Cities and small towns dot the shorelines and estuaries of Puget Sound, and the protected saltwater sea called the Salish Sea, offering numerous opportunities to get on the water. Try a sea kayak adventure from historic Port Townsend. Go whale watching from Anacortes. Join salmon fishing charters from Tacoma, Edmonds, Port Angeles and Westport. Winter wildlife watching is superb (eagles, hawks, snow geese, trumpeter swans, shorebirds) in estuaries around the mouths of major rivers such as the Skagit, Nisqually, Nooksack, and Snohomish. Cruise companies offer natural history tours such as the Everett Everglades (Mosquito Fleet, 425-252-6800,www.whalewatching.com).
La Conner on Swinomish Channel north of Seattle is a departure point for lunch and dinner cruises to spectacular Deception Pass (Mystic Sea, 360-466-3042) or for extended cruises through the San Juan Islands (Viking Cruises, 360-466-2639,www.vikingcruises.com). A number of whale watching and marine life excursion boats leave daily from ports throughout the San Juan Islands. Contact: www.VisitSanJuans.com for more information.
In the Scandinavian heritage town of Poulsbo, on Liberty Bay in Kitsap County, Olympic Outdoor Center invites you to rent a kayak or a canoe and explore the placid bay and see wildlife (otters, eagles, heron). Overnight tours to nearby Blake Island State Marine Park can be booked by calling 360-697-6095. Just south in Bremerton, Kitsap Harbor Tours offers narrated cruises to see the historic U.S.S. Missouri and carrier Nimitz.
Gig Harbor, just west of Tacoma via Highway 16, presents a glorious view of Mount Rainier rising above the bay. Here you can stroll the shoreline past fishing boats, tugs, historic hulks listing at their moorings, and a host of recreational craft. Or, you can rent a small boat at the north end of the bay and join the throngs of weekend sailors who parade in and out of the narrow harbor entrance. Waterfront cafes serve spectacular views with the fare.
Bellingham, in Whatcom County on I-5 near the Canadian border, is an enthusiastic outdoor adventure center, offering several kayaking services and whitewater rafting on the Nooksack River. Natural history cruises in the San Juan Islands can be booked with Anchor Excursions at 360-733-9078. The Fairhaven districts waterfront features the Alaska Ferry Terminal with cruises up the Inside Passage. Fairhaven Boatworks rents kayaks, rowboats, and sailboats (360-647-2469). An Amtrak depot on the waterfront means you can reach all this by train.
Sixty-three-mile long Hood Canal on the Olympic Peninsula presents 242 miles of shoreline teeming with Pacific oysters. Youll find many state parks along US Highway 101 and Highway 106, a handful of inns and resorts, a marina or two, and a winery.
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