Arts & Entertainment Community

Two in Tow & On the Go | Dash on over to this Tacoma park

Posted on August 29th, 2025 By: Tonya Strickland

Our visit to Dash Point Park & Pier last week brought together the fun of the present—beach swings, soft sand and a simple game of catch —with the nostalgia of the community’s long history of working together to find joy along the shore. Countless people before us have gathered for Dash Point’s famous Dock Dinners, log rolling competitions, and summer swims. And while the dock itself is now closed for safety, the area’s sense of community remains.

Established in 1922 as a park site, Dash Point Park & Pier offers 700 feet of sandy saltwater beach, views of Puget Sound, fishing access, a picnic shelter, public restrooms, parking, and a small beach playground. Not to be confused with the nearby Dash Point State Park, the park and pier are run by public rec agency Parks Tacoma and are located in a residential area separated from the beach park by a small public parking lot.

IF YOU GO:

Dash Point Park & Pier

1500 Beach Drive NE, Tacoma

Website

The neighborhood

One stand-out feature of this park is the neighborhood around it. Unlike the cityscapes and forest-y backdrops of other South Sound parks, the beach houses here climb the slope just beyond the sand, their boxy balconies stacked in a ladder-like way that frames the shoreline with distinctive charm. The atmosphere feels more like places I’ve visited in California than the typical PNW. Perhaps it’s best described as a boho vibe of another era. Whatever it is, it sets the park apart.

Here’s a cool photo from The News Tribune, October 24, 1971 edition that shows just how close the homes are to the park. First and foremost, I love the brunette gal in the snazzy pants with her dogs. Behind her, you can see a residential street runs parallel to the park, a backdrop where people, pets, and beach life blend. A closer look at the hillside, which looks similar today, reveal closely spaced lots that vary in style but share a common vibe: a bungalow with a gabled roof and wood siding; a home with large picture windows and a broad deck shaded by a shake roof; and a home with a simple boxy shape with a seemingly rare garage addition. Together, they reflect a mix of mid-century and craftsman influences that I just find so dang cool.

Tacoma News Tribune, October 24, 1971; photograph TNT0788D from Tacoma Public Library Northwest Room.

Our day

When we went, a thin strip of sandy beach stretched out before us since the park’s larger footprint was mostly cut off by the high tide (the tides are something I’m still getting used to in Washington). While the kids — and our summertime “Three in Tow” pal, the one and only Mr. Greg Spadoni — gravitated toward the beach swings, I wandered off to take pics. The driftwood scattered across the thinly sliced beach added its own character to the landscape, a living scrapbook of tidal shifts and seasonal change. As I walked, I thought about how generations of families before us must have taken in these same sights (minus a modern pleasure boat or five).

Another thought that crossed my mind: Wow, isn’t it so nice to go to the beach with a friend who’s just a big kid himself, but adult enough to keep your kids happily entertained — giving you space for this casual, thoughtful walkabout? Yep, #momlife.

We also all noticed how soft the sand was. Once I got back home, I found news clips dating back decades that say Dash Point has been known for its nice sand —a rarity compared to many local beaches dusted in jagged oyster shells. Clara and Wyatt sure appreciated it when they scooped up the sand for castles and moats after running in their water socks without the worry of getting jabbed underfoot.

The water

The water there also seemed nice, but the sun was hiding behind the clouds most of the time and, well, the Puget Sound is prettyyy cold. That chill is something else that’s well known around here, which is why I laughed while reading another Tacoma News Tribune story that described “one of the earliest permanent settlers at Dash Point, a man named Harry Johnston.” In 1946, “when asked how Dash Point got its name, he had a ready answer: ‘The water is so cold you dash right in — and dash right out again.'”

Ha!

(It appears the name actually dates back to 1792, when Captain George Vancouver of the British Royal Navy led a team through the Puget Sound to map its the inlets, islands and shorelines. The trip gave many of those places their names still used today. Historians say the name “Dash Point” appeared on Vancouver’s maps from the voyage).

Fun facts aside, we skipped a dip in the water. But we did see other kids splashing and floating in the shallows, which, at high tide, created a cool “infinity pool” look where the waterline closest to shore appeared to be of one shallow depth. That tracks because old news clips also described Dash Point as having the calmest waters around.

MOM TIP: I’d have to test that out that shallow water theory myself to be sure, though. So, my advice is to still suit those kiddos up in life jackets for any combo of kid + open water playtime because open water is known to be unruly with logs and underbrush hiding below.

Beach swings

As I walked back toward the swings, I couldn’t help but think that beach playgrounds of any kind are just plain cool.

Not that they’re designed in any special way, but because beach swings are just awesome for existing. It’s kind of a rarity, if you will, to see playground equipment in a beach setting. And, with the kids’ feet kicking out toward Commencement Bay, the act of swinging gave the park a sense of whimsy and a carefree quality that really made our time there more memorable.

Wyatt on the beach swings, August 2025.

“Time Machine”

According to a “Time Machine” feature in the Tacoma News Tribune’s June 26, 1977 edition that summarized news clips from the past, Dash Point settlers had to find ways to stick together due to their no-roads geography:

“… Dorothy Milne Rising, writing in The News Tribune in 1969, recalled the early days when her family members were pioneers at Dash Point in 1907. Although Dash Point is on the mainland at the northern end of Pierce County, there was no road to it then and no wharf where launches could land. Larger boats had to anchor and passengers were taken ashore by rowboat. According to Mrs. Rising’s account … the first dock, built of logs and timber, did not last long. A second one followed but it, too, fell prey to the elements and to shipworms.”

Dash Point Park history marker by Parks Tacoma, located by pier’s locked gate. Photo by Tonya Strickland.

” … When the dock was rebuilt in 1917, the concrete had to be poured at night when the tide was low. It was December and raining hard, and the workers were soon soaked to the skin. So the women of Dash Point stayed up all night to provide sandwiches and hot coffee for the men. An early development at Dash Point was the formation of the Dash Point Social and Improvement Club. Dues were $5 a year. Members built a tennis court, and early residents also cooperated in building a log bulkhead along the beach. Launches took care of the transportation problem in the early years, but later a dirt road went through Julia’s Gulch past Northeast Tacoma and opened the way for other community necessities.”

The News Tribune, June 26, 1977. The article detailed news clips of the past including one from 1927.

One of those ways of leaning on each other was through community events. Arguably, the most popular was Dash Point’s famed Dock Dinners, which lasted for decades.

This photograph, for example, preserved by the Tacoma Public Library’s Northwest Room but originally published by the Tacoma News Tribune on August 9, 1981, captures a bustling summer event at Dash Point.

Image TNT0793D, Tacoma Public Library’s Northwest Room. Originally published in the Tacoma News Tribune on August 9, 1981.

A large group gathers along the dock that reaches out over the water. It’s crowded with people strolling, chatting, and fishing at the far end, while others appear to be watching water activities from the pier. The famed Dock Dinner, featuring beef barbecue, was advertised on a prominent sign overhead promoting a weekend of activities including carnival games, water skiing and jet ski races. Folks in swim trunks, floppy hats and even chunky heels move between shaded areas and a large umbrella — news reports from the day say it was 90+ degrees. Portable toilets are set up near the dock entrance, with a sign noting that permanent restrooms are closed (the permanent restrooms were open when we went in August 2025).

That beachy/cool/small-community atmosphere seen in the photo from 44 years ago isn’t so unlike the scene in 2025, even though the pier is closed.

Except … I’d like to take a moment here to make the argument that the outfits were way better back then. Short-shorts, tube tops and all those awesome haircuts?! I mean … yes, please.

See ya out there!

Mom and two kids standing with water and boats in the background.

@two.n.tow

Tonya Strickland is a Gig Harbor mom-of-two and longtime journalist. Now in the travel and family niche, her blog, Two in Tow & On the Go, was named among the 10 Seattle-Area Instagram Accounts to Follow by ParentMap magazine. Tonya and her husband Bowen moved to Gig Harbor from California with their two kids, Clara (11) and Wyatt (9) in 2021. Find them on Facebook for all the kid-friendly places in and around town.