Enjoy a ‘winter wildland’ at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park

The air is crisp, the sun is peeking through the clouds, and Mount Rainier stands tall and majestic in the distance. You're on your way to a tranquil forest filled with howling gray wolves and eagles screeching in Eatonville, Washington. When you arrive, you walk into a Winter Wildland. It's the perfect start to a day filled with the magic of nature.

Northwest Trek Wildlife Park's Winter Wildland event returns Dec. 26- Jan. 1 from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Guests can watch in delight as native Northwest animals enjoy holiday-themed treats and enrichments, like cardboard gingerbread houses, paper chains, and even Christmas trees. All the enrichments are thoughtfully crafted by staff, are holiday-themed, and filled with meatballs, veggies, chopped fruit, or other yummy items to encourage bears, bobcats, gray wolves, and others to explore and investigate.

Be sure to catch these special keeper chats:

• Woodland animals: 11:30 a.m. daily

• Carnivore animals: 1:30 p.m. daily

Winter Wildland activities are included with admission to the wildlife park. Sip hot chocolate from the café while you watch the little ones in your group burn off some energy at the Kids' Trek nature-inspired playground.

For an added cost, book a Wild Drive or Keeper Adventure Tour through the serene winter stillness to spot elk, deer, bighorn sheep, moose, mountain goats, bison and other native Northwest animals wandering through the 435-acre Free-Roaming Area. Both premier tours include admission to the walking area of the park.

To learn more about Northwest Trek, visit nwtrek.org.