When you get tired of buying and selling Mississauga homes over the phone or pushing endless streams of papers from one end of your desk to the other, it's nice to have a place to go to get away. Whether it's just a quick stopover for lunch or a day trip with the kids, Point Defiance Park in Tacoma is definitely worth the visit. There's enough ensconced within the leafy confines of the park to occupy your every Sunday from now until retirement, if that's what you want. You've probably never heard of it before, but it's one of the largest city parks in the entire country! To help you get an overview of the wonders hidden within, we've created this article on Point Defiance Park.
Located on a peninsula above the Ruston neighborhood, about four miles from downtown Tacoma, lies the 702-acre Point Defiance Park. In Ontario, such prime land would probably be covered in London, ON townhouses but not here in the environmentally-conscious northwest. Geographically the park shows off everything that makes the Pacific Northwest special. It has old growth forests where the trees tower overhead, proudly proclaiming that they're older than the city of Tacoma itself. It also has stunning views across the narrows and Commencement Bay to the mountainous country surrounding the Sound.
Inside Point Defiance Park you can take a trip back in time to the early days of logging at the Camp 6 Logging Museum. Set up by real logging engineers, Camp 6 was established on a 14 acre plot in 1964 to replicate the bygone days of bunk house logging camps and the chugging steam trains that kept them going. For anyone interested in seeing the origins of the wood that made their one storey house plans a reality, Camp 6 is a must-see. You can also ride the historic railroad, which is run by volunteers and supported by donation, around the site. The entire Camp 6 site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
If you're looking for a great place to take the kids, you could try the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. Watch as a spider in its web slings new threads across to ensnare its dinner or visit the sea otters as they playfully flit around their habitat. The zoo has over 367 different species of animals spread across 96 acres of paddock and habitats. The animals come from all over the world, from the Sumatran tigers in the Asian Forest Sanctuary to the beluga whales and tufted puffins in the Arctic Tundra Exhibit.
For those who just like to wander, there are miles upon miles of trail and a seaside boardwalk. Beaches offer swimming to hardy souls in the warmer months while the boathouse offers the nautically-minded the opportunity to explore Commencement Bay on their own or part of a guided tour. Historians will enjoy Fort Nisqually an old Hudson Bay trading post. Off-duty workers can set aside their sheet metal crimpers and take a ferry across to the park or arrive from land via North Pearl Street. Over 2 million people visit annually.
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