🕯️ Fort Nisqually’s Candlelight Tour Lights Up Point Defiance October 2 and 3

One of the most atmospheric fall nights in Tacoma is almost here. The Fort Nisqually Candlelight Tour returns to Point Defiance Park on Friday, October 2 and Saturday, October 3, and it turns the 1857 fort into an after-dark walk through living history.

Once the sun goes down, the old Hudson’s Bay Company outpost is lit only by campfires and candlelight. You move through the fort on a guided tour while costumed interpreters stay in character as the traders, tradespeople, and families who actually lived and worked here, going about an evening in the year 1857. Expect period music, dancing, and games along the way.

Each tour runs about an hour and leaves in timed departures across the evening, from 6 to 10. It is a great pick for families and history lovers alike, and the candlelit setting makes it feel like a different world than the daytime museum. Dress warmly, since you will be outdoors and on your feet.

Tickets are sold online in advance through the museum store, and the timed slots can fill for an event this close, so it is worth booking ahead rather than counting on the door.

Details:

• When: Friday, October 2 and Saturday, October 3, 2026, 6 to 10 PM

• Location: Fort Nisqually Living History Museum, 5519 Five Mile Drive, Tacoma, inside Point Defiance Park

• Tickets: $26 per person, sold online in advance; youth tickets cover ages 4 to 17 and children under 4 are free

• What to expect: candlelit guided tours, costumed 1857 interpreters, period music, dancing, and games

Real estate note: Point Defiance is one of the reasons people fall for Tacoma’s north end. A 760-acre park with old-growth forest, saltwater beaches, a zoo, and living history a few minutes from home is the kind of everyday amenity that keeps the neighborhoods around Ruston and the north end in high demand year after year.