Open ½ hour before sunrise
Close ½ hour after sunset
Oak Tree Park is a 25-acre parcel that features one of the last remnants of the Garry oak habitat that used to dominate this part of the city.
This park was established in 1996. The playground (which is not owned or maintained by Parks Tacoma) is located at S. Cedar & S. 74th Street.
Partners
Oak Tree Park is a pilot project of the Green Tacoma Partnership, a collaborative effort to inventory and assess Tacoma’s green spaces and develop a plan for their protection and restoration. The Green Tacoma Partnership is coordinated by Tahoma Audubon and Forterra.
A Native Oak Ecosystem
Garry oak woodlands are special ecosystems that established themselves on areas of gravelly soil left behind by glaciers 15,000 years ago. Native Americans actively maintained oak prairies in the Northwest for thousands of years to keep the evergreen forests from moving in, thus protecting the camas bulbs and other prairie plants important to local tribes.
Although Garry oak habitat ranges from southern British Columbia to northern California, by 2013 it had been reduced by nearly 90 percent. Development, in addition to invading Douglas fir and other native and non-native plants, continue to threaten the oaks’ future.
Many plant and wildlife species that rely on native oaks have become so rare that Washington State has declared Garry oak woodlands to be Priority Habitat.
Find out how you can help restore and maintain this important resource, connect with Parks Tacoma’s CHIP-In! program.
