Kitsap County: See
The Kitsap Peninsula is known not only for busy sea ports and picturesque towns but also for its rolling hills, thick forests, miles of coastline, scenic farmlands and public parks.
Lighthouse viewing on the Kitsap Peninsula is an excellent way to explore the area. Many lighthouses are accessible to the public, and some offer tours and can even be stayed at overnight.
Fox Island Lighthouse is the southern most lighthouse in the area, on Fox Island near the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
The Gig Harbor Lighthouse, which, at only 15 ft (4.6 m) tall, is one of the smaller lighthouses in the region but nonetheless plays an important role marking the opening to Gig Harbor.
The Point No Point Lighthouse, built in 1879 near Hansville, is the oldest and most historically important lighthouse on Kitsap Peninsula.
The Skunk Bay Lighthouse is on Skunk Bay at the northern tip of the Kitsap Peninsula near Hansville.
Two bridges connect the Kitsap Peninsula to the mainland: the Hood Canal Floating Bridge which is the third-longest floating bridge (the longest over tidewater), and the Tacoma Narrows Bridges, majestic side by side bridges.
In Bremerton, the Puget Sound Navy Museum collects, preserves, and interprets the naval heritage of the Pacific Northwest from 1840 to the present and has more than 18,000 objects in its collection. The USS Turner Joy on the Bremerton Boardwalk is a Vietnam-era destroyer you can tour to see how life would have been for the 17 officers and 275 enlisted men it took to run the ship. The Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport shows what life is like under the sea.
Of Sea and Shore Museum in Port Gamble is dedicated to the study of natural history, especially mollusks and other invertebrates and includes one of the largest sea shell collections in the world.
At the Suquamish Museum in Suquamish, you can learn more about the first people of the Kitsap Peninsula, their wooden canoes and their traditions. The Kitsap Historical Society and Museum in Bremerton exhibits the diverse culture, heritage and history of Kitsap County. The Harbor History Museum in Gig Harbor explores the history of the Gig Harbor Peninsula, its maritime industries, and a well preserved school house.
The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton was established in 1891. During World War I, the Navy Yard constructed ships, submarines, and 1,700 small boats. During World War II, the shipyard's primary effort was the repair of battle damage to ships of the U.S. fleet and those of its allies. In the late 1950s, it entered an era of new construction with the building of a new class of guided missile frigates. The historic district includes 22 contributing buildings and 42 contributing structures.
The streets of Port Gamble haven't changed much since the 1800s, and its original New England Victorian-style homes have been lovingly preserved, along with the several other historic buildings in the area.