Of the three big towns on the Olympic Peninsula, Port Townsend is probably everyone's No. 1 destination. A seaport city of fewer than 10,000 people, Port Townsend boasts some of the best-persevered Victorian architecture on the West Coast.
In the late 19th century the town bet its future on the railroads. The railroads never came and the Port Townsend bubble went bust, leaving the old buildings intact - sort of like Pompeii without the volcano. In the 1970s the locals took steps to protect their architectural legacy. Now, the Port Townsend Historic District is a U.S. National Historic Landmark District.
One local wag proclaimed Port Townsend a college town without a college. True, Port Townsend is a haven for alternative types and old hippies, but its rich mix of locals includes mill workers, boat builders, retirees, sailors, writers and artists. The place is sometimes self-consciously quirky, but the setting on Admiralty Inlet - with Mount Baker rising beyond the long cliffs of Whidbey Island to the east - is unmatched.
Port Townsend's event calendar is crammed: a jazz festival, Wooden Boat Festival, film festival, Kinetic Sculpture Race (not to be missed), etc. Stroll downtown and check out the art galleries, several bookstores. William James might be among the best used bookstores whose door you've ever darkened.
Make no mistake, this is a tourist destination: Mind where you dine. Waterfront Pizza is a good. Dogs a Foot, the hotdog stand at the end of town that is open mid-March to mid-October, serves what may be the best dogs this side of the Rockies. For a more traditional, sit-down place, the Silverwater Café is excellent.
Up on Lawrence Street, the locals congregate in the cafes, restaurants and Aldrich's grocery store. Lawrence Street plays host to the Saturday Farmer's Market, which starts May 2 and runs into November.
Fort Warden State Park allows plenty of room for beach walking, camping, hiking and exploring the old military bunkers. You can stay in the old military housing (call 360-344-4434).
Information: www.enjoypt.com.
Sequim, the self-styled "lavender capitol of North America, lies about a half-hour drive from Port Townsend. The Sequim Valley gets about 18 inches of rain a year - thanks to the rain shadow - about half that of Seattle. There's even an Irrigation Festival in May.
While the banana-belt climate attracts many visitors and retirees - developments are overtaking the hills and fields around town - Dungeness Spit north of town on the Strait of Juan de Fuca is the magnet for many.
Hiking out to the lighthouse, 11 miles round trip, is one of those great Pacific Northwest must-do experiences. The trip will take you along the longest natural sand spit in the United States and reputedly the driest piece of land on the west coast north of San Diego.
Take plenty of water and energy bars: Beach walking is different than normal land walking. Check the tide tables: Low tide is easier going.
And take binoculars. The Dungeness Wildlife Refuge is a staging area for hundreds of birds. You may see whales and probably seals. Victoria, B.C., and Vancouver Island show to the north; east, you'll see the San Juans and the Cascades. The hike, as others have noted, has a dreamlike quality.
Near the lighthouse you are greeted with a crude wooden sign: "Reality, 5.5 miles," with an arrow pointing back the way you came. David Wagoner's famous poem "A Guide to Dungeness Spit" captures the vivid, dreamlike quality of the experience.
Where to eat: Three Crabs is a must-do (if only once) destination. It's on the water in the Dungeness area. Take Sequim-Dungeness Way east from the center of town and follow the signs.
Where to stay: The Juan de Fuca Cottages (www.juandefuca.com), overlooking the Strait, are about as charming as it gets, but expensive. Information: www.sequim.com.
Twenty minutes up Highway 101 from Sequim, Port Angeles, like Astoria, is often overlooked as the gateway to something else. In this case, Port Angeles is the portal to the Olympic National Forest and ferry terminal to Victoria, B.C. It is a raw, working, waterfront town and more interesting for that.
Drive out to Ediz Hook and gaze back. The city is a place of stunning juxtapositions and visual vignettes: the old town, green hills, white mountains, blue water, freighters and docks.
The local arts scene - literary and visual - is vital. Famous short-story writer and poet Raymond Carver is buried in Ocean View cemetery outside of town. The Port Angeles Fine Arts Center rotates the work of local, Northwest and international artists.
Hurricane Ridge is 17 miles from downtown. If the weather is clear, go. Among other wonders you'll get a direct look into the snowy chalice of Mount Olympus. In winter it's a destination for cross-country and downhill skiing, snow showing and snowboarding. Winter weather conditions can change; call 360-565-3131 for updates.
For information: www.portangeles.org.
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