The shoreline ties together small towns, two American Indian reservations and an unincorporated area on the North Kitsap Peninsula.
Also distinctive is the lack of big-box stores, the presence of casually moving pedestrians and a sense of calm not associated with larger populations.
Visitors can find an interesting mix of historic buildings, electric boats, Indian long houses, lutefisk, antiques and a lighthouse.
Norwegian-flavored Poulsbo has a sense of humor (“Parking for Leprechauns Only” sign), three bakeries (Sluy’s, Village, Liberty Bay) and a bookstore (Liberty Bay) with a blue steeple. Marina Market offers an amazing collection of licorice and candy from around the world, not to mention precooked frozen lutefisk dinners.
What you might not expect to see is Northwest Boat Rentals’ sooooo quiet electric boats. Bill Archer has a fleet of rental electric boats, canoes, speed boats and sailboats.
Our 21-foot ride did not come with gasoline or diesel exhaust, balky engines or constant background noise. It wasn’t quite a surrey with the fringe on top, but it did have an all-weather enclosure, leather seats and a top speed of 6 mph.
A floating wedding ceremony can be arranged, officiated by tugboat captain Archer.
Suquamish
Paddlers in about 100 American Indian canoes from British Columbia and Washington state are ending the 20th anniversary paddle and celebration of the 1989 Paddle to Seattle today with colorful, cultural festivities in Suquamish on the Port Madison Indian Reservation.
The 1989 journey was the first traditional intertribal canoe voyage in more than 100 years.
The 1866 grave of Chief Sealth, better known as Chief Seattle, is in Suquamish. The wooden structure around it includes a representation of two tribal canoes.
Port Gamble
If you haven’t been to this small town for years, incorporate it into your North Kitsap Peninsula journey.
The Kitsap Peninsula Visitor Center is now Dauntless Books; the Port Gamble Gallery is in the former Rainier Garage; the Artful Ewe, a yarn store, is in the old market building (1903); the community center and post office has a spiffy pet area; and Harmony by the Bay, an eclectic mix that includes kitty measuring spoon sets, a large wooden horse and Tibetan singing bowls, is in the “New York House.”
Buena Vista Cemetery has a quality sign with all the graveyard residents’ locations; Sunday Market draws residents and tourists; and the Port Gamble Historic Museum is open daily through Oct. 31.
Little Boston
The House of Knowledge is the heart of the 1,340-acre Port Gamble S’Klallam Reservation on the northern end of the Kitsap Peninsula, south of Hansville.
Little Boston is on the reservation, and several architecturally interesting buildings include the House of Knowledge, the Longhouse, Career and Education Center, Elders Center and the Little Boston Library.
All are open to the public.
Hansville
The unincorporated community includes a rural landscape, the Hansville Community Church, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, and Hansville Hill Vineyard.
But the star of the area is the Point No Point lighthouse. The small complex includes the U.S. Lighthouse Society, dozens of artifacts, and the rentable and furnished lighthouse keeper’s home.
Kingston
The town was originally platted in the 1850s by investors for vacation homes. Now it’s the town through which Kingston-Edmonds ferry riders pass.
But there are reasons to stop in this small town, including shops or studios with art, quilts, pottery, prints and art glass, plus art walks and a farmers market.
North Kitsap Peninsula has something for just about anyone unless you’re looking for a big box store or a faster pace.
For more information, contact the Kitsap Peninsula VCB, 800-337-0580 or www.visitkitsap.com.
Columnist Sharon Wootton may be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.
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