Discover Tacoma: Parks, Art and Waterfront Trails

When looking for a hotel in Tacoma, your travel plans can be a starting point: Should your stay focus on green spaces and walking trails, art and crafts, or cultural programs? Tacoma offers different options for these interests. Setting your priorities in advance can help you plan your trip accordingly.

Parks and Natural Habitats

Wright Park is a 27-acre arboretum with more than 600 trees. The Tacoma Nature Center, by contrast, is designated as a nature preserve and protects all plant and wildlife species. This gives you a way to distinguish between a tree-focused park and a nature preserve with its own focus.

Point Defiance Park covers 760 acres of forests, gardens and beaches. Compared with Wright Park’s 27 acres, that is a considerably larger park; the landscape features mentioned also differ. This comparison gives you a specific point of reference if, on your Tacoma trip, you would rather visit an arboretum or a sprawling park with a variety of landscapes.

On Foot, by Bike and by the Water

The Ruston Way Waterfront has a two-mile paved walking path with views of the South Puget Sound. Its length, surface and views make it a clearly defined option for a walk. The outer loop of Five Mile Drive is car-free and open to cyclists and pedestrians. This route is therefore explicitly intended for biking as well as walking.

The Chihuly Bridge of Glass adds permanent art installations to the options, set along a pedestrian bridge. It is 500 feet long and open to everyone. If you want to take in public art as well as the route itself, this bridge is a distinct point of reference for your plans.

Art, Crafts and Changing Programs

The Museum of Glass offers hands-on workshops where you can create your own glass art. This means you can also choose a museum visit based on whether you are interested in trying a creative activity yourself. If a workshop is a deciding factor for your trip, check the dates in advance.

Exhibitions at the Tacoma Art Museum include American art of the West as well as temporary exhibitions. A fixed subject area is therefore offered alongside a changing exhibition program. If you want to plan your trip around a particular exhibition, check in advance what will be on display during your travel dates.

The Heritage Boat Shop at Foss Waterway Seaport preserves the techniques of regional boatbuilders. Foss Waterway Seaport also has more than 1,200 feet of docks and floating docks for educational and recreational purposes. This seaport brings together boatbuilding traditions and infrastructure for educational and recreational activities.

Rare plants and flowers are displayed in a glass-enclosed building at the W. W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory. This offers a different focus from the art and craft venues: here, plants and flowers take center stage in a sheltered, glass-enclosed setting.

Hundreds of public art and cultural programs take place in Tacoma in October, many of them free. The specific program may change from year to year. If you want to plan your trip around particular events, check the dates for the relevant year in advance.

Bring Your Travel Interests Together

To get started, you can choose one main interest: parks and nature, getting around on foot or by bike, glass art, exhibitions or regional boatbuilding traditions. The specific differences between the venues can help you narrow down your focus rather than treating all the destinations as interchangeable activities.

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