The Willapa Art Trail weaves past sculptures of mushrooms, feathers and birds.

In August, a pair of trails within the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge reopened after closing for more than a year. The Willapa Art Trail and connected Cutthroat Climb, both located along Cutthroat Creek south of the Naselle River along U.S. Highway 101, are now back open to hikers with added sculptures and new interpretive signs.

On one late afternoon, as the sun lingered low in the sky, I drove north from Astoria to explore the creek and foothills.

The Willapa Art Trail is a flat, accessible 1/4-mile boardwalk, beginning with a path that winds toward an installation of larger-than-life feather sculptures. Look to the trees to find metal salmon, and back toward the path for sculpted mushrooms.

Some sculptures along the trail were designed by University of Washington students as part of a public arts program, while others were added by local artists on the Long Beach Peninsula.

Underneath one piece identifying a local bird — there’s a violet-green swallow, a steller’s jay and many others by artist Becca Weiss — the art trail departs uphill to Cutthroat Climb. This 2/3-mile loop leads through a canopy of forest and ferns, with much to learn from interpretive signs along the way.