A stone’s throw away from Mt. Rainier National Park, Orting, Washington is a small and quiet community in Pierce County’s Orting Valley. The town is located 41 miles south of Seattle and 20 miles southeast of Tacoma, making it part of the Tacoma metropolitan area.

Even though Orting is small in population (just over 8,000 residents as of 2020) and somewhat remote, it benefits from being close to the larger cities that surround it. Aside from Seattle and Tacoma, these include Puyallup, Bonney Lake, and Sumner.

Living in Orting is ideal if you’re after a slower and quieter lifestyle but aren’t quite ready to compromise on your access to urban amenities.

Did you know?

• Orting is built on the area where lahar once flowed following Mount Rainier’s eruptions thousands of years ago.
• The town covers an area of 2.8 squares. But despite its small size, Orting has an abundance of green spaces. There are more than ten community parks located inside the town’s limits, and the downtown area has three parks full of giant maple and evergreen trees.
• It is sandwiched between the Puyallup River to the west and Carbon River to the east.

Homes for sale in Orting, WA

Buyers looking for a home in Orting will feel like they’ve been transported back in time. All homes in Orting follow one of the three architectural styles that preserve the town’s look and character: turn-of-the-century, western, and Victorian.

Thanks in part to the community’s commitment to preserving its heritage, newly constructed homes and buildings always give a nod to the past in their designs. They are also built relatively low, which means that Mt. Rainier is visible from many points in Orting.

As of 2020, the listings for homes on the market have a median value of $420,000 and a median days-on-market of 45 days.

Living in Orting, WA

Education

The town’s public schools all fall under the Orting School District. The district, which has a total of about 2,700 students, has four schools, one for each level: Orting Primary, Ptarmigan Ridge Elementary, Orting Middle, and Orting High.

Though not as large as other county school districts, the Orting School District performs well when measured against the state average. The average classroom has 20 students, and the graduation rate for high school seniors is 92%.

Activities

Tucked away as it is in the more rural parts of Washington’s South Puget Sound, many of the things to do in Orting, WA revolve around spending time outdoors. Orting residents can easily switch from admiring Mount Rainier from afar to planning to hike the national park. Hiking opportunities also present themselves within the town’s limits. Orting’s numerous parks have short trails, while the levees on its eastern and western boundaries also serve as riverside trails.

Golfers will appreciate playing the well-maintained greens and fairways of the 18-hole High Cedars Golf Cluh2. The 220-acre golf course — like most of Orting — has spectacular views of Mt. Rainier you can admire while you wait for your turn to swing.

Orting also holds several parades throughout the year. The Daffodil Festival Parade, which celebrates the area’s long history of growing daffodils, takes place in April. People turn their attention to pumpkins in October, while residents celebrate the year’s end and Christmas with another festival in December.

Downtown Orting is also the center for socializing and dining. All 15 of the town’s restaurants can be found downtown, along with parks that have several facilities open to the public.

Destinations

• Located right in the middle of Orting’s downtown area, Main City Park (also known as Central Park) is the perfect place for any kind of outdoor leisure or activity right in town. The park has picnic tables, plenty of shade, a kids’ playground, a memorial wall, a basketball court, and a barbecue area. The community park also leads right to the Foothills Trail, a 21-mile trail that cuts through Orting and the surrounding river valley.
• The Foothills Trail is one of Orting’s most famous attractions. This historic 21-mile paved trail — once a rail bed abandoned by the Northern Pacific Railroad Company — is a popular recreation trail for cyclists, hikers, walkers, and equestrians. From Orting, the trail passes through South Prairie and enters Buckley, where the trail ends at White River. Take this trail to spot railroad trestles crossing Carbon River.

Are you interested in learning more about Orting and what it has to offer? Feel free to get in touch with me, Lori Lewandowski, to see what your options in Orting are. Call 253.617.5922 today or send me an email at lorilewandowski@gmail.com.