Skanskie Brothers Park is Gig Harbor's best known green space and a focal point for the community…read more It is on the waterfront. This is where they hold farmers markets, summertime concerts, festivals, etc.

Very decent park to take family and dogs out for a walk! Excellent view of the Gig Harbor…read morewaterfront! Come there when the weather is pretty decent. There is a cafe located across the street. Public restrooms are located at the front of the park.

Some of the best views of Gig Harbor are found here…read more Entrance is easy at the bottom of Anthony's parking lot, or above on Franklin Street. These well-maintained wooden steps will give you a nice view of the harbor. I recommend heading here to walk off everything you just ate, or as a mini workout pre-meal. Bonus points for benches along the stairwell + clean bathrooms at the bottom.

Seems like Gig Harbor is adding its own local flavor to attract tourists…read more Discovered this place after eating at Anthony's. The Finholm View Climb is just a set of wooden stairs at the back of the Anthony's parking lot that goes up to Franklin Dr. As you climb the stairs, you'll see inspirational quotes on the stairs, names of people, and you'll get a gorgeous view of the harbor. Like a really gorgeous view - despite being full, it was worth the walk up for the view. It's worth taking your time as you go up the steps to enjoy the view. There's a small deck and some benches along the steps... perfect for a little picnic with a view in Downtown Gig Harbor. Or a nice place to read a book or sketch. It just seems peaceful. There's even a public bathroom at the bottom of the steps, perfect if you're just wandering around the harbor. I'd be cautious when it's raining though, as wooden steps means slippery when wet. So if you're in the area and walking around Gig Harbor, I'd recommend taking a look. It would help walk off the food you just ate from Anthony's - the base of the steps is in their parking lot after all. Or you could reward yourself for climbing these steps by going to Anthony's.

What a great place to go to good facilities and amenities really nice customer service great place…read moreto rent a kayak but sadly the parking is very sketchy. We noticed several tweakers so we wound up going to a whole different place because we just didn't feel safe leaving our car this day tweakers going back-and-forth on bikes from each parking location. It's very sad this detoured us from using this marina that we so enjoy on this day.more security is needed

Spent a weekend at Dock Street Marina, checking out Tacoma & hanging out on the boat. The location…read more allows easy access to quite a bit: the glass museum, UW Tacoma campus, the free link train to most of downtown and there is a Starbucks within close range too. The marina has a great shower/restroom facility. Very clean and updated. Laundry is also available. Upon check-in, we were given a welcome packet with info on the city, sightseeing brochures, coupons, etc. Docks were clean, I saw them being swept/washed in the morning. We had a great view of the bridge at night, and with the water so calm, you could see the reflection mirrored in the water. Food options nearby: 1) 7 Seas Brewery with restaurant 3uilt inside 2) Forum (link train to theatre district) 3) The Swiss - bar/pub food Heads up: you're near the train tracks, so you'll hear trains going by or as hubs likes to say "fake train noises".

Another very nice park located along the Ruston Way Waterfront!!…read more There is a large commemorative plaque here, along with some other monuments. There is also a short pier here and some places to sit. You can catch some great views of Mount Rainier here, along with the boat's cruising through the Puget Sound!! A very nice park!!

Beautiful park along the waterfront in Tacoma. Good views of Mount Rainier and other mountains in…read morethe background. See the port of Tacoma and boats passing by. Beautiful park that is kept up well.

This area and park are exquisite. Wow. The views are absolutely spectacular. The water clear and…read morebeautiful. There are ample trees providing shade. The beach is rocks. Some areas more smooth than others. We are looking forward to returning.

Great hidden park! It looks like it's in someone's backyard but it's an actual park! There's a cute…read moreswing where you can swing into the water and look over at point defiance. I'm so glad I found this place and hope I can keep this secret place between us

This is one of the really cool features that you find as you stroll along Ruston Way. This dock is…read morepretty much straight down the road to Ruston Way from the Old Town neighborhood. I have seen fisherman fish off of this dock and a friend of mine comes here during certain fishing seasons to fish here at night. I think that is when they are fishing for squid. But for me I come here for the purpose of the view only and it is a great view of Puget Sound, The Port of Tacoma and the surrounding area. Most times it's clear enough you can see Brown's Point and Vashon Island. The last time I was here I believe there were some seals beached at the very end of the dock. It was gated off so people could not interfere as they chill out and sun bathe. It was still a really cool thing to see. That is also a cool site to see. Sometimes you can see jellyfish and the Harbor Seals in the water. Sometimes the seals really want to show off and you can get quite a show if they are in a playful mood when you are on this dock. But since we are dealing with wildlife here it's all a matter of being there at the right place and at the right time.

The Old Town Dock is one of the many lovely features along the Ruston waterfront. It's a great…read moreplace to just stop and watch the world go by. There's also a floating dock that you can use as a launch point. The Ruston waterfront in general is a great place to go and get some fresh air!

Jacob's Point is a small preserve on Anderson Island with a 3 mile walking path that illustrates…read moreboth the beauty and the history of the island. There are many stops along the path, mostly to see the Puget Sound and Mount Rainer in the background. I'm always impressed with Mount Rainer because it seems to poke out of the skyline from nowhere. There are certainly Cascade Mountains that border Mount Rainer, but they are not nearly as high and nor are they visible unless you head towards the mountains. There is one stop showing the remnants of one of the first homesteads on the island. The only thing left is the brick chimney. Apparently, it was a hay farm for a few years before the family moved off the island to find work elsewhere. I can't imagine how hard it would've been to have a hay farm on the island. You would essentially have to provide all the food for yourself and figure out how to transport your hay to market. The most interesting part of the trail was the old brickyard. The mud in the area provided good brickmaking material and the cove on the Puget Sound enabled the brickmaker to ship the heavy bricks to buyers elsewhere. Initially, it didn't make sense to me to have a heavy brickmaking facility on a hard to reach island but if your mode of transport is feet away from the facility, it makes more sense. The boats would float into the cove during high tide before settling on to supports at low tide. At that time, they could fill the boat with bricks. The boat would raise off the supports at high tide and head to market. For someone like myself who grew up in the Midwest, it was interesting to see how businesses could use the tides to their advantage. Unfortunately for this particular brickmaking company, the brick market collapsed a few years after they started operation and were forced to shut down.

Although you can map the GPS coordinates, there is no precise address for the park entrance. From…read morethe ferry dock, take Yoman Road south, then when it turns into Eckenstam - Johnson Road (keep left at the Y-intersection) continue south. It's about 2.7-3.2 miles from the dock, depending on how you map it, with the trailhead and small parking lot with signage on the left. Anderson Island is worth a trip just to visit this pretty little trail. It begins by winding through a marsh on a boardwalk, then proceeds through open woods to the chimney and the site of the Jacob family pioneer family. From there, the trail leads to a clean, waterless composting pit toilet. and to some cutbanks overlooking the south side of Oro Bay. At low tide you can explore the kelp-y, pebbly beaches. I heard tell of a sea cave (also mentioned on park websites), but I did not see it for myself. I did however see the sea. The website also warns of being trapped by "sucking mud" and the tides. Certainly, when the tides are coming it, be sure to know where you got down to the beach and keep it in sight, as the banks are steep all around and access points are limited. Even if the tide is in, the end of the point features a stunning view of Mt. Rainier, shining bright, or reflecting brightly, rather. The trail is mostly level with a few bumps, well maintained, and easy to follow.

This park is definitely worth a trip to the waterfront! I'm staying at Tacoma's beautiful Silver…read moreCloud Inn and this was my morning hike today. Stunning views of the Sound, loads of beautiful rocks, sea weed, logs, moss, and baby crabs under the rocks. There are wild blackberries growing along the paths. Just lovely! No bathrooms available, closed due to COVID. I'm not sure about parking, since I walked from my hotel.

This is actually a combo park. It appears that Dickman Mill and Hamilton parks kind of run together…read moreinto one big park. Nonetheless, there are great views of water from either park. The area seems really safe and clean as do the piers. I will say that it's hard to find parking though and you have to get out and walk a few minutes to get to the actual Dickman Mill part. It is cool that they have informative placards and signs to showcase the history of the Dickman Mill park. The old base of the mill is still there and you can see how this was a hub for processing until it burned down. There is also a very nice clean bathroom if you need to go while you're out and they have doggie doo bags for your little ones....your dogs that is. If you head out on the pier or out by the mill part there are benches if you want to sit and listen to the waves come in. And it didn't really smell funny or anything like you would expect especially being in Tacoma. Overall, there isn't much to the park other than the history of the mill and the pier. There aren't any playground items or really much else for your kids to do. It is just a nice place to relax and listen to the waves come in without having to go to the Pacific Ocean.