Local guide

Kids-friendly activities near Olalla Bay

The best kids activities near Olalla Bay start close: Sehmel Homestead Park with a Boundless Playground built for children of all abilities, Kopachuck State Park for tide pools at low tide, the Theler Wetlands for flat boardwalk trails, and the Gig Harbor waterfront for parks and a splash fountain. For museums, the Children's Museum of Tacoma is pay-what-you-will and built for young kids, KiDiMu on Bainbridge Island is sized for little ones, and Tacoma adds the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, the Museum of Glass, Fort Nisqually, and the Washington State History Museum, all within about 35 minutes. This guide is organized by category and by age, so you can pick what fits your crew.

Bring the kids. The bay, the beach, and the whole Kitsap Peninsula are set up for them.

Written by Assaf, the Olalla Bay editor. Updated October 2026.

Quick picks by age

Toddlers (under 3): Children's Museum of Tacoma (birth to 8, pay what you will), KiDiMu on Bainbridge Island, Sehmel Homestead Park Boundless Playground, the house private beach for sand and stones. Skip the zoo for now; it is a long day for little legs.

Kids 5 to 10: Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, Fort Nisqually, Kopachuck tide pools at low tide, Theler Wetlands boardwalks, Museum of Glass Kids Design Glass, Sehmel Homestead Park, Gig Harbor waterfront. This is the sweet spot age for most of this guide.

Tweens and teens (11+): Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium (the aquarium holds up), Museum of Glass, Washington State History Museum, Fort Nisqually, kayaking from the house beach, Banner Forest trails, Owen Beach. Teens get the most out of the Tacoma museum district and the water.

Parks and playgrounds

Sehmel Homestead Park. 10123 78th Ave NW, Gig Harbor. Open 7 am to dusk. A 98-acre PenMet park northwest of downtown Gig Harbor. The Boundless Playground is built for children of all abilities. Around it: basketball, turf soccer field, baseball and softball fields, tennis courts, picnic areas, and about four miles of trails through meadow and forest. Phone (253) 858-3400. It gets busy on tournament weekends.

Gig Harbor waterfront walk. Downtown Gig Harbor. Skansie Brothers Park has an open lawn, a pier, and family restrooms right on the water. The path connects small parks and public docks along the harbor. On hot afternoons, Jerisich Park nearby has a splash fountain. Summer brings free waterfront concerts and a farmers market to Skansie.

Beaches and tide pools

Kopachuck State Park. Reopened in August 2025. Rocky shoreline with tide pools that show best at low tide, plus about two miles of trail through old growth and a sandy stretch for skimming stones. Plan around a daytime low tide with the NOAA Gig Harbor tide chart, wear shoes with grip, and look without touching. Closed to shellfishing in 2026.

Purdy Spit. A small county beach on the sandbar between the harbor and the bay, easy for wading and watching shorebirds. Also closed to shellfishing in 2026. The full timing playbook is in the low-tide guide.

Owen Beach. Inside Point Defiance Park in Tacoma. A sandy beach on Puget Sound with a picnic area and views of Vashon Island and the Narrows Bridge. Pair it with the zoo or Fort Nisqually for a full day. Parking is free.

Animals: zoos, aquariums, and wildlife

Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. 5400 N Pearl St, Tacoma, WA 98407. Phone (253) 404-3800. The Pacific Northwest's only combined zoo and aquarium, inside 760-acre Point Defiance Park, about 35 minutes from the house. Red wolves, polar bears, tigers, penguins, sharks, seahorses, and a Pacific Seas Aquarium. Hours vary by season; check pdza.org for current hours and prices. Parking is free. No Discover Pass needed. This is the biggest family day trip in this guide.

Theler Wetlands. 22871 NE SR-3, Belfair, WA 98528. Free, open during daylight hours. Over three miles of flat boardwalk trails over marsh and forest, with herons, eagles, ducks, and interpretive signs. The nature center is open Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 3 pm. Dogs are not allowed on the trail. Bring water; there is no entry fee.

Wildlife at the house. Seals, otters, and eagles visit Olalla Bay regularly. Guests report whale sightings from the deck. No trip needed: watch from the hot tub or the dock gazebo.

Museums: hands-on and kid-built

Children's Museum of Tacoma. 1501 Pacific Ave, Tacoma. Phone (253) 627-6031. Pay As You Will admission, which means donation only. Public hours Friday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. Member-only hours Monday. Built for birth to age 8, with a Voyager ship playscape kids power by pedaling bikes, a water area, and an art studio. Best for toddlers and young kids; older kids may get bored. Check greentrike.org for current hours before you go.

Kids Discovery Museum (KiDiMu). 301 Ravine Ln NE, Bainbridge Island. Phone (206) 855-4650. A play-centered children's museum steps from the Winslow ferry dock. Pretend town with a grocery store and bank, a pirate treehouse, a Math and Science Hall, and an outdoor play area. Admission is about $15 for children and $12 for adults; check kidimu.org for current prices and hours. Next door, the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art has free admission.

Museum of Glass. 1801 Dock St, Tacoma, WA 98402. Phone 253-284-4750. Open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm, Thursday to 8 pm, closed Monday and Tuesday. Watch live glassblowing in the Hot Shop. The Kids Design Glass program lets kids submit drawings for a chance to see them made into blown glass. Admission: adults $22, seniors and military $20, youth 6 to 18 $13, under 6 free. Free every Third Thursday from 5 to 8 pm. Walk the Chihuly Bridge of Glass after.

Washington State History Museum. 1911 Pacific Ave, Tacoma. Phone (253) 272-3500. Open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm, third Thursday to 8 pm. The Great Hall of Washington History covers the state's story from early peoples to today. Admission: adults $14, seniors, military, and students $11, child 0 to 5 free. Free for all ages on Tacoma Free Museum Day. On-site parking available.

Foss Waterway Seaport. 705 Dock St, Tacoma. Free admission daily, 10 am to 4 pm. A maritime museum in the historic Balfour Dock building, with interactive displays on Puget Sound boating, fishing, and marine ecosystems, plus a working model railroad. Free Third Thursday hours 10 am to 8 pm.

Puget Sound Navy Museum. Bremerton, free, right next to the ferry terminal, with a hands-on discovery room built for kids. Open daily 10 to 4, closed Tuesdays from October through April.

Harbor History Museum. On the Gig Harbor waterfront, with a restored 1893 schoolhouse, a 65-foot fishing vessel, and exhibits on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse.

Living history

Fort Nisqually Living History Museum. 5519 Five Mile Dr, Tacoma, inside Point Defiance Park. Phone (253) 404-3970. A reconstructed Hudson's Bay Company trading post from 1855, with costumed interpreters, a blacksmith, and hands-on exhibits. Hours: May 1 to Sept 30, daily 11 am to 5 pm. Oct 1 to April 30, Wednesday to Sunday, 11 am to 4 pm. Admission: adult $14.50, senior and military $13.50, youth 4 to 17 $10.50, ages 3 and under free, family (max 2 adults and 5 youth) $40. Combine with the zoo and Owen Beach for a full Point Defiance day.

Easy trails for small legs

Theler Wetlands. Near Belfair, over three miles of flat boardwalk trails over marsh and forest, an easy walk for kids with strollers, with herons and eagles along the way. Details are in the hiking guide.

Banner Forest. In Port Orchard, 635 acres with 29 miles of mostly easy woodland trail: pick a short loop and turn around when the snack bag empties.

Kopachuck State Park trails. About two miles of trail through old growth, ending at the beach. Pair with tide pooling at low tide.

Water: kayaking and beaches

Kayaking from the house. Two kayaks, one tandem and one single, plus life vests, launching straight off the private beach. Kids do well in the bay with an adult in another kayak. Everyone wears a life vest, no exceptions. Details are in the kayaking guide.

Deadmans Island Kayak + SUP. In Gig Harbor, rents kayaks and paddleboards and runs guided tours for all skill levels. Call 425-765-8278 or book at deadmanskayaksup.com.

Rainy-day backups

Puget Sound rain is real, and the house game room covers the first hour. After that: the Children's Museum of Tacoma, the Museum of Glass, the Puget Sound Navy Museum in Bremerton (free), the Harbor History Museum in Gig Harbor, and the Gig Harbor library, which runs free storytimes and kids' programs through the week. The full indoor playbook is in the rainy-day guide.

Practical tips

What to bring: Shoes with grip for tide pools, layers for the waterfront (it is cooler by the water), snacks and water for trails, binoculars for the wetlands and the deck.

Strollers: Theler Wetlands boardwalks are flat and stroller-friendly. Sehmel Homestead Park trails are wide. Kopachuck trails are doable with a sturdy stroller but the beach is not. Point Defiance Park is stroller-friendly with paved paths.

Parking: Point Defiance Park parking is free. Sehmel Homestead Park has plentiful parking. Tacoma museums have paid lots nearby. Kopachuck requires a Discover Pass.

Best times: Arrive at the zoo within an hour of opening to beat crowds. Plan tide pooling around a daytime low tide. Theler Wetlands is best in the morning when birds are active.

Back at the house

The house is built for family groups of ten: the game room for downtime between outings, the private beach for guests who want sand and water at the doorstep, and the hot tub for tired adults after the kids are down. The beach is private and reserved for guests of the house.

Questions people ask

What are the best kids-friendly activities near Olalla Bay?

Sehmel Homestead Park for playgrounds, Kopachuck State Park for tide pools at low tide, the Theler Wetlands for flat boardwalk trails, the Gig Harbor waterfront for parks and a splash fountain, and Point Defiance Park in Tacoma for a full day with the zoo and aquarium, a beach, and a living-history fort.

What is best for toddlers near Olalla Bay?

The Children's Museum of Tacoma is built for birth to age 8 with a pay-what-you-will model. KiDiMu on Bainbridge Island is sized for little ones. Sehmel Homestead Park has a Boundless Playground built for children of all abilities. At the house, the private beach and the game room cover downtime.

What can kids do on a rainy day near Olalla Bay?

The Children's Museum of Tacoma, the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, the Puget Sound Navy Museum in Bremerton (free), the Harbor History Museum in Gig Harbor, and the Gig Harbor library storytimes. The house game room covers the rest.

Where can kids see animals near Olalla Bay?

Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma is the closest full zoo and aquarium, about 35 minutes away. The Theler Wetlands near Belfair has herons, eagles, and ducks along flat boardwalk trails. At the house, seals, otters, and eagles visit the bay.

What is the best family day trip from Olalla Bay?

Point Defiance Park in Tacoma, about 35 minutes away, stacks a full family day: the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, Owen Beach, Fort Nisqually Living History Museum, and Five Mile Drive through old-growth forest. Parking is free and no Discover Pass is needed.