Point Defiance Park
Point Defiance Park in Tacoma, Washington, United States, is a large urban park. For a second stop, Space Needle is 23 mi away. The best weather comes with May to September, at 66–77°F.
A garden inside Tacoma
You can stay in Tacoma
Point Defiance Park is inside Tacoma, which has 43 places to stay, so you won’t need a base farther out. Where to stay ↓
Best months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep
May, June, July, August and September are the mild months, with highs of 66–77°. When to go ↓
An airport 4 miles away
Tacoma Narrows (TIW) has airline service, about 4 miles from Point Defiance Park.
Written from NOAA 1991–2020 normals, Overture places to stay, Census town figures and Wikipedia.
Picking a season
A visit to Point Defiance Park can follow the seasons below.
Point Defiance Park
Point Defiance Park in Tacoma, Washington, United States, is a large urban park. The 760-acre (3.1 km2) park includes Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, the Rose Garden, Rhododendron Garden, beaches, trails, a boardwalk, a boathouse, a Washington State Ferries ferry dock for the Point Defiance-Tahlequah route to Vashon Island, Fort Nisqually, an off-leash dog park, and most notably about 400 acres of old-growth forest. It receives more than three million visitors every year. Point Defiance Park is maintained and operated by Metro Parks Tacoma.
- Type
- Garden
- Area
- 760 acres
- Wikipedia readers
- 7.7K a year
Where to sleep near Point Defiance Park
For a bed close by, look to Tacoma (43) and Seattle (201).
- 1Space Needle
- 2Lumen Field
- 3Climate Pledge Arena
- 4Tacoma Dome
- 5T-Mobile Park
- 6Seattle Underground
- 7Wild Waves Theme Park
- 8Husky Stadium
Compare 8 towns
| Town | From Point Defiance Park | Drive | Places to stay | People | Typical home | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tacoma | in town | — | 43 30 hotels · 3 motels · 4 inns & B&Bs · 5 lodges & cabins · 1 campground | 229,816 | $480K | D− |
| Seattle | 23 mi north | 35 min | 201 148 hotels · 8 motels · 32 inns & B&Bs · 7 lodges & cabins · 5 hostels · 1 campground | 784,777 | $939K | D− |
| SeaTac | 14 mi northeast | 20 min | 49 39 hotels · 7 motels · 2 lodges & cabins · 1 RV park | 34,578 | $520K | D |
| Vashon | 8 mi northeast | 10 min | 21 5 hotels · 8 inns & B&Bs · 3 lodges & cabins · 5 campgrounds | 9,934 | $791K | — |
| Federal Way | 9 mi east | 15 min | 19 14 hotels · 3 motels · 1 inn or B&B · 1 campground | 99,729 | $553K | D |
| Fife | 10 mi southeast | 15 min | 15 11 hotels · 3 motels · 1 RV park | 11,061 | $543K | D− |
| Lakewood | 10 mi south | 15 min | 15 10 hotels · 5 motels | 62,755 | $461K | D |
| Gig Harbor | 4 mi northwest | 5 min | 6 3 hotels · 2 inns & B&Bs · 1 RV park | 12,630 | $767K | C− |
Getting there
Nearest airports with airline service
Close to Point Defiance Park
Within 26 miles you can add these well-known places.
Big draw123 mi LookoutSpace Needle
Big draw222 mi Stadium & arenaLumen Field
Big draw323 mi Stadium & arenaClimate Pledge Arena
47 mi Stadium & arenaTacoma Dome
522 mi Stadium & arenaT-Mobile Park
622 mi Ancient siteSeattle Underground
711 mi Theme parkWild Waves Theme Park
826 mi Stadium & arenaHusky StadiumPhoto credits
Space Needle: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lumen Field: "Smart Destinations", GoSeattleCard.com, and Go Seattle Card Blog, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Climate Pledge Arena: Sea Cow, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Tacoma Dome: Broran28, Public domain · T-Mobile Park: MyName (Cacophony), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Seattle Underground: Mark Hursh, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wild Waves Theme Park: Jessica Spengler from Hove, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0 · Husky Stadium: Atomic Taco, CC BY-SA 2.0
Point Defiance Park, answered
Is Point Defiance Park in Tacoma?
Yes. It’s inside Tacoma, WA.
When is the best time to visit Point Defiance Park?
May, June, July, August and September, with highs of 66–77°.
What is the closest airport to Point Defiance Park?
Tacoma Narrows (TIW), about 4 miles away. The nearest big hub is Seattle–Tacoma (SEA), about 14 miles.
Where should I stay near Point Defiance Park?
Tacoma (in town, 43 places to stay), Seattle (23 mi, 201 places to stay) and SeaTac (14 mi, 49 places to stay).
Locals’ advice in Tacoma
Share what you know in Tacoma’s Town Square.
Sources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · NOAA climate normals · U.S. Census.