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Fort Nisqually will be closing early to the general public on August 7th at 4 pm for preparation of our Nisqually Live Event.

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Fort Nisqually Living History Museum

Engaging a diverse regional audience with Puget Sound’s first globally connected settlement through historic preservation, experiential learning, and interpretation.

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Nisqually Live!

An evening of entertainment awaits you as we bring this brand new event to life at Fort Nisqually!


Enjoy live PNW bluegrass and folk music from special guest Oly Mountain Boys, with opener Pass the Lady Back. Take time to wander around and try your hand at paper marbling and lavender sachet making.


Grab a bite from local food trucks. Purchase beer and wine from our Fort Nisqually Foundation, where proceeds go to help fund building improvements and restoration efforts.


This event is for guests 21 and over. Please bring ID with you.


Tickets are $30 online, $35 at the door.

$30.00
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General Admission Pricing

Tax included in prices shown.

Adult: $14.50

Active Military / Senior (65+): $13.50

Youth (4-17): $10.50

Family (2 adults, up to 5 youth): $40.00

Under 4: Free!

Event Pricing

Pricing for our Living History and Signature Events!


Other events subject to different pricing.


Tax included in prices shown.

Living History Events (Klahowya, Queen Victoria's Birthday, Family Fun Night, and Harvest Home):

Adult: $17.00

Active Military / Senior (65+): $16.00

Youth (4-17): $14.50

Family (2 adults, up to 5 youth): $55.00

Under 4: Free!


Signature Events (Brigade Encampment, Candlelight Tour, and Christmas Regale):

Adult: $26.00

Youth (4-17): $19.00

Family (2 adults, up to 5 youth): $65.00

Under 4: Free!

Dine We Must

Historical interpreters and volunteers at Fort Nisqually know that visitors enjoy the tastes, smells, sights, and sounds of food being prepared in the site’s Period Kitchen.


Now you can purchase and take home dozens of recipes that might have been prepared at the Hudson’s Bay Company fort in a new cookbook: Dine We Must. The publication follows the seasons and celebrates the museum’s special events, while featuring fare from English and Scottish cookbooks of the mid 19th century. All of the soups, main dishes, salads, special occasion dishes, cakes, and cookies were taste-tested and modified for modern kitchens by Fort Nisqually Historical Interpreter and compiler of Dine We Must, Gwendolyn Rice.

$25.99
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Fort Nisqually Events 2026

July 18th & 19th, 11am-5pm

Brigade Encampment

Toasts, revelries, games, sampling, skill learning, and more can be found during Fort Nisqually Living History Museum’s annual Brigade Encampment. For over 40 years, this event recreates the bustle and excitement of the historic visit of Angus Macdonald's fur brigade arriving at Fort Nisqually in 1855.

Purchase Admission and Browse the Gift Shop Here!

General Admission
General Admission
Event Admission
Event Admission
Museum Gift Shop
Museum Gift Shop
Trapped! Escape Fort Nisqually
Trapped! Escape Fort Nisqually

About Fort Nisqually

Fort Nisqually, the first globally connected settlement on the Puget Sound, was established in 1833 by the Hudson’s Bay Company as a fur trading outpost. The decline of the fur trade meant that Fort Nisqually’s focus shifted to commercial agricultural enterprises with the establishment of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company (PSAC) in 1839. Based at Fort Nisqually, the PSAC raised cattle, sheep, and horses along with crops such as wheat, barley, oats, and peas across the 160,000 acres claimed by the company. By 1855, the date the museum portrays, this British establishment was surrounded by American territory and faced increasing pressure from settlers who wanted the farmable land for their own use. The Hudson’s Bay Company sold its holdings to the United States government, withdrawing from Washington Territory in 1869, and Fort Nisqually became the homestead of the last manager, Edward Huggins. Fort Nisqually was originally located in what is now DuPont, WA. The Fort you see today was reconstructed in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Civic-minded citizens preserved and donated two of the original structures, the Factor’s House and Granary, to the Metropolitan Park District of Tacoma. The museum gives residents and visitors a chance to experience what life was like on Puget Sound in 1855.
Fort Nisqually Living History Museum
Want to learn more about Fort Nisqually Living History Museum and using our research library? Interested in volunteer opportunities or becoming a member of the museum? Looking to book an education tour or even rent the fort for weddings and parties? Head on over to our official Parks Tacoma web page to learn about all of these and more!
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We Acknowledge

Parks Tacoma acknowledges that we operate on the traditional homelands of Coast Salish tribes, who have lived on and stewarded these lands since time immemorial and continue to do so today.

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Location

Fort Nisqually Living History Museum

Physical Address: 5519 Five Mile Drive Tacoma, WA, 98407 Mailing Address: 5400 N Pearl St, Ste #11 Tacoma, WA, 98407
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Museum Hours of Operation

October 1 - April 30 Monday: Closed Tuesday: Closed Wednesday through Sunday: 11am-4pm May 1 - September 30 Monday through Sunday: 11am-5pm Closed on the following holidays: Thanksgiving Day Christmas Day

Contact Us

1-(253)-404-3970