What a cool thing to have right in the middle of the town! There's a nice parking lot a few feet away from the well, so it's easy for people to fill up multiple jugs of water and load them up into their vehicles. The water comes out from a pipe and empties into a metal grate so there's no pooled water to worry about. It wasn't busy when I went, and so I just took a sip from the stream of water coming out. It was cold, refreshing, and slightly metallic tasting. Not too bad. There are advisories to not boil the water as it was tested and noted to have high levels of manganese, which boiling would concentrate and potentially cause health issues if consumed in large amounts. read more

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Truly life-saving water! It's worth every effort on your part to stop by and get some That's it plain and simple. The Yelp won't let me post unless I say more. There is no more to say. The water is excellent. Do you need more? Come and get some, it's still there and it's still free. read more

You folks in Olympia have a real treasure! Ya'll can often be found filling up your empty water bottles at the town's artesian well located in downtown Olympia. I regret that I did not take a photo as this well has been given an artistic facelift. It is adorned with a mosaic of mostly blue tiles and it is beautiful. Thanks to Miss Jeannie J. who brought me along as she filled her water bottles, I too have been to the source and filled a water bottle myself. I can attest that the water is in fact crisp, clear and tastes great. I understand why the people of Olympia love their well so much. 2014 - Review # 37 read more

I remember the first time I saw the Artesian Well behind Olympic outfitters. I was probably in 6th or 7th grade. I was with a few friends. We had been looking at stuff we couldn't afford in the shops. When we walked through the parking lot, one of my friends knew what it was. I did not, and I was skeptical. I mean really, an artesian well? All I saw was a unmarked pipe with water flowing from it in a random parking lot downtown. I wasn't drinking any! Of course no one carried water bottles with them everywhere like we do now, so my friends just drank from it like it was a fountain. I asked my parents about it later, and they confirmed. Great water, drink up! It felt like some cool secret discovery. I've been visiting this well ever since. From the website: The Artesian Well, located between 4th Avenue E, and Jefferson Street (former Diamond Parking Lot), is at 415 4th Avenue E. It is reported the well was constructed between 1895 and 1915 on the former railroad station site, now Olympic Outfitters. Links with information http://markgrowden.org/olympia-artesian-well http://olyblog.net/other-95-artesian-wells-downtown-olympia The link on the main page will give information about the water quality, and recent improvements to the well. The water still flows freely, but the site has been marked. People come down and fill gallon jugs for use at home. I usually stop by when I'm in town to refill my bottle before my drive back to Portland, or when I'm walking around downtown. There are still many locals that don't know about the well. Since it's near and dear to my heart, I wanted to share this quirky little secret. If you're looking for something unique to downtown Olympia, stop by for a free drink. It's the water! read more

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Love that this artesian spring is so abundant with clean, cold, easily accessible water! Untreated, just as Ma Nature produces it. The spring's outlet pipe used to be at the edge of a kinda uninviting old parking lot. The City (?) renovated that into the pleasant plaza it is now. The pipe is readily accessible from the parking lot behind the plaza. It's a pleasant place to meet, chat, trade excess produce, just hang-out. We (elders) have parked nearby it to fill our jugs, at all hours, alone or together, without problem...tho we do try to go early or late, to avoid busy daytime downtown traffic. Occasionally, total strangers, or homeless, have helped us (5-gal. Jugs are heavy for us gimping fossils!) get the full jugs into our car. Finding a good artesian spring, is a GREAT blessing! Thank you, Olympia, for keeping this free to public! read more

Public wells are vital for communities. We all deserve sparkling clean drinking water and this public park embraces that idea. It is as good as it gets! read more

What's with all the low reviews of this place? It's a classic watering hole and socialization area, and the water here is delicious. It's constantly running (hence the name) and the water is cold even on a hot day. People frequently come here with jugs to fill up to avoid drinking the city water (ew). Cold, refreshing, delicious, and non-fluoridated. Minerals galore. What more could you want?! read more

The water is as good or better than the best available brands of bottled water, and you can get as much as you need for free. I'm in and out of Olympia for work and I like to stop by and fill up a bottle for the long drive home. The clean taste of the well demonstrates how much cities ruin tap water. read more

It was a little difficult to find this well using the map and initially didn't realize we walked past it because a few homeless people were sitting near it but once you find it spend some time observing just how many people stop by the well for the water. I saw families pull up for water, passerby's just filling up a water bottle and of course homeless getting a drink and washing their hands. It's actually pretty cool and unique to have well water from the earth free and available to anyone at any time. Perhaps it's cool to me because I'm just a visitor to the state but definitely would take advantage of this if I lived here. read more

The Olympia Artesian Well - Tasting the well water. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Olympia, Washington

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This is just odd in the middle of the hustle and bustle of downtown Olympia. It does seem to have quite a vigorous flow though. It's cool to look at and maybe fill up a jug or two but that's about it....just an oddity. And it was actually quite hard to fill up my jug because there was a massive amount of people with 8-12 10 gal jugs filling up and tossing them in the back of their cars. A few people put their mouths directing on spigot, but whatever. Nice thing to drive by. read more

A uniquely-Olympia anomaly in downtown that flows from the depths of the earth. It's reportedly clean and it tastes fine to me. I'm glad they preserved it rather than paving it over, as it's quite an interesting sight and also very popular amongst the locals! Unfortunately this area is often frequented by some questionable people, so I wouldn't trust my wife going here alone. But there are usually so many Olympians swinging by to fill up their jugs that safety may not be too big of an issue. read more

What can say, I love the well water its the only water I drink. The area currently isn't as bad as everyone says, I go fill my water up maybe smile and sat hi to others, and leave, I don't hang out . the people that do , well there is discussion about it, they are trying to make the commons a pleasant place to relax. read more