Pierce County · Pop. 38,600

Parkland Real Estate — Brick spires over the south prairie.

About Parkland

Parkland grew up on the gravelly prairie south of Tacoma, settled in the 1850s and stitched to the city by rail in 1888. Norwegian Lutheran immigrants gave it a permanent anchor in 1890 when they founded Pacific Lutheran University; Harstad Hall's 1894 brick tower still presides over the campus and the National Register. Platted into wooded small lots in the 1890s, Parkland never incorporated — it remains a census-designated place of roughly 38,600, run from the county courthouse rather than a city hall. For buyers, that history reads as value: postwar ramblers, split-levels on generous lots, and newer townhomes trade well under Tacoma's North End and University Place, while the revitalized Garfield Street district beside PLU supplies a genuine college-town core. JBLM, SR 512, and I-5 sit minutes away, keeping demand steady and landlords interested.

Living in Parkland

• Sprinker Recreation Center — county ice arena, splash pad, and sports complex on the Spanaway line
• Spanaway Park & Bresemann Forest — 135 lakefront acres plus two miles of forest trail just south
• Pacific Lutheran University — 1890 campus whose Harstad Hall anchors the National Register
• Parkland Prairie Nature Preserve — remnant camas prairie planted with young Garry oaks; its half-mile ADA loop trail reopens in late 2026 after resurfacing
• Gonyea Playfield — 12-acre neighborhood park with ballfields, basketball courts, and a playground on 10th Avenue S

Where the locals eat

• Marzano Italian Restaurant — Italian · Garfield District
• Farrelli's Wood Fire Pizza — Wood-fired pizza · Garfield St S
• 208 Garfield — Gastropub & wine bar · Garfield District
• Gyro Real Kabob — Mediterranean · Pacific Ave S

Browse homes for sale in Parkland · Off-market homes · All cities