The Bloedel Reserve – Bainbridge Island, WA

Are you traveling to the Pacific Northwest / Seattle area for a vacation? If so, you owe it to yourself to hop on the ferry to Bainbridge Island and take a short scenic drive to the Bloedel Reserve. My wife and I had a fantastic time there this past weekend and I wanted to share some details about our trip.

First, I must say that I was skeptical about the Reserve. Admittedly, I didn’t know what it was, how long we’d be there or what we’d do once we got there. I guess I figured i’d see an old house and some pretty manicured lawns. Well, I did see those things and much more, including sprawling meadows, a Japanese garden, a very cool reflection pool, several waterfalls, the largest weeping willow tree you’ve ever seen as well as deer.

First, some details as to what the Reserve is all about.

The Bloedel Reserve is a 150 acre garden created by Prentice and Virginia Bloedel. They were conservationists who loved the style of Japanese gardens but wanted to bring to them a western flair. Although there is a definite Japanese inspiration, in the form of the choice of trees, flowers and even water features, there are many different styles at play all throughout the reserve. Sometimes you will feel like you are in a meadow, others in a rain forest.

Meadow Entrance to the Bloedel Reserve

When you first start on the path you will find yourself in a meadow. It is actually very easy to find your way around – simply stick to the well defined path. Before long, the bright and open meadow is swallowed up by a dense forest. There are huge trees, covered with moss, as well as all types of interesting plants. I often took photos looking directly up into the tree canopy (which incidentally was very high up) to catch rays of sunlight creeping through the leaves. I figure that the temperature inside of the forested area was about 10 degrees or more cooler than out in the meadowy section.

Forest Canopy inside the Bloedel Reserve

One really cool thing I should mention about the Bloedel Reserve is that visiting is by reservation only, and they only allow a certain number of people in at a time. Why is that cool? Privacy! You can walk these trails, take pictures and normally not see another soul. The seclusion was really amazing – you felt as if you were discovering all of these really cool hidden gems (streams, lakes, ancient looking trees, etc).

Eventually if you follow the trail, you’ll come to a bridge and a boardwalk. The bridge crosses over a stream, although it was heavily concealed under plant growth. The boardwalk actually crosses over wetlands and was put into place so you could experience the different types of plants that grow in a more swampy condition without disturbing anything.

Boardwalk through The Bloedel Reserve WetLands

Shortly after the boardwalk area through the wetlands you will enter a vast, open meadow with a pond and a gigantic weeping willow tree (pictured at top of this post and below). It might sound silly but this was a breathtaking moment for me. Up until then, I’d been walking on trails in the deep woods. I likened it to the part in Goonies where the kids had been traveling through dank, dark passages only to find themselves in a giant cavern with a pirate ship and gold. It just wasn’t the type of thing I was expecting to see as I rounded a corner – very cool.

Weeping Willow, Pond and Mansion at Bloedel Reserve

Here is where I am going to stop. I don’t want to spoil everything about the Bloedel Reserve. Suffice it to say, this wasn’t the end of the spectacular sights. My wife and I even saw 2 deer walking freely, which was a real treat. I posted some pictures of other sights from the Bloedel Reserve on my link blog if you’re interested in seeing more.

Have you been to The Bloedel Reserve? Let me know what your favorite part was!