Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
open to the public. Not far away there is also a Trident nuclear submarine base,
which, however, is not open to the public.
Across Sinclair Inlet from Bremerton, and accessible via the last privately
owned passenger ferry still operating on the Puget Sound, lies the small town of
Port Orchard, which is filled with antiques malls.
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE
The Kitsap Peninsula lies between Puget Sound and the
east side of the Olympic Peninsula and is bounded on its west side by Hood
Canal (which is not a canal but rather a long fjordlike extension of Puget
Sound). Wash. 16 connects the peninsula with I-5 at Tacoma, while Wash. 3 con-
nects the peninsula with U.S. 101 west of Olympia and continues north to the
Hood Canal Bridge, a floating bridge that serves as the Kitsap Peninsula's north-
ern link to the Olympic Peninsula. Bainbridge Island is connected to the Kitsap
Peninsula by the Agate Pass Bridge on Wash. 305.
Washington State Ferries
(
&
800/84-FERRY
or 888/808-7977 in Wash-
ington, or 206/464-6400; www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries) operates three ferries
between the Kitsap Peninsula and the east side of Puget Sound: the Fauntleroy-
Southworth ferry (a 35-min. crossing) from West Seattle, the Seattle-Bremerton
ferry (a 60-min. crossing) from downtown Seattle, and the Edmonds-Kingston
ferry (a 30-min. crossing) from north of Seattle. Fares range between $7 and
$8.75 for a car and driver on the Seattle-Bremerton ferry and between $9.50 and
$12 for a car and driver on the other two ferries. Passenger fare is $5.40. Car
passengers and walk-ons only pay fares on westbound ferries.
VISITOR INFORMATION
For information on the Kitsap Peninsula, con-
tact the
Kitsap Peninsula Visitor and Convention Bureau,
32220 Rainier
Ave. NE (P.O. Box 270), Port Gamble, WA 98364 (
&
800/416-5615
or 360/
297-8200; www.visitkitsap.com). For more information on Poulsbo, contact the
Greater Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce,
19168-C Jensen Way NE (P.O. Box
1063), Poulsbo, WA 98370 (
&
877/768-5726
or 360/779-4848; www.poulsbo.
net).
FESTIVALS
In Poulsbo each May the
Viking Fest
celebrates traditional
Scandinavian culture, as do the October
First Lutheran Church Annual Lute-
fisk Dinner
and the December
Yul Fest.
EXPLORING THE KITSAP PENINSULA
Just across the Agate Pass Bridge from Bainbridge Island lies the Kitsap Penin-
sula and the Suquamish Indian Reservation. Take your first right after crossing
the bridge from Bainbridge Island, and in the village of
Suquamish,
you'll see
signs for the grave of Chief Sealth, for whom Seattle was named. Nearby (turn
at the Texaco station on the edge of town) you'll also find
Old Man House State
Park,
which preserves the site of a large Native American longhouse. The Old
Man House itself is long gone, but you'll find an informative sign and a small
park with picnic tables. From Suquamish, head back to Wash. 305, continue a
little farther west and watch for signs to the
Suquamish Museum,
15838 Sandy
Hook Rd. (
&
360/598-3311;
www.suquamish.nsn.us/museum), on the Port
Madison Indian Reservation. The museum houses a compelling history of Puget
Sound's native people, with lots of historic photos and quotes from tribal elders
about growing up in the area. May through September, the museum is open
daily from 9am to 5pm; October through April, it's open Friday through Sun-
day from 11am to 4pm. Admission is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors, and $2.50
