Why Ridgefield's Refuge Wants You in Your Car Until May

Today, October 4, is the last day of the walking season at the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. Starting tomorrow, October 5, you can no longer walk the Carty Lake and Kiwa trails, and you can't walk the River S Auto Tour Route either. The route itself is still open to cars. The walking season normally ends September 30. This year it ran through October 4, partly because the city kept Carty Lake and Kiwa open an extra day for BirdFest & Bluegrass on October 3.

The timing can seem backward. The refuge limits people most during the months the Friends of Ridgefield NWR bird list marks sandhill cranes, tundra swans, cackling geese and northern pintails as common. The rules are what make the viewing work. From now until the end of April, the best way to see the refuge is through your windshield, driving slowly.

What changes tomorrow

On the four-mile auto loop, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lets you out of your car in only three places through April: the entrance kiosk, the restrooms and the viewing blind. The speed limit is 15 mph, pull-offs are for stopping, and pets stay inside the car. Entry costs $3 a day or $15 for an annual refuge pass, and visitors 15 and under get in free. The refuge's location page lists gate hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Gates follow daylight, so check the posted times on the day you go.

If you drive the loop more than four times between now and April, the annual pass costs less than paying daily.

The car does the refuge's job

FWS explains the vehicle-only rule on its own auto tour page:

"These animals and others do not often recognize a slow-moving vehicle as a threat. Most of the time they will allow vehicles to pass, or even stop, without taking flight. Seeing a human form however alerts them to a predator nearby and forces them and others to take flight, using much needed energy."

The refuge describes itself as a resting and refueling stop for migrating ducks, geese and swans, and for the threatened sandhill crane. A bird that flushes every time someone walks by burns energy it needs to get through the winter. FWS lists that disturbance as the reason for the seasonal closures. The agency calls your car a "personal observation blind," and the tradeoff it describes is closer views in exchange for staying seated.

That also changes how to drive the loop. Its own tips for the route: "Take it slow," use the pull-offs, and "be patient and come again," since learning where to look takes practice. One quick summer pass doesn't show you much. Several slow drives across the fall and winter months will.

What's out there from now through February

The Friends of Ridgefield NWR bird list, revised in June 2026, counts September through November as fall and December through February as winter. Sandhill crane, cackling goose, tundra swan and northern pintail are marked common in both seasons. Trumpeter swans are listed as common in winter and occasional in fall. Bald eagles are common in both. The list also includes short-eared owls and rough-legged hawks among fall and winter possibilities.

Some numbers show the scale, though they aren't predictions for this winter. Vancouver Audubon's January 4, 2026 Christmas Bird Count counted 1,355 trumpeter swans and 262 bald eagles. That count covers the whole Sauvie Island–Ridgefield circle, not the refuge alone. Going back further, the Friends reported that refuge-area teams found about 94 species and roughly 2,700 northern pintails on the December 31, 2023 count. No date for the 2026–27 count had been posted as of early October.

Where you can still get out and walk

The car-only rule covers specific trails, not the whole refuge. The Oaks to Wetlands Trail stays open all year for day use. The Carty Unit also holds guided bird walks, the only way to walk Carty with a leader in the off-season. FWS lists them on its ranger-led programs page:

1. October 10, 8 a.m., with Robert Vanderkamp. Limit of 12 people, usually two to three hours.
2. November 7, 8 a.m., with Ron Escano. Limit of 15 people, generally runs until noon.
3. November 14, 8 a.m., with Robert Vanderkamp.
4. December 5, 8 a.m., with Ron Escano.
5. December 12, 8 a.m., with Robert Vanderkamp.

The walks are free, but the $3 entrance fee still applies. The listings show months and days without a year, so confirm with the refuge before you plan a morning around one.

The new Community Nature Center at the Carty Unit opened with a public ceremony on May 3, 2026. It has classrooms, a visitor contact area, a kiosk and new parking. The center doesn't post regular public hours yet. The Friends say hours vary during the transition and direct visitors to event listings. Family Storytime is on October 15 and November 12. The center is open to visitors from 10 a.m. to noon those days, storytime runs 10:30 to 11, and no sign-up is needed. On November 14 from 10 to 11:30 a.m., the Friends host "Mason Bees Unwrapped: The Art & Science of Cocoon Harvesting."

You can do both events on November 14. The 8 a.m. Vanderkamp walk usually wraps up two to three hours later, and the mason bee session starts at 10. The Cathlapotle Plankhouse isn't open to the public. The Friends say its structured programs are paused while interpretation is revisited with Tribal partners.

Downtown's calendar picks up as the trails close

The town's own calendar gets busier as the trail season ends. Several downtown dates fall the same weeks as refuge events, so it's easy to do a morning drive on the loop and spend the afternoon downtown.

• October 10, 3–8 p.m. The Tequila Trot runs a poker-run route through downtown businesses. Horses are welcome but not required, and proceeds go to a local horse-rescue nonprofit. That morning is the first Vanderkamp bird walk.
• October 17, 12:30–2 p.m. City Council Chat at Windy Hills Winery, free and drop-in. The next one is November 4, 7:30–9 a.m., at Rosauers Cafe.
• October 30, 3–5 p.m. Downtown Trick or Treat at participating businesses.
• November 7. The Make a Difference Month Kickoff runs 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Sips of the Season Downtown Wine Walk is 3 to 7 p.m. at Overlook Park, and the Ridgefield Art Gallery hosts an artist reception for Eva Kelley from 5 to 7. Ron Escano's bird walk starts at 8 that morning.

A few business changes from the past several weeks belong on the same list. sámn Pacific Coast Kitchen opened October 1 inside ilani at 1 Cowlitz Way, in the space where Line & Lure served its last day on September 19. The Cowlitz-owned restaurant focuses on Pacific Coast seafood and serves Sunday brunch. At 24415 NE 10th Avenue, Pacific Northwest Best Fish Co. closed its retail fish market in mid-September after 26 years. The PNWB Cafe and 3peaks Taproom next door are still open.

For pumpkins, George Hoffman Farms at 18913 NW 41st Ave. lists daily hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The farm asks visitors to call first about pumpkin availability and field conditions. If you're driving south on the interstate in the evening, WSDOT has scheduled nightly lane and ramp closures on southbound I-5 near Ridgefield since September 22, plus single-lane closures on southbound I-205 starting October 4, for concrete-panel repairs.

The Carty Lake and Kiwa trails reopen to walkers on May 1. Until then, the refuge is open to drivers who take it slow at 15 mph.

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