Manitou Park (178 Good Days in Tacoma: Wading Pools and There May or May Not Be Such a Thing As a Free Lunch)

Manitou Park used to be an important stop on the streetcar line that ran through Tacoma, out to Fort Lewis. These days, it's a relatively sleepy spot in a quiet neighborhood between South Tyler and South Orchard streets. Another shady park, with BBQ facilities, picnic shelters, a nice playground, and an old-school wading pool. It would be a great place to plan a family picnic, since it doesn't tend to get too crowded.

This will be the last year for the wading pool at Manitou, it's slated to be replaced by a sprayground. (Postponed, don't know completion date.) In the mean time, the kids seem to have a great time swimming in the shallow pool (3 foot max).

We arrived a little before lunch time and tried out the free lunch part of the Summer Playground Program, open to anyone under the age of 19 who happens to be present when lunch is served. Lunch consisted of a peanut butter and jelly "uncrustable," veggies and ranch dressing, string cheese, a banana and milk. Predictably, my four year old ate three bites and refused to eat anything more. We weren't permitted to take her bagged lunch out of the picnic area and had to throw it away, rather than save it for later. (Of course, she got hungry again and we had to leave earlier than I would have liked, and buy her something) If you have kids under 6, I recommend bringing snacks even if you take advantage of this program, since it's not really run with little stomachs in mind. Too bad, since that amount of food could easily keep a four year old going all afternoon, in smaller portions. We've been to other parks at snack time and never been informed of this rule, so perhaps it's just a lunch time thing.

Anyway, back to the good stuff. Manitou has a great playground, not the latest generation but still made with big and small kids in mind. I forgot to snap a picture of it while we there, but it's in a nice well-shaded spot. There are baby swings but no big-kid ones.

Wading pool hours are 1-4 and 4:30-6:50, Monday through Friday. The playground program also runs from 12-4 on weekends, but I'm not sure of the wading pool hours. Lunch is served from 12-1, and snack from 4 to 4:30.

parks, parks map, Summer fun, playgrounds, Summer playground program

Manitou Park used to be an important stop on the streetcar line that ran through Tacoma, out to Fort Lewis. These days, it's a relatively sleepy spot in a quiet neighborhood between South Tyler and South Orchard streets. Another shady park, with BBQ facilities, picnic shelters, a nice playground, and an old-school wading pool. It would be a great place to plan a family picnic, since it doesn't tend to get too crowded.

This will be the last year for the wading pool at Manitou, it's slated to be replaced by a sprayground. In the mean time, the kids seem to have a great time swimming in the shallow pool (3 foot max).

We arrived a little before lunch time and tried out the free lunch part of the Summer Playground Program, open to anyone under the age of 19 who happens to be present when lunch is served. Lunch consisted of a peanut butter and jelly "uncrustable," veggies and ranch dressing, string cheese, a banana and milk. Predictably, my four year old ate three bites and refused to eat anything more. We weren't permitted to take her bagged lunch out of the picnic area and had to throw it away, rather than save it for later. (Of course, she got hungry again and we had to leave earlier than I would have liked, and buy her something) If you have kids under 6, I recommend bringing snacks even if you take advantage of this program, since it's not really run with little stomachs in mind. Too bad, since that amount of food could easily keep a four year old going all afternoon, in smaller portions. We've been to other parks at snack time and never been informed of this rule, so perhaps it's just a lunch time thing.

Anyway, back to the good stuff. Manitou has a great playground, not the latest generation but still made with big and small kids in mind. I forgot to snap a picture of it while we there, but it's in a nice well-shaded spot. There are baby swings but no big-kid ones.

Wading pool hours are 1-4 and 4:30-6:50, Monday through Friday. The playground program also runs from 12-4 on weekends, but I'm not sure of the wading pool hours. Lunch is served from 12-1, and snack from 4 to 4:30.