A Visit to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium | Fall 2026

 

Four trolls from the art exhibit Trolls: A Field Study, currently on display at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, WA. 

It had been around five years since we last visited the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma. What brought us back to visit was a little troll hunting! On display until January is the Trolls: A Field Study by Danish artist Thomas Dambo. These giant trolls are made out of reclaimed wood and are so whimsical and fun to discover, admire, and take photos of. 

We saw six other trolls in WA and OR from the NW Trolls: Way of the Bird King, so when I saw Thomas Dambo was creating new ones in two more spots in WA, I wanted to see them. There are four trolls located around the Point Defiance Zoo and eight at the Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. At the entrance to the zoo, you'll find the first troll. There's another near the Polar Bear exhibit and then two more elsewhere. The fun is in finding the trolls! I love turning a corner on a wooded path and then one appears in the trees. It's a fun surprise and the trolls are so well done and creative! 

Besides finding all four trolls, our family had an enjoyable time checking out the exhibits. The Saturday we visited was also the Zoo Boo event for kids. Parts of the zoo were decorated for Halloween, along with themed carved pumpkins, a costume parade, activity stations and more. Our boys are a little old for some of these events now, so we explored the animal exhibits and looked for the trolls instead. Besides seeing all four trolls, a highlight for us was seeing the tiger, the otters, and the sharks in the aquarium.  I was also happy to see someone handing out big maps and neat interactive troll handbooks- perfect for my scrapbook! 

We also checked out the gift shop, always a highlight for my sons and I. They had some birthday money still, so they each picked out an item. I was happy to see they sell surprise pins, so I bought one and then another pin with the zoo's name on it. I opened it outside of the gift shop and got a cute octopus pin, and the tentacles actually move! I also bought two postcards for my scrapbook.

We took a break in the cafe area where we shared a large order of fries and a "dirt cake" pudding cup. This had chocolate pudding and was topped with chocolate cookie pieces, gummy worms, and a really hard and inedible candy pumpkin. This was not great tasting, and I would probably skip this dessert next time. 

A side view of the troll at the zoo's entrance. Pack your patience when visiting the trolls. Everyone wants photos with their family posing by each one, and there is usually a line of at least 5 or more groups of people. We waited in line for each troll. Totally worth it though! 

We had so much fun seeing the trolls and the animals around the zoo! Visting these trolls bring so much joy to me and I love photographing them! 

Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium 

5400 N Pearl St.

Tacoma, WA