Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls | Living in Tumwater, WA

The Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls not only has a new name (formerly Tumwater Falls Park) but has a facelift and it is gorgeous! Locals enjoy the park but certainly, visitors from all over come here to tour the falls, trails, and the newly revamped fishery.

If you are thinking about moving to Tumwater and making Tumwater your home, contact me today, but in the meantime, check out the video from my visit of the Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls.

Where is the Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls?

Located along the Deschutes River in Tumwater, it is a 15-acre park next to the former Olympia Brewing Company, which brewed the famous Olympia Beer.

The park address is 110 Deschutes Way SW, Tumwater WA 98501.

The park is free to the public and there is ample free parking available.

What is interesting about this park is it is not a city or state park; it is owned by the private, non-profit Olympia Tumwater Foundation. Their upkeep and work on this park are amazing and you’ll definitely enjoy spending some time here.

The Falls

There are three cascading waterfalls to see along a half-mile hike along the river. The river swirls around massive moss-covered boulders and thunders down the narrow gorge. At the end of the trail, the mist from the third waterfall is welcomed on a hot day.

The Trails

As you explore the river and the falls, you’ll cross a couple of bridges, take some stairs and walk under a canopy of trees on the gravel paths. Along the way, you’ll see smaller “falls” in the hillside. You’ll also walk under a monumental bridge with sweeping arches.

The Salmon

On the same grounds, you’ll find the Tumwater Falls Hatchery. This project was just modernized and is worth a trip here. This project is to raise and release additional Chinook salmon to support the dwindling Killer Whale population, improve water quality, and provide education to the public about salmon and the environment.

Visitors can come face-to-face with the salmon with the new fish-viewing windows of the holding tanks. This is definitely worth coming back in the late summer/early fall to see the adult salmon. For today’s visit, I saw the baby Chinook salmon.

While on the trails, be sure to check out the massive fish ladders to help spawning salmon up the Deschutes River. And again, come back in the late summer/early fall and you can see the salmon jumping to get up the river.

The Falls Terrace Restaurant

Customers of the Falls Terrace Restaurant have a prime view of the park and the upper falls as they dine. Unfortunately, the restaurant is currently closed but stay tuned to when they open again as they offer not only great views but exceptional local, seasonal cuisine.

What’s Nearby?

Continue your park visit by going to the Brewmaster’s House (formerly the Henderson House Museum), which was built in 1905 for William Naumann, a brewmaster who worked at the Olympia Brewing Company. This home was very modern for the era as it had hot and cold running water and electric lights in each room.

Continue on to the Tumwater Historical Park, and wind your way along Capitol Lake, Marathon Park and to downtown Olympia and the waterfront.