The Daily Outside Sunday: Bird Walks, Low Tide Tours
Sunday arrives carrying binoculars in one hand and muddy shoes in the other, wandering from forest canopies and tide pools to secret gardens, patient slugs, alpine meadows, and the comforting realization that the Pacific Northwest never really asks you to choose between adventure and serenity — it simply hands you both.
Kingfishers, purple martins, and a shoreline where the forest leans into the sea
Tahoma Bird Alliance — Titlow Beach Birding Walk
Sunday, June 28
8–10 a.m.
Titlow Beach Marine Park
Meet at the covered picnic area near Titlow Lodge
8425 6th Ave., Tacoma
Free | Guided bird walk | All skill levels welcome | Approximately 1.4 miles
Titlow Beach is where Tacoma quietly changes personalities. Salt water slips into the marsh, mature cottonwoods and firs shade the trails, the Narrows currents churn just offshore, and the shoreline becomes a crossroads for birds that divide their lives between forest, estuary, and open water. On Sunday morning, Tahoma Bird Alliance volunteer Jeff Olson leads a leisurely walk through this remarkably varied landscape, where every bend in the trail has the potential to introduce another feathered neighbor.
Despite covering just 1.4 miles, the route passes through an impressive mix of habitats — shoreline, salt marsh, riparian woodland, and mature forest — creating one of Tacoma’s most diverse birding destinations. Belted Kingfishers often rattle across the beach before diving for fish, Common and Red-breasted Mergansers patrol the shoreline, cormorants dry their wings on pilings, and gulls, shorebirds, swallows, and songbirds weave through the changing scenery. During the summer, Titlow also hosts one of the area’s most charismatic seasonal residents: a colony of Purple Martins. North America’s largest swallow has declined across much of the West, making these graceful aerial insect hunters an especially rewarding sight as they wheel above the shoreline in search of breakfast.
The walk welcomes birders of every experience level, from newcomers learning the difference between a swallow and a martin to seasoned observers hoping to add a few species to their morning list. Jeff Olson’s guided outings encourage participants to slow down, listen as carefully as they look, and appreciate how birds reveal the health and diversity of the habitats around them.
Meet beneath the covered picnic shelter near Titlow Lodge at the south end of the park. The route follows a combination of paved and gravel paths, though several low spots frequently collect water, so waterproof shoes or sturdy hiking footwear are recommended. Bring binoculars if you have them, dress in layers, and don’t be surprised if Sunday’s best soundtrack turns out to be kingfisher chatter, martin wings slicing the air, and the steady rhythm of Puget Sound against the shore.
More info: Tahoma Bird Alliance
Boardwalks, blackbirds, and an easy Sunday loop around Tacoma’s neighborhood lake
Tahoma Bird Alliance — Wapato Lake Park Walk
Sunday, June 28
8:30–10 a.m.
Wapato Park
Meet at the Bathhouse (east side of the lake)
6500 S. Sheridan Ave., Tacoma
Free | Guided bird walk | Family-friendly | Easy paved and boardwalk route
Some birding destinations ask you to climb a mountain or disappear into the wilderness. Wapato Lake simply asks you to take a pleasant walk around the water. Surrounded by riparian forest, wetlands, open shoreline, and one of Tacoma’s favorite neighborhood parks, Wapato Lake Park has quietly become one of the city’s most dependable places to watch birds through every season. On Sunday morning, new Tahoma Bird Alliance guide Pete Bergeson leads a leisurely circuit of the lake, introducing participants to the surprising variety of wildlife that calls this urban oasis home.
The lake’s mix of open water, cattails, mature trees, and marshy shoreline creates habitat for an impressive range of species. Depending on the season, birders may spot wood ducks gliding across the lake, Red-winged Blackbirds calling from the reeds, swallows sweeping low over the water, Great Blue Herons stalking the shoreline, woodpeckers working the trees, or migrating warblers pausing in the canopy during spring and fall. Because the park concentrates so many different habitats into one compact loop, every section of trail offers the possibility of a different cast of birds.
One of the walk’s greatest strengths is its accessibility. The paved trail and boardwalks provide comfortable footing and unobstructed viewing areas, making the outing welcoming for families, beginning birders, photographers, and anyone curious about the feathered neighbors living in the middle of Tacoma. The pace is relaxed, with frequent stops to listen, identify birds by sight and sound, and answer questions along the way. Sometimes the best birding happens not because you’re covering miles, but because you’ve learned to stand still.
Meet at the historic Bathhouse on the east side of the lake before beginning the walk. Wapato Park is accessible by Pierce Transit routes 48, 202, and 55, making it one of Tacoma’s easiest birding destinations to reach without a car. Bring binoculars if you have them, wear comfortable walking shoes, and let the lake remind you that remarkable wildlife often lives much closer to home than we imagine.
More info: Tahoma Bird Alliance
Eagles, woodpeckers, and the old forest doing its Sunday morning thing
Parks Tacoma — Point Defiance Bird Walk
Sunday, June 28
9–11 a.m.
Point Defiance Park — Five Mile Drive Entrance
5771 Five Mile Drive, Tacoma
Free | Guided bird walk | Drop-ins welcome | Up to 3 miles on uneven trails
Point Defiance is Tacoma’s great green illusion. From the road, it can look like a park with a zoo, a beach, and a scenic drive. Step onto the trails, though, and the place reveals itself as something older and stranger: a 700-plus-acre forested peninsula where eagles patrol the canopy, woodpeckers hammer away at snags, chickadees flicker through the understory, and the city suddenly feels much farther away than it actually is.
This monthly Park Guide-led bird walk explores the old-growth forest of Point Defiance in search of eagles, woodpeckers, and other forest-dwelling species that thrive among towering conifers, mossy trunks, ravines, and shoreline edges. The walk is open to all ages and experience levels, from first-time birders still learning to spot movement in the branches to regulars who know the difference between a downy and a hairy woodpecker without needing a committee meeting. The pace is observational rather than athletic, with time to stop, listen, compare sightings, and let the forest slowly announce itself.
Participants should bring binoculars if they have them, though extras may be available to borrow upon request. Expect up to three miles on unpaved, uneven trails, and dress for weather because the walk happens rain or shine. Meet at the entrance gate to Five Mile Drive, just past the Owen Beach road turn-off. Bring water, sturdy shoes, layers, and the willingness to spend a Sunday morning looking up while everyone else is still negotiating breakfast.
More info: Parks Tacoma
Tentacles, slime trails, and one last glorious day to celebrate the Northwest’s squishiest celebrity
Northwest Trek Wildlife Park — Slug Fest
Sunday, June 28
9:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
Northwest Trek Wildlife Park
11610 Trek Dr. E., Eatonville
Included with admission or membership | Family-friendly wildlife festival | Outdoor/indoor activities
Most festivals hand the spotlight to towering evergreens, soaring eagles, or charismatic mammals with antlers. Slug Fest happily hands it to a creature that spends its life inches above the forest floor, gliding through damp moss with quiet determination and absolutely no concern for public opinion. The second and final day of Northwest Trek Wildlife Park‘s 43rd annual Slug Fest continues one of the Pacific Northwest’s most wonderfully offbeat traditions, celebrating the humble banana slug and its fellow forest decomposers with equal parts science, silliness, and unapologetic regional pride.
The festival invites visitors to experience the forest from a slug’s point of view: slower, lower, wetter, and surprisingly fascinating. Guests can craft wearable tentacles, compete in human slug races, and discover why these unhurried mollusks are among the unsung heroes of Northwest ecosystems. Slugs recycle nutrients, break down fallen leaves and decaying wood, feed birds, mammals, amphibians, and insects, and quietly keep the forest running without ever asking for applause. Behind every goofy game is a reminder that healthy forests depend just as much on tiny decomposers as they do on towering Douglas-firs.
Because the festivities unfold inside Northwest Trek, Slug Fest easily becomes a full day of Northwest wildlife. Wander forest trails, visit native animal habitats, ride the tram, and then spend a little time celebrating the gooey little creature that somehow became the unofficial mascot of rainy Northwest weirdness. Admission or membership is required, but all Slug Fest activities are included once inside. Come for the laughs, stay for the natural history, and leave with a newfound appreciation for the tiny forest custodian crossing the trail at approximately the speed of patience.
More info: Northwest Trek Wildlife Park
Tomato starts, tropical glass, and a Sunday where every plant is looking for a new home
Parks Tacoma — Summer Plant Sales at the W.W. Seymour Conservatory
Sunday, June 28
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (or until sold out)
W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory Gazebo
316 S. G St., Tacoma
Free to browse | Weekend plant sale | Benefits the Conservatory
Every gardener knows the feeling. You leave home intending to buy one sensible little plant and somehow return with a tomato, a hanging basket, two perennials, a ceramic planter, and vague but sincere confidence that you’ll “find room somewhere.” The W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory‘s weekend plant sale embraces exactly that kind of optimistic horticultural decision-making, filling the Wright Park gazebo with an ever-changing collection of plants looking for new homes while helping support one of Tacoma’s most beloved landmarks.
Each weekend throughout the summer, the Conservatory offers a rotating selection that may include houseplants, flowering annuals, hanging baskets, specialty planters, tomatoes, herbs, and hardy perennials. Inventory changes from week to week — and often from hour to hour—as popular plants quickly disappear into eager gardeners’ wagons and back seats. Whether you’re filling a sunny balcony, refreshing patio containers, adding color to the landscape, or finally replacing the houseplant that bravely tried its best through winter, chances are something leafy will catch your eye.
The sale also offers a perfect excuse to spend time in Wright Park. Before or after browsing the gazebo, step inside the Victorian-era W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory, where towering palms, orchids, tropical foliage, seasonal displays, and more than a century of Tacoma history share the same luminous glass house. Every purchase helps support the Conservatory’s collections, educational programming, and ongoing care, making each new plant as much a contribution to Tacoma’s botanical future as an addition to your own garden.
Plant sales continue each weekend from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. while supplies last, so early arrivals enjoy the widest selection. Bring a box or tray for transporting purchases — and perhaps a little extra trunk space, because gardens have a funny way of expanding one irresistible plant at a time.
More info: W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory
Sea stars, Sunday tides, and ninety minutes inside the Salish Sea’s hidden neighborhood
Harbor WildWatch — Owen Beach Low Tide Tour
Sunday, June 28
10–11:30 a.m.
Owen Beach, Point Defiance Park
5605 N. Owen Beach Rd., Tacoma
Free | Guided beach walk | Family-friendly | Suggested donation appreciated
The Salish Sea keeps two calendars. One belongs to clocks and smartphones. The other belongs to the moon. When the tide retreats Sunday morning, it briefly unveils a world that spends most of its life underwater, transforming Owen Beach into a living classroom where sea stars cling to rocks, anemones wave from tide pools, hermit crabs shuffle between borrowed homes, and every overturned stone seems to hold another tiny surprise. Harbor WildWatch’s Low Tide Tour invites visitors to slow down, crouch close, and discover that one of the Pacific Northwest’s richest ecosystems exists only because the water decided to step aside for a little while.
Led by Harbor WildWatch biologists and volunteer naturalists, the 60- to 90-minute beach walk explores the varied shoreline of Owen Beach, from sandy stretches and gravel bars to cobbles, clay flats, and the weathered pilings beneath the historic boathouse. Along the way, participants learn how the intertidal zone functions as one of nature’s toughest neighborhoods, where marine life must survive crashing waves, changing temperatures, predators, and the daily rhythm of being alternately submerged and exposed. Guides share fascinating stories about the remarkable adaptations that allow sea stars, crabs, snails, anemones, and other shoreline residents to thrive in a place that is never quite land and never quite sea.
The walk welcomes every level of curiosity, whether you’re introducing children to tide pools for the first time, chasing the perfect macro photograph, or simply looking for a fresh excuse to spend a Sunday morning outdoors. Harbor WildWatch also weaves in lessons about responsible beach etiquette and the environmental challenges facing Puget Sound, leaving visitors with a deeper appreciation for both the beauty and fragility of the Salish Sea.
Meet near the picnic tables by the Owen Beach concession stand, where Harbor WildWatch staff and volunteers wearing blue will gather before heading southeast along the shoreline. Wear closed-toe shoes that can handle wet sand, mud, and slippery rocks—rain boots, water shoes, or old sneakers work well—and bring water, sunscreen, layers, and a snack if you’d like. Programs are always free, though a suggested donation of $2 per person or $5 per family helps Harbor WildWatch continue sharing the hidden stories waiting beneath the tides.
More info: Harbor WildWatch
Pilings, purple sea stars, and a shoreline hiding in plain sight
Harbor WildWatch — Jack Hyde Park Low Tide Tour
Sunday, June 28
10–11:30 a.m.
Jack Hyde Park
1741 N. Schuster Pkwy., Tacoma
Free | Guided beach walk | Family-friendly | Suggested donation appreciated
Commencement Bay spends much of the day looking like a working waterfront. Trains rumble past. Boats cross the bay. The city rises behind the shoreline. Then the tide slips away, and an entirely different Tacoma appears. Rocks, pilings, cobbles, and tide pools emerge from beneath the water, revealing a surprisingly rich neighborhood where sea stars cling to wood, crabs patrol the shallows, anemones wait patiently for the sea to return, and countless small creatures carry on lives most people never notice. Harbor WildWatch’s Jack Hyde Park Low Tide Tour offers a chance to discover that hidden world one careful step at a time.
Led by Harbor WildWatch biologists and volunteer naturalists, the 60- to 90-minute beach walk explores one of Tacoma’s most accessible urban shorelines while introducing participants to the remarkable diversity of life found in the intertidal zone. Along the way, guides explain how marine animals survive the constant push and pull of the tides, identify species encountered during the walk, and demonstrate responsible beach etiquette that protects fragile habitats while allowing visitors to experience them up close. Whenever appropriate, participants may carefully observe — and sometimes gently touch—marine life while learning about the extraordinary adaptations that allow these animals to thrive between land and sea.
Jack Hyde Park offers an especially fascinating contrast between city and nature. Just beyond Schuster Parkway, beneath the bridges and beside Commencement Bay, one of the South Sound’s richest outdoor classrooms quietly appears twice each day. The walk welcomes everyone from curious families and first-time beach explorers to photographers, seasoned tidepool enthusiasts, and lifelong Puget Sound residents who suspect there’s still something new waiting beneath the next rock. Harbor WildWatch also shares practical ways visitors can help protect the Salish Sea long after the tide returns.
Meet near the sundial statue, where Harbor WildWatch staff and volunteers wearing blue will gather before heading onto the beach. Parking is available across Schuster Parkway near the railroad tracks or beneath the overpass at Chinese Reconciliation Park. Wear closed-toe shoes that can handle wet sand, gravel, cobbles, and slippery rocks—rain boots, water shoes, or old sneakers are ideal—and bring water, sunscreen, layers, and a snack if you’d like. Programs are always free, with a suggested donation of $2 per person or $5 per family helping Harbor WildWatch continue connecting people with the remarkable life just below the tide line.
More info: Harbor WildWatch
Garden paths, one last stroll, and flowers quietly funding the next generation of readers
Gig Harbor Garden Tour
Sunday, June 28
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Self-guided tour throughout the greater Gig Harbor area
Ticket required | Self-guided | Six private gardens | Benefits literacy programs
By Sunday afternoon, the gardens seem to settle into themselves. The excitement of opening day gives way to something quieter: one last opportunity to wander pathways built with patience, imagination, and decades of careful tending before the gates close for another year. The Gig Harbor Garden Tour invites visitors inside six distinctive private landscapes, each revealing its own personality through woodland retreats, waterfront vistas, exuberant flower borders, sculpted hardscapes, and plant collections that reward anyone willing to slow down and look closely.
The beauty of the tour is its freedom. There are no guided schedules to follow and no prescribed route to rush. Visitors choose their own pace, lingering over favorite blooms, returning to a garden that captured their imagination the day before, or discovering all six in a leisurely afternoon. Ticket booklets provide directions, descriptions, and background for each location, turning the experience into equal parts garden tour, neighborhood ramble, and inspiration for future backyard dreams.
Behind every blossom lies a larger purpose. For decades, the Gig Harbor Garden Tour has operated as “A Tour for Literacy,” using proceeds to support reading programs throughout the Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula communities. In 2025 alone, the organization awarded $35,000 in grants to 17 schools and community organizations, helping fund classroom libraries, schoolwide reading programs, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, Reach Out and Read through Pediatrics Northwest, public library summer reading initiatives, preschool literacy projects, children’s books distributed by Gig Harbor Police, and young writers’ conferences. Every ticket helps another child discover the lifelong adventure waiting inside a good book.
The flowers will still bloom after Sunday. The gardens will simply return to their quiet lives behind hedges and fences until next summer. If you’ve been meaning to go, this is your final invitation to step inside a few extraordinary private landscapes while helping literacy continue to flourish across the Harbor.
More info: Gig Harbor Garden Tour
Cloud shadows, alpine silence, and a Sunday stroll with the mountain as your guide
Mount Rainier National Park — Paradise Ranger Guided Walk
Sunday, June 28
2–3:30 p.m.
Paradise, Mount Rainier National Park
Meet at the flagpole beside the Jackson Visitor Center
Free guided walk | Park entrance fee required | Easy to moderate | Up to 1.5 miles roundtrip
Sunday afternoons seem made for walking without hurrying, and few places reward that state of mind quite like Paradise. Instead of racing toward the next viewpoint or squeezing in one more trail before heading home, visitors can join a Mount Rainier ranger for a leisurely walk that invites the mountain to set the pace. Covering up to 1.5 miles on paved paths, the program transforms one of the Northwest’s most photographed landscapes into something even more memorable: a place whose stories linger long after the scenery fades from the rearview mirror.
No two ranger walks are exactly alike. Depending on the guide, the weather, and whatever has captured the day’s imagination, conversations may wander through volcanic geology, glaciers still sculpting the mountain, fragile alpine wildflowers, wildlife adapted to life above the tree line, climbing history, Indigenous connections to Tahoma, or the ongoing work of preserving one of America’s most iconic national parks. The route itself becomes part of the lesson, with every overlook, meadow, and ridgeline offering another chapter in the mountain’s long story.
Meet by the flagpole in the plaza outside the Jackson Visitor Center. The walk is free with park admission and welcomes anyone looking to trade an afternoon of simply seeing Mount Rainier for one of genuinely knowing it a little better. Bring comfortable shoes, water, layers, and the quiet curiosity that mountains seem to reward. Paradise has been here for thousands of years. Spending ninety minutes listening feels like a fair exchange.
More info: Mount Rainier National Park
Afterward, wander over to Peaks & Pints
Sunday has a different heartbeat. The birds have settled into the morning chorus, the tide has quietly surrendered its hidden treasures, gardens have offered one last invitation before closing their gates, slugs have enjoyed an entirely deserved moment of celebrity, and Mount Rainier has once again reminded everyone that patience is one of nature’s greatest superpowers.
Now it’s your turn to slow down.
Settle inside Peaks & Pints for a pint of our house Lumberbeard Brewing Cut-Off Flannel IPA or a glass of Finnriver Buckhorn Dry Cider and compare field notes. Did a kingfisher finally sit still long enough for a photo? Did you discover a sea star beneath a piling, leave with an armful of new plants, lose yourself inside a secret garden, or develop an unexpected admiration for a banana slug? Perhaps you simply spent a few hours outside without checking the clock, which may be the finest accomplishment of all.
LINK: The Daily Outside explained
LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory
