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    Kobayashi Park

    4.0 (25 reviews)

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    A stream in Kobayashi Park.
    Alden C.

    Really a great park! Kobayashi Park is so tranquil and peaceful! The park is down into a gulch where there is a decent sized parking lot. There is a structure there where you can enjoy with a picnic as well as restrooms which is always great to utilize! Lol! There is a creek that runs through most of the park which really adds to the peacefulness. There are a number of trails you can scout out all over the place. I'm not sure if some of those trails link up to Chambers Creek Park or not. We tried to go in from the Chambers Creek Park side but could not locate a trail that did go to Kobayashi. If there is a trail that connects through then I guess we picked the wrong one in both parks. From what another person we visited with on the trails they said that there is no connecting trail there yet but we always like to verify and investigate ourselves as well to confirm. Around the parking area at Kobayashi Park there is small waterfalls that go into the creek which gives this part of the park a Japanese garden kind of look. Kobayashi Park is a great park to wander and get lost in and a great place to come to to get out of the heat on a hot summer day.

    Entrance Signage
    Julie S.

    Cute little park by Fred Meyers ! With picnic tables and benches. And doggie bags :) From wikipedia: "Kobayashi Park, also known as Kobayashi Preserve, is a park located in University Place, Washington, where Leach Creek and Chambers Creek meet. Kobayashi Park is 5.5 acres." Hm... I have yet to explore the 5.5 acres. I've only stuck with the more groomed trails without crossing over to the opposite side of the creek yet.... I love that it's shady with trees with chamber creek along the side. There's not a lot of parking and the trails are not well groomed. But it's a hidden gem for now and I suppose that's part of the charm. I've always walk here so the only "down" side is that you have to go down a hill to get there... meaning you have to walk up the hill. It's not a monster of a hill though. P.S. I haven't built up the courage yet to walk over the tree trunk to explore the trails on the opposite side of the river. If you want to try this, bring sturdy shoes :)

    Bridgeport Place Assisted Living residents & staff enjoyed a picnic at this park. Love the shelters & restrooms; beautiful & accessible!
    Maringi L.

    So close by but it seems so peaceful! Just beautiful! I wish I was as brave & adventurous as all the kids playing in the water (they were having a blast!). Clean and super accessible. Parking isn't great :(

    Sheree S.

    Not the best place to swim. First off there is no sunlight to many trees so water is freezing... soon as we got there barely a parking space available only 9 spots to park down the hill. The other option is upward or downward PARKING along the hill which is a tight fit. When you get to the spot to swim was a strong oder of marijuana which if you dont bring ur kids not a big deal. The trails were nice but nothing to write or blog about.

    Creek
    Tabitha B.

    Nice quaint little park. Love the little creeks here. Kids & dogs had a blast playing in the water. Would be nicer if somebody would regularly empty garbage, as its overflowing all over. Also beware some shady characters have been spotted here!

    Nice view of the creek
    Nathan K.

    Very peaceful walking path. Space is limited but makes for a good evening stroll with the dog. The park is not huge, but due to it's location it's pretty quiet. I'd recommend a picnic on a sunny day, there's a picnic table and some great views to lay a blanket down and relax on the grass.

    This is was our adventure!

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    1 year ago

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    3 months ago

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    3 months ago

    Super nice! Wish there was more parking, although the trails are nice. Super cool down there on hot days

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    9 months ago

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    7 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Nice natural feel. Clean and kept. Pretty quiet. creek is refreshing. Small parking lot.

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    6 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    13 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    11 years ago

    This place is beautiful !!! Plan to wear good shoes there is some trails but really nice for a quick work out or even to relax !.

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    Review Highlights - Kobayashi Park

    But it's a hidden gem for now and I suppose that's part of the charm.

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    Sunset Terrace Park

    Sunset Terrace Park

    4.0
    (5 reviews)
    3.0 mi

    Sunset Terrace is a decent park. Some city parks in Tacoma are a bit more glorious and have…read morespecific features that make the park unique but in this case I feel like this park is more of the basic variety. Now when I say "basic" I don't necessarily mean that it's bad. There are restrooms that are open to the public, playground equipment and a small field where you can play ball. In that aspect this is a great park for the neighborhood to come to. Parking is abundant and on a nice day I'm sure a very pleasant walk if you live nearby. I participate in hiding painted rocks and other trinkets, a popular group here in town and that is what led up to my first visit to this park. I have no complaints other than there is some clutter in some corners of the park like old, discarded clothing and such which brings the quotient down a little. Other than that it's a cute place!

    It was finally a sunny day today and we decided to give this park at try. It's right off of South…read more19th and Bridgeport in University Place and easy to spot. It's not a big park, but it is neat. My 6-year-old daughter played on the playground for an hour and a half or so. She absolutely loved the zipline, as well as the merry-go-round, rock wall, swings, tire swing, bars, and jungle gyms/slides. There is also a field there, which we didn't have an opportunity to explore, but we will definitely swing back by on a sunny day or even better, for a picnic!

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    Climbing wall
    Climbing wall
    Sunset Terrace Park
    Playground

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    Playground
    Tacoma Nature Center

    Tacoma Nature Center

    4.5
    (26 reviews)
    3.4 mi

    What an awesome place to stop by!…read more If you have kiddos this place is extra great - the playground is so delightful I just had to go down the slide! There's a building that has some really cute turtles and frogs and there are animal costumes for the kiddies. As for the adults? There's a walking trail that goes around the lake. It's pretty short, but if you go around a few times you can get a nice walk in. It's very shaded and I will definitely be coming here more when Summer comes.

    The Tacoma Nature Center is such a local gem that I've passed hundreds of times and really had no…read moreidea. I actually saw a local mom influencer post about it on Instagram and decided to visit with my kids! The Discovery Pond playground is super cute and was a hit with my kids (5 and 3). It's all nature themed, of course, with fun slides and climbing structures, as well as a small playground off to the side of the main playground. In addition, there's fun trails for the kids to explore surrounding the playgrounds that I felt comfortable enough letting them check out on their own since the whole area is pretty condensed and it's easy to hear/see them. There looked to be some pond areas that were all dried up. From past photos I think there are normally some frogs and bugs and other things that sometimes fill up these ponds, but it being the start of the hot season they are pretty baren. Would be cool to come back and check out in the fall! I also appreciate the amount of benches and picnic tables around the playground, as we were able to snag a shaded one that the kids could have their lunch at and take a break from running around. After we played and had lunch at the playground, we went on the little half mile ish trail behind the info center. It was mostly flat and very easy for the kids. The hit was definitely the bridge that goes over a large pond where we were able to spot several turtles, tadpoles, ducks, etc. We didn't pay attention to the time and missed out on going inside of the info center (it closes at 2) so that will be on the list for next time as well. Overall such a cute little spot that we'll I'm sure we'll hit up several times this summer!

    Photos
    Can you spot the two turtles?
    Can you spot the two turtles?
    Tacoma Nature Center
    Trails around the park

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    Trails around the park
    Jefferson Park

    Jefferson Park

    4.7
    (14 reviews)
    4.4 mi

    Jefferson Park is a lovely green space for the neighborhood! There's a nice little playground and…read moresplash park for the kiddos; some good walking areas; tennis, baseball, and basketball courts; and a huge green space area - the only limit is your imagination! I mostly ended up here because I heard that the sequoia tree is the largest outside of Cali (trunk measured from chest height). I don't know if that's actually true, but it's a really lovely tree and I found a Monkeyshine, which makes it even better! This is a great place to stop by to get some fresh air!

    Jefferson Park is a nice, large park for this area of Tacoma. It's sort of near the Proctor area…read moreand I can tell that lots of the neighborhood kids come here to play. I've been here a couple times... despite living fairly close to it but I usually prefer the parks on the waterfront more. I participate in the Tacoma Rocks movement which is a group of people in town which paint and decorate parks all year around and hide them in Easter egg fashion for kids and adults to find... and hopefully to rehide but if they love them it's fine to keep. You don't have to stick just to rocks and this past Easter weekend I hid rubber Easter ducks for kids to find in this park as well as painted rocks. I announced in the group on Facebook and could tell that the rocks and ducks were found quickly from the response I got. There are lots of nooks and crannies to hide stuff like this in this park which makes it fun. During monkeyshine season which is around Chinese New Year some people in the community hide handmade glass orbs. I'd love to find one of those... maybe someday in this park?

    Photos
    Playground area
    Playground area
    Jefferson Park
    Jefferson Park

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    Kobayashi Park - parks - Updated August 2026

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