WEREWOLVES and sea stacks and rain forests are just a few of the quirky characteristics of the Olympic Peninsula and Pacific Coast. Here are a few more unusual sights not to miss:
The trucks Bella drove in both the book and movie version of Twilight are parked outside the Chamber of Commerce in Forks.
The Northwest Carriage Museum (nwcarriagemuseum.org) in Raymond is home to 27 horse-drawn vehicles, including Belle Watling’s carriage from Gone With the Wind.
The Pacific County Courthouse in South Bend, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, features a Tiffany glass dome.
The largest Christmas tree made out of crab pots can be found in Ilwaco.
The World Kite Museum (worldkitemuseum.com), in Long Beach, features kites that survived World War II.
There are six miles of beaches, two freshwater lakes, 23 miles of canals, and an old-growth rain forest in the middle of Ocean Shores, which is where you can also walk through the 10-foot jaws of a (man-made) Great White at Sharky’s gift shop. —JULIE H. CASE
Read More About Peninsulas & Coast
It's a warm September afternoon on the Long Beach Peninsula, and I'm up to my waist in Pacific Ocean waves. Pointers from my Skookum Surf instructor ping through my head as I clamber onto my board and attempt to ride the tide.
Don't Miss
Part of the allure of Kitsap County is the oh-so-picturesque way of getting there: gliding across expanses of water aboard a Washington State Ferry.
Fifteen miles south of Port Townsend, a red barn looms at the end of a dirt road.
Across the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas, port towns nestle like jewel boxes on the shore.
From our Archives
OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK (www.nps.gov/olym) is a collage of superlatives. Inside the park, youll find the Northern Hemispheres largest temperate rain forest...
LIKE SEASHELLS decorating a wave-kissed beach, each of Washington’s coastal towns offers its own special seaside vacation—no two are alike. So whether you’re seeking a romantic getaway, a family adventure...
Heed the call of the arts in Port Townsend.
Washington's beaches invite year-round rambles.
WEREWOLVES and sea stacks and rain forests are just a few of the quirky characteristics of the Olympic Peninsula and Pacific Coast. Here are a few more unusual sights not to miss...
SMACK IN THE MIDDLE of a landmass known as the Olympic Peninsula, bordered by the Pacific Ocean, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Puget Sound, and Hood Canal, is the vast, 922,650-acre Olympic National Park...
WITH COUNTLESS REASONS to visit Port Townsendincluding an enclave of Victorian architecture so well preserved its one of only three Victorian seaports in the U.S.selecting one seems impossible.
LOCATED CONVENIENTLY by car or ferry from all major Washington ports, the Kitsap Peninsula holds something in store for every visitor.
THE HOOD CANAL is not a canal at all, but a fjord, and one of the only fjords in the continental United States.
WITH 157 MILES of coastline, theres a beachand beach townfor everyone.
HIGHWAY 101 is a twisty, mostly two-lane road that wends its way fromthe state capital to Washingtons western shoresis a picturesquebackdrop for an epic road-trip experience. Buckle up for a highwayadventure through the Olympic Peninsula and along the coast.
A FREEWAY OF ROCKS, worn smooth by millennia of Pacific Ocean waves, crunches underfoot.
From the ferry, Port Townsend seems to perch along a hairline shelf above the harbor. Victorian houses stick out from the bluffs, a stark contrast to the modern, earthy architecture that seems to occupy so many Washington shorelines.
Explore...
No matter which coastal community you choose to explore, lifes always a beach.
Find Out More
Please visit our Tourism Partners
Clallam Bay/Sekiu Chamber of Commerce
877-694-9433
Forks Chamber of Commerce
800-443-6757
Hood Canal Visitor Information Center
360-877-2021
Kamilche Visitor Information Center
360-432-0921
Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau
800-451-2542, 360-642-2400
North Mason Chamber of Commerce
360-275-4267
Ocean Park Chamber of Commerce
888-751-9354
Ocean Shores Visitors & Convention Center
360-289-4411, 866-60-COAST
Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce
360-452-2363
Port Townsend Visitor Center
888-EnjoyPT
Quilcene/Brinnon Chamber of Commerce
360-765-4999
Sequim/Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce
800-737-8462
Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce
800-576-2021
Westport-Grayland Chamber
800-345-6223
Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce
360-385-7869