Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
in the 1880s; and based on the certainty of a railroad connection, real estate
speculation and development boomed. Merchants and investors erected mer-
cantile palaces along Water Street and elaborate Victorian homes on the bluff
above the wharf district. However, the railroad never arrived. Tacoma got the
rails, and Port Townsend got the shaft.
With its importance as a shipping port usurped by Seattle and Tacoma, Port
Townsend slipped into quiet obscurity. Progress passed it by and its elegant
homes and commercial buildings were left to slowly fade away. However, in
1976 the waterfront district and bluff-top residential neighborhood were
declared a National Historic District and the town began a slow revival. Today
the streets of Port Townsend are once again crowded with people. The water-
front district is filled with boutiques, galleries, and other interesting shops, and
many of the Victorian homes atop the bluff have become bed-and-breakfast
inns.
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE
Port Townsend is on Wash. 20, off U.S. 101 in the
northeast corner of the Olympic Peninsula. The Hood Canal Bridge, which con-
nects the Kitsap Peninsula with the Olympic Peninsula and is on the route from
Seattle to Port Townsend, sometimes closes due to high winds; if you want to be
certain that it's open, call
&
800/695-7623.
Washington State Ferries
(
&
800/84-FERRY
or 888/808-7977 within
Washington state, or 206/464-6400; www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries) operates a ferry
between Port Townsend and Keystone on Whidbey Island. The crossing takes
30 minutes and costs $7.50 to $9.50 for a vehicle and driver, and $2.10 for pas-
sengers (discounted fares for seniors and youths).
Between Port Townsend and Friday Harbor, passenger service is available
from mid-April to early October from
P.S. Express
(
&
360/385-5288;
www.
pugetsoundexpress.com), which will also carry bicycles and sea kayaks. One-way
fares are $35 for adults and $25 for children; round-trip fares are $53 for adults
and $36 for children.
VISITOR INFORMATION
Contact the
Port Townsend Chamber of
Commerce Visitors Information Center,
2437 E. Sims Way, Port Townsend,
WA 98368 (
&
888/365-6978
or 360/385-2722; www.ptguide.com).
GETTING AROUND
Because parking spaces are hard to come by in down-
town Port Townsend on weekends and anytime in the summer,
Jefferson Tran-
sit
(
&
800/371-0497
or 360/385-4777; www.jeffersontransit.com), the local
public bus service, operates a shuttle into downtown Port Townsend from a
park-and-ride lot on the south side of town. Jefferson Transit also operates other
buses around Port Townsend. Fares are 50ยข to $1.
FESTIVALS
As a tourist town, Port Townsend schedules quite a few festivals
throughout the year. In early April, the town celebrates its Victorian heritage
with the
Victorian Festival
(
&
888/698-1116;
www.victorianfestival.org). The
Jazz Port Townsend
festival is held toward the end of July. The
Wooden Boat
Festival,
the largest of its kind in the United States, is on the first weekend after
Labor Day. During the
Kinetic Sculpture Race,
held the first Sunday in Octo-
ber, outrageous human-powered vehicles race on land, on water, and through a
mud bog. To see inside some of the town's many restored homes, schedule a visit
during the
Historic Homes Tour
on the third weekend in September.
