General:
Pioneer Farm Museum
The Pioneer Farm Museum is a not for profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to providing living history, environmental, and cultural education opportunities through hands-on activities and experiences.
Distance: 13 miles/20 minutes
Ex-Hihilo Sculpture Park
A four acre sculpture park located along state route 706 on the way to the west entrance of Mt. Rainier National Park, three miles east of Elbe, WA. The name Ex-Nihilo comes from the latin meaning of "something made out of nothing." From the creator, "I create art in sculptural form getting my inspiration from the shapes and spirits contained in old metal and driftwood. By combining these objects in my sculptures their spirits are given new life. I do not form my shapes, I find shapes to create my form."
Distance: 28 miles/35 minutes
Tacoma Glass Blowing Studio
Come experience the magic of glassblowing at Tacoma Glassblowing Studio. See glass in its purest form, create it with the help of our instructors, or purchase art already made. See what it’s like to be able to mold glass and create something by hand that will attract attention wherever you place it.
Distance: 25 miles/35 minutes
Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad
Located in the small town of Elbe in beautiful Washington State is a heritage railroad south of Mount Rainier National Park. Passengers enjoy train rides through the forest and across the glacial fed Upper Nisqually River to a museum located in Mineral, Washington. Museum exhibits explore a comprehensive collection of steam logging locomotives and discover the stories behind the pioneers of railroad logging camps in the early to mid 1900’s.
Distance: 25 miles/32 minutes
Rainier View Winery
Are you tired of doing the same thing day in and day out? Are you and your significant other looking to have some excitement? At Rainier View Winery and Nursery, we specialize in handcrafted wines and good times! If you’re in the mood for live music, wine tasting or a fun night out with just the ladies, we offer a wide variety of weekly activities for you to enjoy. We are the only winery and nursery combination in the state of Washington.
Distance: 2 miles/4 minutes
Botanical Gardens:
Bonhoeffer Botanical Gardens
The 20+ acre Bonhoeffer Botanical Gardens host the Northwest's only completely native botanical garden. The garden includes all of Western Washington's indigenous trees, shrubs, vines and ferns, along with grass, moss, mushroom, pond, flower and ground-cover species within three types of wetlands. The garden is a labor of love to preserve native plants, while serving as an outdoor educational and recreational resource for coming generations.
Distance: 94 miles/1 hour and 40 minutes
Chase Gardens
An outstanding example of Pacific Northwest modernist garden style with majestic views of Mt. Rainer, Chase Garden was created by passionate amateur gardeners Emmott and Ione Chase. The Garden Conservancy has been proud to share the garden with the public since 1998 and to save it for the enjoyment of future generations.
Distance: 4.5 miles/8 minutes
Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden
The Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden, located between Seattle and Tacoma, is a 22-acre woodland garden that is home the largest collection of Rhododendron species in the world. Visitors will experience a diverse botanical collection in a forest of Douglas fir, western red cedar, hemlock and other native plants. The garden is also home to beautiful companion plants, including the famous Himalayan Blue Poppies, Camellias, Magnolias, Japanese maples, and many rare plants. Open year-round during visiting hours, our nursery sells many of the plants you’ll see in the garden.
Distance: 25 miles/37 minutes
Soos Creek Botanical Garden
Soos Creek Botanical Garden provides a diversity of gardens for the public to enjoy, including inspirational gardens based upon international, regional, and historical gardens, while providing education and conservation of horticulture, the environment, and history.
Distance: 29 miles/38 minutes
Powells Wood
Within 30 minutes of Seattle, PowellsWood uniquely combines a lush pleasure garden and native woodland within a 40 acre nature preserve. Allow your senses to be enchanted as you saunter through this oasis of beauty, peace, and inspiration.
Distance: 27 miles/45 minutes
Lakewold Gardens Estate
Walk the paths of Lakewold Gardens and you will be strolling through a period in garden history when classic European design came face to face with America's emerging landscape masters. It was a time when the South Sound's Lakes District was first being discovered and when Tacoma's new prominent families would introduce the world to their unique vision of a cultured country estate. With help from Thomas D. Church, a leading landscape architect of the 20th century, Eulalie Wagner made this garden her personal life project and generously left it for all to enjoy.
Distance: 23 miles/33 minutes
Parks:
Wolf Haven International
Wolf Haven International is a nationally recognized wolf sanctuary that has rescued and provided a lifetime home for 300 displaced, captive-born animals since 1982. Our mission is “To conserve and protect wolves and their habitat.”
Distance: 38 miles/50 minutes
Northwest Trek Wildlife Park
Northwest Trek Wildlife Park is a facility of Metro Parks Tacoma, an independent government agency creating healthy opportunities to play, learn and grow since 1907. Northwest Trek Wildlife Park is dedicated to conservation, education and recreation through native Northwest wildlife..
Distance: 8 miles/12 minutes
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium isn't just a fun place to spend time with friends and family. It's the only combined zoo and aquarium in the Pacific Northwest, nestled inside the 700-acre Point Defiance Park with views of Mount Rainier and Puget Sound. And with over 500 different animal and plant species, a vintage carousel and Zoolights, there's plenty to explore.
Distance: 38 miles/46 minutes
Rainier National Park
Ascending to 14,410 feet above sea level, Mount Rainier stands as an icon in the Washington landscape. An active volcano, Mount Rainier is the most glaciated peak in the contiguous U.S.A., spawning five major rivers. Subalpine wildflower meadows ring the icy volcano while ancient forest cloaks Mount Rainier’s lower slopes. Wildlife abounds in the park’s ecosystems. A lifetime of discovery awaits.
Distance: 39 miles/50 minutes
Mount St. Helens National Park
Mount St. Helens or Louwala-Clough is an active stratovolcano located in Southwest, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is 96 miles south of Seattle, Washington, and 50 miles northeast of Portland, Oregon and features Stunning Landscapes and Endless Adventure.
Distance: 88 miles/1 hour and 40 minutes