Travel Planner
Home > Travel Planner
Spend time exploring Bainbridge Island --the Bloedel Reserve, the wineries, the arts, the parks, and the sports, including kayaking, hiking, and biking. Then enjoy the historic Norwegian community of Poulsbo, its beautiful waterfront on Liberty Bay and all the delights of the water and wild life. Traveling around all of Kitsap County is easy and delightful.
Bainbridge Island is the gateway to the Kitsap Peninsula and the Olympic National Park, plus the Victorian seaport of Port Townsend, the Port Madison Indian Reservation, and 19th century lumber mill towns of Port Gamble and Sequim.
And Seattle offers another experience--a revitalized waterfront, museums, the Space Needle, the Pacific Science Center and major league sports. Leave your car and walk on the ferry. A short stroll takes you into the Emerald City with all its excitement.
Day 1: Bainbridge Island and Kitsap County
You can easily consume a full day as a casual observer, active participant, or both on Bainbridge Island and adjacent Kitsap County.
For a wonderful, relaxing walk, the Bloedel Reserve (bloedelreserve.org) offers you 150 acres almost equally divided between rich second growth forest and altered landscapes, gardens, ponds and meadows. Meander through a traditionally planted Japanese Garden, relax beside a rock and sand Zen Garden, or gently step beside the living carpet of the Moss Garden. Watch herons and kingfishers nab trout while geese, swans and ducks float atop the same pond. Start in the bluff-top French Country house-turned visitor center and peruse half-a-day away.
History is showcased inside the 94-year old Island Center School at the Bainbridge Historical Museum on Erickson Ave. In addition to the Museum's array of photos, videos, and artifacts, a special exhibition on Manzanar, the camp Bainbridge Island citizens of Japanese ancestry were sent to during World War II, shouldn't be missed. Port Gamble is a nationally registered historical town. Walk down its main street and reenter the early 19th century. Explore its shops and venues all in restored historic buildings from the days of big busy lumber mills. See where the workers and the mill bosses lived. Watch for the opening of Poulsbo Historical Museum at its site in the middle of town.
Park - Two state parks and 18 city parks, including an aquatic center, comprise a generous portion of Bainbridge Island. Fay Bainbridge State Park offers more than a quarter-mile of shoreline within its 17 acres. Use the salt water to swim, boat, fish, crab, kayak or clam. Stay on shore and put the horseshoe pits, volleyball courts, or fire circles to use. Fort Ward State Park is a 137-acre marine park with 4,300 feet of saltwater shoreline on Rich Passage. It is ideal for viewing marine birds, and you might catch a glimpse of navy vessels going to or from the Bremerton naval shipyard. Bainbridge Island's city parks (biparks.org) range from one to 318 acres. You'll find soccer and softball fields, tennis and basketball courts, walking and jogging trails, plus a pond and kids play area at Battle Point Park. Grand Forest offers 240 acres of walking and equestrian trails. The Aquatic Center provides two pools with lap lanes and diving boards. In addition, the center has a slide, a spa, and a tot pool. Poulsbo offers a beautiful waterfront town with a board walk along the seawall. Go further up and enjoy the raw beauty of Kitsap Memorial Park and Hood Canal and the Hood Canal Floating Bridge.
Sunrise in Port Gable and Further north, near Hansville, the Point No Point Lighthouse fought the hands of technology for its first 113 years, remaining staffed until 1992. The guiding beacon, now managed by Kitsap County, has helped mariners find safe passage between the Kitsap Peninsula and Whidbey Island since 1879.
Port Gamble National Historic District: Timber was king in Washington State and sawmill towns were crucial to the settlement of Puget Sound. Washington's most intact and authentic example of an early company town, Port Gamble (portgamble.com) should not be missed. Step back in time to the Pacific Northwest of the 1800s, visit the historic museum and general store, take a self-guided tour of the cemetery, and view historic homes.
The quiet streets, picturesque views, and historic buildings will make you dream of a less demanding time, leisurely Sundays of tennis, kite flying and family picnics on the green.
Interested in spending a little time either on or under the water? The Olympic Outdoor Center in Poulsbo (kayakproshop.com) will set you up to kayak or sail. They rent equipment and accessories, including roof racks if you want to do your own thing. If you're not ready to venture out without some guidance, the Center offers group lessons as well as private classes. If you want to get beneath the surface, Exotic Aquatics Scuba and Watersports (exoticaquaticssscuba.com) offers an introduction to Scuba, escorted shore and boat dives, orientation dives and dry suit orientations. Many divers claim the nutrient rich Puget Sound is as good as cold-water diving gets.
Day 2: North Olympic Peninsula
Bainbridge Island and Kitsap county serve as a launching pad to the treasures of the North Olympic Peninsula. Just an hour away, Port Townsend (enjoypt.com) was supposed to be the city Seattle became. Here, outstanding Victorian homes are as impressive as the historic bricked-and- blocked downtown. Port Townsend is a magnet for visitors looking to shop, beach comb, kayak or revel in local history. Fort Worden, on the town's northern flank, celebrated its 100th year in 2002. It provides outstanding trails, enticing bunkers, and Centrum (centrum.org), which offers the public workshops and performance opportunities in visual, literary and performing arts.
Nearby Sequim (visitsun.com) stakes its claim as the sunniest spot in Western Washington. In addition, it receives only 17" of rain a year, just 1/9 of the amount that falls in the rain forest a mere 60 miles away. Sequim is home to the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, a treasure trove of waterfowl and a nursery for young salmon and steelhead. A five-mile sand spit forms the protected bay. Hiking, horseback riding, kayaking, and boating are all exploratory options. On foot, the parking lot to end-of-the-spit Lighthouse is a pleasant ten-mile round-trip.
Sequim is also recognized for its burgeoning lavender industry. The hearty herb is now used in oils, fabrics, salad dressings, teas, honey, and for numerous healing means. Eight growers offer tours. A three-day celebration honoring the French import takes place every year in July. Visit (lavenderfestival.com) for more insight.
Port Angeles (portangeles.net) is the front door to Olympic National Park's most spectacular wall of alpine peaks - Hurricane Ridge. Here is a year-round hub of outdoor action with one of the most spectacular settings in the state: jagged peaks to the south, thick strands of cedar, Douglas fir and western hemlock all around, white caps atop the Strait of Juan de Fuca with Vancouver Island, British Columbia behind them to the north. Miles of attractive trails attract snow-shoers and cross country skiers November through March (season varies). Down hillers and snow boarders are offered two rope tows and a poma bar. Tubers and sliders have areas to frolic, too. When the snow melts, picnickers, hikers, and others simply looking for inspiration, flock to the Ridge.
Several other alluring options are easy to reach from the Port Angeles hub. To the north, Victoria, Canada, connected by ferry up to seven times a day. To the west, Lake Crescent, the emerald jewel of the Olympics. Watch spectacular Marymere Falls send its liquid cargo down nine stories. Here, a flat, loose gravel trail to the falls winds through old growth forest. Also to the west you can experience minor rapids and major wildlife sightings while atop the Elwha River on a raft. You may see a herd of elk crossing the river. Bears are occasionally sighted, while beavers, otters and ducks are regularly spotted. Resident ospreys and eagles fish the river and nest high above it. Massive trees, draped in moss and surrounded by conifer saplings, alders, and ferns, make it no secret that you're riding through a rain forest.
Day 3: Seattle
Most Seattleites will tell you the best view of America's most caffeinated city is from the water. Board any Washington State Ferry from Bainbridge Island and you'll marvel at a cityscape anchored by Queen Anne Hill and the Space Needle to the north and Safeco Field to the south. Behind the spectacular skyline rise the mighty Cascade Mountains with nearly 3-mile high Mt. Rainier seeming five, not fifty miles away. A two-block walk from the ferry dock will put you on the fringe of Pioneer Square. Here, novelty shops, the venerable Elliott Bay Book Company, numerous eating and drinking establishments, the Underground Tour, and the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park (nps.gov/klgo) all reside inside turn-of-the-last-century masonry masterpieces.
Walk a few blocks beyond Pioneer Square and you'll meet Seattle's newest sports cathedral, home of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks (seahawks.com). Attractive Safeco Field, home of the 2001 American League West Champion Seattle Mariners (seattle.mariners.mlb.com), resides behind the new facility.
Its a nine-block walk or a three-minute trolley ride from the ferry to a downtown icon. The oldest continually operating farmer's market in America, the Pike Place Market will work your eyes, ears, and nose with colorful fruits, vegetables, flying fish, and unusual crafts. All in all, the market is home to 100 farmers, 150 craftsmen, 300 businesses and the world's first Starbucks.
By bus or via trolley and a short walk, a trip to Seattle Center alone can fill a day. Ride the sleek Space Needle (spaceneedle.com) elevator higher than any of the city's seven hills. Experience hands-on science, laser light shows, a Tropical Butterfly House or IMAX features at the Pacific Science Center (pacsci.org). Make your own music, watch a performance on the world's largest video screen, or meander among the high and low-tech exhibits at the swoopy, flamboyant structure known as the Experience Music Project (emplive.org).
Two worthy diversions best visited by taking your car with you on the ferry include the Woodland Park Zoo (zoo.org) and the Museum of Flight (museumofflight.com). The 92-acre zoo and park, five miles north of city center, has drawn raves for its baby elephant, African village exploration, education center, and summer concert series. Ten miles south of the ferry dock; the Museum of Flight grew out of the Boeing Company's original Red Barn. Full-size aircraft dangle from wires in a six-story gallery. The cockpits of a Blackbird and a Hornet beckon. Air Force One offers boarding time.