Free & Cheap Activities for Babies & Toddlers in Pierce County

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Updated last: 9/14/2021

Fun isn’t just for the older kids! Babies and toddlers can have it too! There are quite a few free or cheap activities for babies and toddlers in the Pierce County area.

Story time, open gym, play to learn were all activities I really enjoyed taking Mason to when he was younger. We’ve started taking Piper to some places as they’ve started reopening. Everything will be great activities to engage in this fall/winter when it’s raining and school is in session for my oldest.

If you are local to the Pierce County area and have younger ones at home take a look at the list below. It’ll be separated by town/city, so if you wanted to stay in a specific part of Pierce County, it’ll be easier to get an idea.

I’ll try keeping this post updated, but keep in mind because of the pandemic some places might be closed, or have limited capacity, ect.

Check out these local posts;

• Over 150 Family Friendly Things To Do In Pierce County
• Public Areas to Play in the Water Near Pierce County
• Pierce County Birthday Party Locations for Kids & Teens
• List of Zoos and Aquariums in Washington
• South Sound U-Pick & U-Cut Farms

FREE & CHEAP ACTIVITIES FOR BABIES & TODDLERS IN PIERCE COUNTY

• Pierce County Library – Visit a library to check out items, and they are hosting some events mainly virtual ones with a few stories in the park. And pre-pandemic they’d have kids computers, toys and hands on educational items at the kid area.
• Tacoma Public Library – Visit a library to check out items, and they are hosting some events mainly virtual ones.
• YMCA Membership – Although not free or cheap up front, but if you use it often it’ll be worth it. Most have indoor pools, gyms, preschool age classes, indoor playgrounds, ect.
• Play to Learn – Is currently virtual, but once I hear of it being in person again I’ll update this post.

UNIVERSITY PLACE

• Odyssey 1 – Indoor jungle gym, play as long as you want, $7.85 kids ages 2+ Monday-Friday, $2.25 for under age 2 unless you have another paying admission, supervising adults free. Pre-pandemic they had a preschool deal for jungle gym and pizza. $
• Any of parks in University Place are great! The Playground by the Sound is somewhat fenced in. Homestead and Kobayashi Park are excellent to hike and/or explore.

FIRCREST

• The Fircrest Tot Lot located at 527 Ramsdell St is fully fenced it and a popular playground for younger ones and parents.
• Any of the other parks are great to visit as well; play, hike, explore.
• The Curious Bear & Toy Shop –  pre-pandemic they’d have story times that were free at the store, keep an eye on their calendar to see when they are back.
• Edwards Family Aquatic Center at the Fircrest Community Center has a beautiful new pool, including a wading pool. Open seasonally, admission is required. $
• Fircrest Community Center is still under construction, they used to have an open gym for the younger ones. Hoping that will continue when it is done. $

STEILACOOM

• They’ve got a few parks to hike and explore, one of our favorite parks is Sunnyside Beach. It’s got a big playground, picnic area, trains, sandy beach and so much more.

LAKEWOOD

• Lakewood Community Center typically has a Tiny Tots Indoor Playground for parents and kids under 5. It’s not currently offered though because of rona. $
• Fort Steilacoom has a great big “castle” playground, as well as plenty of space to run, hike and explore. Check out the huge dog park.

DUPONT

• Take the family friendly hike down the Sequalitchew Creek Trail, enjoy a picnic on the beach when you get to the end. The kids always enjoy walking through the tunnel at the end, it’s wide enough to have space when it’s busy(and it gets busy often), it’s a dirt path but we’ve managed to bring the jogging stroller once.
• Technically in Olympia, but it’s about a 5 minute drive down the freeway to the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually Wildlife Refugee. We really love this local hike all year round, you see so much wildlife and beautiful nature, check out the old barns and picnic spots throughout. Parking usually cost a couple bucks. $

TACOMA

• Tacoma has a ton of awesome parks; from hiking, exploring to beach combing. Check out Metro Parks and also Pierce County parks. Check out all the indoor and outdoor pools Tacoma has to offer.
• DEFY Tacoma is an Indoor trampoline fun park! They have a KidJump (6 & under only) Monday-Saturday mornings 9-10am one adult jumps for free with one paying child $11
• Tacoma Nature Center has a reopening date set for September 7th Monday-Friday 10:00am-4:00pm for the indoor area. You can still visit the playground area and the trails.
• Star Center Indoor Playground as of September 7 they are officially open, great indoor jungle gym for the younger ones under 6. Parent/guardian supervision required and play time may be limited to 60 min. based on capacity.
• One of my daughters favorite places right now is the Tacoma Children’s Museum. And for all those with base access they’ve got a new museum on JBLM. Such a fun and educational indoor place. It’s pay as you will.
• Ride the free link light rail(Tacoma Trolley), start at Freighthouse Square and just stay on until it brings you back. Short but fun ride for kids.
• Kids love to walk and visit all the animals at the Point Defiance Zoo. If you plan on going often, I highly suggest getting a membership. $
• Toddlers love Chuck-e-Cheese! And they have way more safety protocols then the past $

FIFE

• Take your kids swimming at the indoor Fife Aquatic Center. $
• Any of the other parks are great to visit as well; play, hike, explore.

SPANAWAY/GRAHAM/EATONVILLE

• Any of the other parks are great to visit as well; play, hike, explore.
• One of my daughters favorite places is Old McDebbie’s and Jim’s U-Fish, hands on experience with a lot of the animals, fishing, I-spy trail, music trail, picnic tables, toys, playground. You could easily spend all day here! $
• Take the littles to Northwest Trek & Wildlife, ride the tram, walk around looking at the animals, eat at the cafe and play at the playground. $

PUYALLUP/BONNEY LAKE

• Any of the other parks are great to visit as well; play, hike, explore. Check out Pierce County Parks, Puyallup Parks and Bonney Lake parks.
• Take the little ones to Super Jump Party Zone open play. Open 7 days a week, check their website for times. $
• Take a class or go to their open gym time at The Little Gym, they’ve got stuff for 4 months- 12 years old. Gymnastics, music, dance and more. $
• Let your kid get those wiggles out at Wiggle Works – this one is perfect for the little ones as you have to be under 48″ to play, check their website for more information but admissions is under $10

GIG HARBOR/KEY PENINSULA

• The Gig Harbor and the Key Peninsula have a few parks and playgrounds, great for playing, exploring, picnic, swimming, hiking and so much more.
• Take your plane lover to the Tacoma Narrows Airport, grab a bite to eat or just watch the planes take off and land.
• Cancelled right now because of the pandemic, but usually the Key Peninsula Civic Center Indoor Park has an open gym on T & TH from 9:30-11:30am – must be supervised by an adult.

There you have it, a few different ideas to keep your little ones entertained and learning. Be sure to save this post for future reference!

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