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The Johns River Wildlife Area is a 1500 acres piece of land that lies 12 miles southwest of Aberdeen in Grays Harbor County. Two main tributaries flow into Johns River on the property; Beaver Creek on the east side, and Gold Creek on the south. Topography ranges from flat estuary to meandering, small streams climbing through gentle hillsides.
As the waters of Johns River flow into Grays Harbor they deposited sediments which build the salt-marsh estuary with extensive mudflats adjoining prime freshwater cedar swamp behind old dikes. Forest-covered hillside uplands slope in from the east and west. The several retaining dikes allow some dryland agriculture for primarily elk and waterfowl. Abundant trees include red alder, western hemlock, western red cedar, Sitka spruce, cascara, and crabapple. Shrubs are dominated by salal, salmonberry, blackberries, huckleberry, elderberry, and devil's club. Scot's broom is an invader. Common grasses and forbs include reed canary grass, ferns, rushes, plantain, silverweed, fescues, meadow foxtail, clovers, thistle, wild pea, dock, mosses, ragwort, and lupine. Aquatic and semi-aquatic plants include cordgrass, eelgrass, pond lily, duckweed, cattail, and pickleweed.
The most common mammals consist of Roosevelt elk, black-tailed deer, black bear, coyote, bobcat, muskrat, and rabbits. Birds are dominated by ducks, geese, and shorebirds. A nesting Caspian tern colony is nearby and makes use of Johns River. Crows, great blue herons, hummingbirds, robins, warblers, goldfinches, swallows, snipe, gulls, and many other small birds abound, along with forest grouse and band-tailed pigeon. Streams support whitefish, trout, and salmon.
A visitor parking area, boat launch, and gated access roads and trails provide largely a walk-in experience. Hunting occurs for deer, waterfowl, elk, bear, band-tailed pigeon, and forest grouse. Waterfowl hunting is particularly popular and successful on the tidelands on nearby Markham Island. Fishing is widespread for whitefish, rainbow and cutthroat trout, searun cutthroat, and several races of salmon. Hiking and nature trips are common on the dikes and the established trail system. Boating for its own sake is popular. Other common recreational activities include birdwatching, photography, mushroom picking, sightseeing, wildlife viewing, bike riding, shellfish gathering, and beachcombing.
