Tacoma, Washington: Never Never Land -Demolished

Old fairytale public park finally succumbed to vandalism and forest entropy.

Camp 6 Logging Museum, Train Ride - Also Closed

Point Defiance Park in Tacoma has lots of fun stuff to do and see -- or at least it used to. This was the former home of Never Never Land and now also the former home of the Camp 6 Logging Museum and Train excursion. This was a fun little attraction that included a replica of an 1800's logging camp and the train and all of the equipment that brought the enormous logs out of the forest. The engineers would tell great old stories of logging and described how everything worked. Maybe it will reopen someday.

[Jody Day, 06/02/2011]

Never Never Land

As of October 2010, all remaining elements at the park site have been demolished and removed as reported in the Tacoma News-Tribune. This includes the stacked books gate. The large figures remain in storage where they have been for several years.

[John, 10/27/2010]

Never Never Land - Vague Recollections

I currently live in Wisconsin but I grew up in Tacoma. I visited Never Never Land many, many times as a child. It was one of the very few childhood memories I have. I was sad to read that Never Never Land is pretty much gone. It will live on in my memory.

[dameta, 08/02/2010]

Never Never Land

Weather, fallen trees and vandalism have finally won over at Never Never Land in Tacoma. The once well marked trail is now almost completely gone; what remains is blocked by fallen trees. All the story book structures on the trail have been demolished. Remaining at the site is the pile of books (minus Humpty) at the entrance, and the picnic area, which has the now boarded-up shoe slide and a sad, sad pirate ship. The area is not being maintained at this time, and it surely isn't a spot I'd bring children to picnic at, unless you want them to cry.

The parks dept. is planning on removing these last traces of Never Never Land soon. They don't know what the area will become, but they aren't really considering a children's play area for this site at this time.

Come to Point Defiance Park. It's incredibly beautiful. But don't plan on finding Never Never Land.

[Laura S, 06/30/2008]

Never Never Land

Poor Never Never Land. Humpty is AWOL. The books are there but in pretty bad shape. They have installed some crappy new playground equipment in the picnic clearing.

The only structures left are the Hickory Dickory Dock cottage, the shoe, Hansel and Gretel cottage and what I am guessing was the ticket booth, but they are all really trashed. The old path that led around to all the fairy tales is still there and the woods are absolutely stunning. It was kind of fun to pick through the wreckage and imagine what it must have been like.

[Larry Brady, 04/11/2008]