Bloedel Reserve

Getting There:  Please Note: reservations are required to tour the Reserve, call (206) 842-7631 to make a reservation.  Allow at least two hours for your visit. The Reserve is located at 7571 NE Dolphin Drive on Bainbridge Island and can be reached by the Bainbridge Island ferry from downtown Seattle or via Agate Pass Bridge from the Olympic Peninsula.  It is open to the public Wednesdays through Sundays, except federal holidays, from 10:00am to 4:00pm, with 2:00pm being the last available reservation time.  Admission fees are $10 per person, $8 for those 65 & over, $6 for children (5-12) and $4 to qualified college/university horticulture, botany class groups and youth clubs (boy scouts, girl scouts, etc.) Children under 5 are admitted free. Credit cards, personal and traveler’s checks are accepted. Tour guides are available for groups with prior arrangement. Accessibility accommodations provided upon request.

Where to go:  From the Gatehouse you cross the fields to the south and enter the woods.  The path descends and you will catch your first glimpse of the Bird Refuge. You next walk into a dense Northwest forest, undisturbed except for access trails.  From the woods you enter into the residential landscape.   

Setting:    This Reserve contains second growth forest, where evergreens such as Douglas fir, western red cedar and hemlock dominate.  A bird refuge is also located on the property, where the water and plantings both attract and display birds. The residential landscape, with a European style landscape including man-made lakes, swans, and weeping willow includes a magnificent empress tree flanking the main facade of the house. There are also a Japanese, a Moss and a Reflection garden.  The Visitor Center, designed as a French country house, is located on a bluff overlooking Port Madison Bay near Agate Pass.  

Birds Commonly Seen: Great Blue Heron, Belted Kingfisher, Red Winged Black Birds, and various waterfowl use the water for nesting.  Ducks, geese and swans make their homes among the native sedges and ferns.

Restrictions:  There is no food service available nor is picnicking permitted. For their own safety, please leave ALL PETS at home. Vehicles with pets inside will not be permitted to park within the Reserve. 

For more information:  http://www.bloedelreserve.org/