Founded in 1845, historical Tumwater is located between Seattle and Portland on Interstate-5, serving the traveller with a central location for exploring Puget Sound and all of its beauty, including Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Pacific Ocean beaches, and the Olympic Peninsula and Rain Forest. Tumwater is a friendly community with a population of 16,710 and growing (based on 2010 stats).
Tumwater serves as a great “home base” for all of your sight-seeing activities. Hotels, bed and breakfast and campground facilities are priced just right. Enjoy your time visiting Tumwater, Olympia, Lacey and surrounding Thurston County communities during the day and rest comfortably in Tumwater at night.
Distance from Tumwater . . .
- Tacoma undefined 30 Miles
- SeaTac Airport – 46 Miles
- Seattle – 60 Miles
- Pacific Ocean (Ocean Shores) – 74Miles
- Mt. Rainier (Paradise) undefined 81 Miles
- Olympic National Park undefined 95 Miles
- Portland, Oregon undefined 113 Miles
- Mt. St. Helens undefined 120 Miles
- Cascase Mountains (White Pass) – 121 Miles
- Neah Bay undefined 187 Miles
- Vancouver, Canada undefined 201 Miles
- Spokane undefined 320 Miles
What to See and Do . . .
Bird Watching:
- Birds of Washington State
- Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge
- South Puget Sound’s Best Places for Bird Watching
- McLane Creek Trail
Casinos:
- Lucky Eagle Casino
12888 – 188th Avenue SW, Rochester, WA 98579
Phone: 360-273-2000 or 1-800-720-1788 - Red Wind Casino
012819 Yelm Hwy SE, Olympia, WA 98513
Phone: 360-412-5000 or 1-866-946-2444
Farmer’s Markets:
Golf:
Libraries:
- Timberland Regional Library – Genealogy Resources
- Tumwater Timberland Library
- Washington State Library
Museums:
- Bigelow House Museum
- Crosby House Museum – Tumwater
- Henderson House Museum – Tumwater
- Olympic Flight Museum – Tumwater
- State Capital Building/Capitol Campus – Olympia
- State Capitol Museum – Olympia
Ocean Beaches:
Parks – Miscellaneous:
- Heritage Park Fountain – Olympia
- Millersylvania State Park – South of Tumwater
- Mt. St. Helens National Park
- Mt. Rainier National Park
- National Park Service
- Washington State Parks
Parks – Tumwater:
- Tumwater Falls Park
- Tumwater Historical Park
- 5th & Grant Pocket Park
- Historical Park
- Jim Brown Park
- Overlook Park
- Palermo Pocket Park
- Pioneer Park
- Tumwater Hill Park
- “V” Street Pocket Park
Trails:
- The Mima Mounds
- Thurston County Trails
- Tumwater Trails
- Watershed Park (Off Henderson Blvd.)
Area Schools
Administration
- Tumwater School District
Elementary Schools (Grades K-6)
- Black Lake Elementary
- East Olympia Elementary
- Littlerock Elementary
- Michael T. Simmons Elementary
- Peter G. Schmidt Elementary
- Tumwater Hill Elementary
Middle Schools (Grades 7-8)
- George Washington Bush Middle School
- Tumwater Middle School
High Schools (Grades 9-12)
Other Sites
- New Market Vocational Skills Center
Local Colleges
