All parks are open 7 am to dusk
A perfect location to let your four-legged friend stretch their legs with separate small dog and large dog areas.
Park Description
Tubby’s Trail Dog Park near Hwy-16 is 8.5 acres and is a wide, rectangular field perfect for throwing balls with grassy side slopes that your dog can run up and down. As a catchment area for excess water, it can get muddy during the rainy season. It is fully fenced and has a large dog area and a small dog area.
“Tubby” was a black male Cocker Spaniel that fell into fame when Galloping Gertie collapsed on November 7th, 1940. As the only victim of that great disaster, Tubby has earned a special place in the hearts of many. His death symbolizes the drama of that terrible day. Tubby was owned by Leonard Coatsworth and although he did his best to coax Tubby out of the car Tubby refused to leave. PenMet Parks has named this off-leash dog park in remembrance of Tubby, the only fatality when the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge fell into Puget Sound.
Park Features
General
Dogs off-Leash Area with Play Meadow, Small Dogs, Off-Leash Area with Play Meadow for Dogs Under 25 Pounds, Large Dogs, Off-Leash Area with Play Meadow for Dogs Over 25 Pounds
Picnic
Picnic Tables
Additional
Sanicans, Parking, Dog Bags
History
After serving as a military reservation related to defense of the Narrows, this site was owned by Doc and Lucille Weathers. In the late 1980s, the site was approved for a business park known as Narrowsgate. The business park was never built, primarily because of insufficient access from State Route 16.
In 2001 a portion of the site was purchased by the Washington State Department of Transportation with the balance of the site purchased in 2003 to be used for the modular office buildings and concrete batch plant for Tacoma Narrows Constructors, the firm that would build the New Tacoma Narrows Bridge which opened on July 16th, 2007.
After the bridge opened, the site was vacated and sold to the Peninsula Metropolitan Park District in 2012. The Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office supported the PenMet Parks acquisition with a 50% matching grant.
The park district is currently using the site for a trailhead supporting non-motorized uses for Cushman Trail and the Scott Pierson Trail system. An off-leash dog park has been constructed on the site recognizing and memorializing Tubby the cocker spaniel who was the only fatality when the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed in 1940.
Park Rules
Download Park Use Regulations (PDF)
Download Leash Regulations (PDF)