Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is two attractions on one ticket: animal habitats outdoors on the ridge above Puget Sound, and an aquarium in the middle of the grounds where the weather stops mattering. It sits inside Point Defiance Park, which is free and open whether or not you go through the zoo gate.

The zoo describes itself as the only combined zoo and aquarium in the Pacific Northwest, with more than 430 species. Plan on most of a day if you want both halves; the outdoor paths climb and descend, so it is not a flat walk.

The aquarium is the reason to come in winter

The Pacific Seas Aquarium sits in the center of the zoo. Its Baja Bay is a 280,000-gallon warm-water tank with green sea turtles, nurse sharks and spotted eagle rays. Northwest Waters looks into cold Puget Sound water through a 25-foot-wide window, with rockfish, sturgeon and lingcod.

The Tidal Touch Zone next to it is open daily: sea stars, sea urchins, crab shells, and an anemone to touch with one finger. The zoo notes the bench for parents, which tells you something about how long children stay.

That is the argument for a wet Saturday. An hour outside in the rain is miserable; the same hour in the aquariums is fine.

Trolls in the trees

Thomas Dambo’s Trolls: A Field Study puts giant sculptures made from reclaimed wood among the zoo’s gardens and trails. The zoo lists the trolls alongside its habitats on the visit page, so treat them as part of a normal daytime visit. The trolls page carries the same Tuesday and Wednesday closures as the rest of the grounds.

Read this before buying admission

Online is $7 cheaper than the gate for an adult and $5 for a child. Online tickets are valid for one visit within a year and are non-refundable. Military and Pierce County resident rates are sold at the gate only, with proof, and cannot be combined with online prices. No cash is accepted anywhere on site.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays are closed for most of the year. In the October 5 – December 20 window the zoo is also closed Thanksgiving Day and open on October 12 and November 11.

Zoolights is not the zoo. From November 27 to January 3 the zoo runs a separate evening event on its own timed ticket, and the aquariums are closed during it. Come in daylight for animals; for the lights, see our Zoolights listing.

If you want the ridge without the ticket, Point Defiance Park has the trails, gardens, Owen Beach and the Five Mile Drive loop. For other wet-day options, our rainy Sunday guide pairs the aquariums with Museum of Glass and the W.W. Seymour Conservatory.