It is a crisp fall day in Kobayashi Park. The trees that form a canopy over the rushing waters where Leach Creek flows into Chambers Creek are changing colors and yellow leaves blanket the trail. Read More
Head down to the Point Defiance area and you'll find construction happening all over the place. Between multiple projects going on at the zoo and aquarium, and a major overhaul of the Point Defiance/Ruston connection (more below) there's plenty to see. Read More
Tacoma resident Samantha is far from the only person to take to Point Defiance’s trails with a camera in hand, but she may be alone in bringing a bunny—decidedly not of the cottontail variety—along with her. Read More
If you were asked to name five Pacific Northwest animals, what would you come up with? For a lot of us, salmon, bald eagles, and orcas might be at the top of the list. Of course there are many more animals in the evergreen forests all around us, some endemic, some widespread. Read More
You may be asking yourself why anyone would spend so much time and energy planting more trees in the Pacific Northwest. If so, you may be surprised to hear that Tacoma has a tree problem. In spite of its location in the heart of Tree Country USA, our city's tree canopy cover was last measured at only 19%; far less than the national average of 27-33%. Seattle, by contrast, has a 28% canopy cover. Read More
Of all the trails in this collection, this one is probably the most well known. Nonetheless, you won’t find any useful trail maps online and the park itself is hidden in a neighborhood with no signage on the main road. The land was previously owned by the Kobayashi family who donated it to the city when they moved to Japan. The picnic shelters next to the parking lot are the hollowed out remnants of their home. Read More
Washington State has no shortage of octopus myths. The well known Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus haunts our canopies from coast to mountain top, but it’s Tacoma that is home to the real King of the North. Read More
Ever wonder what’s up with that square of manicured lawn at Wright Park with the fancy wrought iron fence around it? I’ll give you a clue; it requires a fair amount of hand-eye coordination, a desire for good old-fashioned outside fun, and a set of big, heavy balls.
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Dick Kresser and Maudie Jordan rent a room in a big, old house on Hilltop, and they are a damn tough couple. Maudie has completed over a dozen ultramarathons, including multiple 100 mile runs around the Pacific Northwest. Read More
Garfield gulch exists in a sort of limbo between inaccessible wilderness and managed natural area. Of all the north end gulches, this one’s probably had the roughest history. Not only was it heavily logged like the rest of Tacoma, but a huge portion of it was actually filled in and built over. If you’ve ever wondered why there’s a four block gap in N. 7th St., it’s because that’s where the gulch used to be. The only evidence left is a slight dip in elevation. Read More
If you happened to notice a hundred ragtag weirdos paddling furiously down the Tacoma waterfront during rush hour on a random Monday in early June, you probably inadvertently experienced Seventy48. Read More
Despite this being a properly maintained trail that actually exists on most maps, it’s still very lightly used compared to other nearby trails in Point Defiance. It’s more of a shortcut than a standalone trail but the shortcut it provides is the real fun part that makes it worth mentioning. Most beach walkers start at the more popular Owen Beach. This puts you out more than half a mile closer to the point. Read More
