Port Townsend in the State of Washington blends history with natural beauty. With its rich maritime heritage, artistic spirit, and urban touch, Port Townsend has an immense charm that attracts millions of visitors year round. Located just a couple of hours via boat ride from the Seattle metro area, Port Townsend has the beautiful Olympic Peninsula as its backdrop along with lavish Victorian buildings, several waterfront restaurants, and amazing outdoor activities. This picturesque coastal town with a thriving arts and culture community has so many things to see and enjoy. Check out what you can do on your day trip to Port Townsend from Seattle.
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Tourist Attractions: The city of Port Townsend is divided into two sections: Uptown and Lower Town. Up Town features Victorian houses and Euro-style bakeries and in the Lower Town area you will find families with shops, restaurants and a museum. Visit the Jefferson County Historical Society Museum and explore its architectural and historical insights. If you are a history buff, then be sure to visit the Fort Worden State Park Visitors Center and the Commanding Officers Quarters Museum. It is a retired military base with 434 acres of museums, tidepools and barracks. Visit the Port Townsend Marine Science Center and get up close and personal with anemones, sea urchins, sea stars and sea cucumbers. Touch whale bones and learn about the river otters at the Natural History Exhibit. Enjoy the sandy beach, playgrounds, and a secret waterfall at the Chetzmoka Park. Wander along Water Street which boasts of interesting shops and boutiques, and several restaurants. If you want to just sit back and relax, then Rose Theatre is just the ticket. It has some of the original murals and old-time balcony seats where you can enjoy watching any art film or Sundance favorites. Port Townsend is just miles away from the Olympic National Park. The Olympic Park has beaches, rain forest valleys, glacier-capped peaks and numerous varieties of plants and animals.
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Best Beaches: Glass Beach of Port Townsend is one of the best beaches, in the Pacific Northwest, where you can find great quality beach glass in various colors and sizes. North Beach is another popular beach of Townsend. It stretches more than 3.5 miles along the Strait of Juan de Fuca and offers great views of Fort Worden's Artillery Hill and the Point Wilson Lighthouse.
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Outdoor Activities: You will get to enjoy amazing outdoor activities in Port Townsend. Since it is located on the waterfront, you can enjoy any water-based activity. Try kayaking, go whale watching, or take a sailing lesson. Chetzemoka Park is an idyllic playground for children. The park has a great gazebo for picnic lunches, foot bridges, a forest of rhododendrons, and climbable tree stumps. Set on miles of rocky beaches and amazing views of the Puget Sound, Admiralty Head Lighthouse is well worth the visit. Rent a kayak for a day or go sailing on your own private boat. Book a wildlife tour to view whales, puffins, and seals. You can even try scuba diving or snorkeling at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center. Here you can see the critters that are often hard to find and touch, marine animals protected by the marine center. Perhaps nothing beats a sunset overlooking water, especially if you are in Port Townsend. Enjoy sunset while sitting on the beach or from the deck of your sunset yacht charter to experience the spectacular views of your surroundings. From wines to cheese, the area surrounding Port Townsend offers you the opportunity to taste seasonal delights. There are 9 wineries & cideries along with cheese making facilities located from Chimacum to Port Townsend to Port Angeles. You can visit these wineries or cheese making facilities and taste organic red & white wines and artisan cheese.
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Whale and Wildlife Watching: Port Townsend is a great place to hop on board a vessel and travel on the waters in search of marine invertebrates and marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, harbor porpoise and more. The Port is actually famous for whale watching. You can spot Orca whales and occasional gray and minke whales that inhabit the waters surrounding the port city. Better yet, take a boat to nearby Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge to watch sea birds, sea ducks, and other bird species. During your whale watching tour, you can expect to spot the Southern Resident orcas, and even Transient Orcas.
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Fishing: Port Townsend and the Olympic Peninsula offer plentiful fishing opportunities as the areas are home to a variety of species, such as the delicious and hard fighting Lingcod, Rockfish, Seabass, Cabezon, Flounder, Pacific Halibut, and others. Cutthroat trout and resident coho/silver salmon can be caught during a saltwater fishing excursion near Port Townsend. Be sure to enjoy your time on the water while exploring our local beaches and put clams and oyster gathering on your bucket list.
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Day Trips: Whether you're seeking a rural or beach getaway, Port Townsend offers many opportunities for day trips by yacht or boat. Take your private yacht to Port Hadlock to play on the water, enjoy picnic on the beach, and dig clams along the inland waters. With peaceful bays, pristine views and sandy beaches, Port Ludlow is a perfect destination for a day trip to enjoy kayaking, golfing, hiking, and bird-watching. Port Townsend also serves as an excellent base for day trips to Seattle, Port Angeles, Victoria, Vancouver, Camano Island, Desolation Sound, Whidbey Island, San Juans, Marrowstone Island, and Indian Island.
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Dining and Shopping Options: Port Townsend is not only known for its charming historic buildings, but also for great dining options. The restaurants here serve Mediterranean-influenced cuisine, American dishes, authentic Thai cuisine, Japanese food, and French-inspired cuisine. From fresh seafood to homemade ice cream, some of the best dining spots in Port Townsend include Silverwater Café, Belmont Restaurant & Saloon, Alchemy Bistro & Wine Bar, Sweet Laurette Cafe & Bistro, Banana Leaf Thai Bistro, Ichikawa, Lanza’s Ristorante, and Waterfront Pizza among others. Port Townsend has a variety of retail stores and gift shops where you can buy antiques, different types of clothing, shoes, accessories and handmade crafts. Some of the local shops include Bergstrom’s Antiques and Classic Autos, Diva Yarn, Derr Jewelry, Lila Drake Jewelry, and World’s End to name a few.
Port Townsend was once a rough and tumble thoroughfare, but now it has transformed into a major tourist destination in Washington just North of Seattle. It boasts of art galleries, antiques stores, trendy boutiques, coffeehouses, upscale eateries, and pubs. At Pacific Northwest Yacht Charters, we provide private yacht charters to Port Townsend and its surrounding destinations. We also offer day trip from Seattle to Port Townsend. Our Pacific Northwest yacht charters offer a unique opportunity to travel through unspoiled wilderness in Townsend and experience some of the many adventurous activities. Contact us to plan your yachting excursion. We will create a vacation itinerary based on your interests and preferences.
