Like a year and a half of pent-up travel demand is driving families to try and get the most out of their road trips, Travel Tacoma – Mt. Rainier Tourism and Sports today launched its Family Road Trip Extravaganza itinerary, a convenient, pre-built plan that offers three days and two nights of waterfront wandering, city excursions, small-town charm and farmland fun in Pierce County.

Families have plenty to think about with school being out, summer ticking away, and the pressure to make up for a year of lost travel experiences, said Matt Wakefield, Director of Marketing and Communications for Travel Tacoma – Mt. Rainier Tourism and Sports. At Travel Tacoma, we’re steeped in knowledge about what makes an epic trip to this area, so we’re doing what we can to give families a roadmap to a hassle-free trip, where they can see it, book it, then jump in a car and do it.
The step-by-step itinerary includes suggested walks, beaches, parks, museums, experiences, restaurants and overnight stays.
Family Road Trip Extravaganza starts in the peaceful waterfront village of Gig Harbor, with waterfront parks, a trip through the Harbor History Museum, and a tour of the harbour with the only Venetian gondolier in the Pacific Northwest: The Gig Harbor Gondola. He entertains the kids, sings in Italian, and tells a sliding scale of age-appropriate stories about the history of Gig Harbor.
Follow that with a day filled with waterfront bike rides and museums in Tacoma, including Tacoma Art Museum for their new Benaroya Wing, Museum of Glass for their hot-shop amphitheatre and America’s Car Museum for a Family Zone with kid-friendly exhibits including few photogenic, interactive cars that can withstand the gentle caresses of a toddler’s hands, fists and feet.
The trip concludes with a day in the home of Americana in the Pacific Northwest: the town of Sumner, brimming with antique stores, bookshops, boutiques, bakeries, and cafes. Just down the road is a visit to the agriculture hubs of Puyallup and Buckley to wander farms (depending on the season) and enjoy farm-fresh meals. In springtime, there are blooming flower festivals. In the late summer, sunflower days is a photogenic paradise of yellows and oranges, and fall means pumpkin patches, harvest festivals and spooky Halloween delights throughout the valley.
To book visit: www.traveltacoma.com/itineraries.