# The Sun's Out. It's November. Don't Waste It. Three Tacoma outings for a rare sunny November Sunday: the car-free loop at Point Defiance, Titlow's beach and playground, and Swan Creek's salmon stream. Canonical URL: https://tacomairl.com/guides/sunny-november/ Section: guides Area: Point Defiance to Swan Creek Author: JD Published: 2026-10-20 Updated: 2026-10-27 Last fact check: 2026-10-20 Who it suits: Families with kids who can handle a short walk. Point Defiance and Titlow are the easiest with younger children; Swan Creek needs more confident walkers. Duration estimate: Three separate outings ยท about one to three hours each Cost basis: Free. Budget for snacks and gas. Getting around: Three separate outings, not one route. You need a car to move between Point Defiance, Titlow and Swan Creek; they sit across town from one another. Check current park and trail notices before you go. A sunny November Sunday in Tacoma presents a small problem. You know perfectly well that you should get outside, but you've spent the last several weekends getting used to the idea that the living room is where you live now. The weather doesn't help. November sunshine tends to arrive without much warning, stick around for a few hours, and disappear while you're still discussing what to do with it. So don't overthink it. Find some shoes, tell the kids you're leaving, and pick somewhere that doesn't require reservations or a small financial commitment. Here are three good options. ## Take over the road at Point Defiance There's a stretch of Five Mile Drive at [Point Defiance](https://tacomairl.com/places/point-defiance/) that cars aren't allowed on anymore. The outer loop was permanently closed to vehicles in 2022 because of erosion and slope instability, which sounds unfortunate until you realize what it means for everyone on foot. You get a winding road through some of Tacoma's best forest, with room to walk or ride bikes without a car coming around the corner. The closure spans about 2.25 miles between the Owen Beach entrance and Fort Nisqually, which might be more than you're interested in tackling with a six-year-old who has recently discovered that walking is exhausting. Fortunately, nobody is checking how far you go. Pick a section, wander for a while, and turn around when you've had enough. If the kids prefer dirt to pavement, there are forest trails nearby, including the short Rhododendron Garden Loop at just over half a mile. The enormous trees haven't gone anywhere. Bring bikes if your kids are confident riders, or just walk. The paved outer loop is shared with cyclists, while the forest trails are for people on foot. **The details:** [Point Defiance Park](https://www.parkstacoma.gov/five-mile-drive-trails-point-defiance/), 5400 N. Pearl Street. Free. Open from half an hour before sunrise until half an hour after sunset. ## Find the little beach at Titlow [Titlow Park](https://tacomairl.com/places/titlow-park/) is one of those places that manages to pack several different outings into a surprisingly small area. There's a playground, a lagoon, wooded paths, and the Puget Sound shoreline, with the Tacoma Narrows Bridge looming in the distance. For a sunny November afternoon, head toward the water. The shoreline is sandy, the views are excellent, and there are usually enough rocks and interesting things washed ashore to keep a curious kid occupied for longer than you'd expect. If you catch a low tide, you might spot small crabs or other creatures tucked among the rocks. Put anything you move back where you found it. You'll also see trains passing along the shoreline. For some kids, this will be the main attraction. The trains are loud, though, and the tracks are active, so stick to designated crossings and paths. The nice thing about Titlow is that you can change plans halfway through. If the beach gets boring, there's a playground. If the playground gets boring, there are wooded trails. And if everybody gets hungry, you're already at the bottom of 6th Avenue. I'd allow an hour or two. More if you have a kid who considers every rock a potential family heirloom. **The details:** [Titlow Park](https://www.parkstacoma.gov/place/titlow-park-lodge/), 8425 6th Avenue. Free. Open from half an hour before sunrise until half an hour after sunset. ## Go looking for salmon at Swan Creek November is a good month to think about salmon. While the rest of us are complaining about the weather, the fish are attempting to swim upstream to reproduce and then die. It puts a damp Sunday in perspective. [Swan Creek Park](https://tacomairl.com/places/swan-creek/), on Tacoma's Eastside, has a salmon-bearing stream running through a wooded canyon. The park also has paved paths, forest trails, and a large mountain-bike area up in the uplands. It's a good place to take kids who are old enough to enjoy a proper walk, especially if you give them a mission. Look for birds. Count mushrooms. See how many different kinds of fallen leaves you can identify without resorting to an app. If you're hoping to see salmon, remember that sightings aren't guaranteed. Water levels, timing, and where you can safely access the creek all matter. Stay on open trails and watch from a distance rather than climbing into the stream. One practical warning: Swan Creek has several entrances, and they lead to rather different experiences. Some canyon trails are steep and uneven, while portions of the park have been affected by closures and restoration work. Check the [current trail information](https://www.parkstacoma.gov/place/swan-creek-park/) before choosing your route. For a more relaxed family outing, the uplands are a better starting point. **The details:** [Swan Creek Park](https://www.parkstacoma.gov/place/swan-creek-park/), with an uplands entrance at East 42nd Street and Roosevelt Avenue. Free. Open from half an hour before sunrise until half an hour after sunset. ## Be home before dark One last thing about November: daylight saving time ends on November 1 this year, and suddenly the sun is setting before 5 p.m. That makes a leisurely 3 p.m. departure a questionable strategy, particularly if your plan involves trails, bikes, or finding your way back to a parking lot. Aim for late morning instead. Take snacks, throw an extra jacket in the car, and don't feel obligated to turn a nice afternoon into an ambitious family expedition. You can be home by three, pleasantly tired, with enough daylight left to rake the leaves. Or, more sensibly, look at them through the window. ## Ordered stops 1. Point Defiance: walk or ride the car-free outer loop of Five Mile Drive ([Place details](https://tacomairl.com/places/point-defiance/)) 2. Titlow Park: beach, playground and lagoon, with the Narrows Bridge in view ([Place details](https://tacomairl.com/places/titlow-park/)) 3. Swan Creek Park: look for salmon and follow the upland paths ([Place details](https://tacomairl.com/places/swan-creek/)) Image: https://tacomairl.com/images/swan-creek.webp Alt: An old paved road runs between trees and grassy verges at Swan Creek Park. Image credit: Photo: Steven Pavlov Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2024-06-15,_Swan_Creek_Park_(Tacoma,_Washington),_110712AM.jpg Image rights: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Photo details: https://tacomairl.com/photo-details/swan-creek/ ## Sources - [Parks Tacoma: Five Mile Drive and trails (outer loop, trail distances and bike rules)](https://www.parkstacoma.gov/five-mile-drive-trails-point-defiance/) - [Parks Tacoma: Outer Loop closing permanently to vehicles (2022 closure and 2.25-mile span)](https://www.parkstacoma.gov/point-defiance-outer-loop) - [Parks Tacoma: Point Defiance Park (address and hours)](https://www.parkstacoma.gov/place/point-defiance-park/) - [Parks Tacoma: Titlow Park & Lodge (address, hours, shoreline and playground)](https://www.parkstacoma.gov/place/titlow-park-lodge/) - [Parks Tacoma: Titlow Park improvements (rail line and current projects)](https://www.parkstacoma.gov/project/titlow) - [Parks Tacoma: Swan Creek Park (salmon stream, entrances, trails and bike area)](https://www.parkstacoma.gov/place/swan-creek-park/) - [Parks Tacoma: Swan Creek Park uplands and trail map](https://www.parkstacoma.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Swan-Creek-Park-Map-Lister-Uplands-3-23-22.pdf) - [Pierce County: Swan Creek Channel Restoration (current closures and construction)](https://www.piercecountywa.gov/6281/Swan-Creek-Channel-Restoration) - [Sunrise-Sunset: Tacoma, November 2026](https://sunrise-sunset.org/us/tacoma-wa/2026/11) - [Time and Date: Tacoma daylight saving time changes in 2026](https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/usa/tacoma)