← Back to South Puget Sound Garden Tour

Northwest Blooms · Printable itinerary

South Puget Sound Garden Tour

A single full day of public gardens between SeaTac and Lakewood, with a waterfront lunch in Tacoma. Total driving is about 2 hours 10 minutes. Several gardens are closed Mondays and Tuesdays, so check hours before you go.

  1. 1. Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden

    13735 24th Ave S, SeaTac, WA 98168
    Hours: Daily, dawn to dusk, excluding federal holidays (dog friendly)
    Suggested visit: About 45 minutes
    Highlights: Free-entry garden with a Japanese garden, rose beds, ponds, and shaded paths.
    Drive to the next stop: about 25 minutes

  2. 2. PowellsWood Garden

    430 S Dash Point Rd, Federal Way, WA 98003
    Hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM (no dogs)
    Suggested visit: About 1 hour
    Highlights: Formal garden rooms with woodland, perennial borders, a stream, a pond, and a forest preserve.
    Drive to lunch near Point Defiance: about 20 minutes

  3. 3. Lunch near Point Defiance

    Suggested visit: About 1 hour
    Anthony's at Point Defiance, 5910 N Waterfront Dr, Tacoma, casual Northwest seafood with views of Vashon Island and Mount Rainier.
    Duke's Seafood, 3327 Ruston Way, Tacoma, upscale-casual local seafood with harbor views.
    Drive to the next stop: about 5 minutes

  4. 4. Point Defiance Park & Gardens

    5400 N Pearl St, Tacoma, WA 98407
    Hours: 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset (dog friendly)
    Suggested visit: About 1 hour 15 minutes
    Highlights: Native plant areas, rose, dahlia, and rhododendron gardens, a Japanese garden, forest trails, and waterfront bluffs.
    Drive to the next stop: about 10 minutes

  5. 5. Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden

    2525 S 336th St, Federal Way, WA 98003
    Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM (no dogs)
    Suggested visit: About 1 hour
    Highlights: A 22-acre woodland garden with a diverse global rhododendron collection.
    Drive to the next stop: about 25 minutes

  6. 6. Lakewold Gardens

    12317 Gravelly Lake Dr SW, Lakewood, WA 98499
    Hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM (no dogs)
    Suggested visit: About 1 hour
    Highlights: Picturesque estate garden with woodland groves, formal plantings, and open lawns.
    Drive back to Seattle: about 45 minutes

  7. 7. Optional extension: Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens

    115 S Pekin Rd, Woodland, WA 98674
    Hours: May to October, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM; $10 admission, cash only
    Highlights: Historic 7-acre lilac garden with Hulda Klager hybrids and a Victorian farmhouse.
    Adds about 3 hours of round-trip driving; best for a longer day.

Total driving for the main itinerary: about 2 hours 10 minutes. · northwestblooms.com