecast was too much to pass up. We were looking for something nearby (less than an hour from Salem) on the shorter side that would be more of a leisurely stroll than a hike. We decided it would be a good day to check out the Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge . Originally added (2007) as part of the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge (post) the Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge was designated in 2013. Eight years later the refuge was opened to public use and now has approximately 2.85 miles of trail. The trails are currently open from Feb 1st through Nov 30th each year (note the 1.3-miles of natural surface is closed to hiking starting Sept 1st). Also of note is that during periods of heavy rains the access trail may become flooded, but the Refuge website has a link to the USGS Monitoring Tool where you can easily check to see if the creek’s level is over 7.5 feet.

The trailhead is adjacent to Brown Park in the city of Gaston, OR and includes two ADA parking spaces and a restroom. What it lacks is signage from Highway 47. The parking area can be accessed from that highway or via Onion Lane by turning South off of E Main Street/SW Gaston Road. A paved trail begins at an informational signboard where you can also pick up a brochure.

It was a little cloudier than we’d hopped as we set off on the paved path. We followed the path to a footbridge over Wapato Creek to the levee that partially surrounds the lakebed. We faced a choice of heading left for 0.6-miles or right for up to 2-miles. Another person had just turned left so we opted to go right.

We were a little confused by the sign on the left here stating the trail was closed. The website and signboard had said nothing about a closure and the gate at the far end of the bridge was open and others were already out on the levee. We assume they just hadn’t taken the sign down after the seasonal closure period.

Pointers on the levee.

Nutria (sigh). We had hopped it was a beaver but alas the whiskers give it away.

Geese, several species of ducks, and some shore birds.

From the bridge to the right the levee’s surface is good gravel. We took our time as we strolled south trying to discern which types of ducks we were seeing.
A great blue heron along Wapato Creek.

Great blue heron

Wapato Lake

Beaver lodge

Northern shovelers and an American wigeon

Of course we forgot to bring binoculars making it even harder to make out which types of ducks were out there.

Ring-necked ducks with an American coot in the background.

Ring-necked duck and northern shovelers

Reflections in Wapato Lake

There is virtually no shade along the lake which wasn’t an issue today but could be in the heat of Summer. There are however three benches along the levee allowing for a place to sit and watch the birds.

Lesser scaups

Ducks flying over the lake.

Old bridge over Wapato Creek. The gravel surface ended at this bridge.

After 0.7 miles of gravel the levee continued as a natural surface. The unevenness of the natural surface was a stark difference to the gravel.

We continued on the natural surface another three quarters of a mile to a gate at another old bridge. Across the lake we could see some tundra swans which were a first for us, and we startled a coyote that raced off through the brush along the lakebed.

The coyote running off through the brush.

Tundra swans

We decided to turn around at this bridge even though the levee continued. It appeared that the water was further away from the levee going forward and we hadn’t planned on going much more than 3-miles today.

We were hoping that the partly sunny skies that had been forecast would make an appearance as we made our way back, but that never happened. Nevertheless, we were enjoying trying to identify the different ducks and birds we were seeing.
Northern pintails and some green-winged teals.

American wigeons and a pair of green-winged teals.

There were a couple of times that blue sky seemed imminent.

Buffleheads

Iowa Hill (post) across the lake.

More buffleheads

Immature bald eagle

Sparrow

Horned grebe

Canvasbacks, another first for us.

Great blue heron on the osprey nest.

Ther heron on the nest.

When we arrived back at the bridge over Wapato Creek we stayed straight on the level and followed the gravel path north 0.6-miles to a gate where we turned around and returned to our car.

Mallards

Red-winged blackbird

Bald eagle

Nutria

Gaston from the refuge.

Green-winged teals

Northern pintails

Mostly American wigeons and green-winged teals

On the paved path back to the parking lot.

We wound up going a total of 4.8-miles (according to both our GPS units) which was a little further than we’d planned, but we got to see a lot of wildlife without much effort on the level trails.

This was an enjoyable visit and given its relative proximity to Salem one that we’ll likely revisit down the line. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge