Highway 101 from Olympia to Port Townsend
It’s about a two-hour straight drive from Olympia to Port Angeles (or PA as the locals call it). A good portion of the highway snakes along the shores of the Hood Canal, an inlet of the Puget Sound, and there are many scenic places to explore. Here are a few of our favorites places to stop:
- Dosewallips State Park is a huge park (425 acres) with both a saltwater shoreline on Hood Canal and a freshwater shoreline on either side of the Dosewallips River. If you're in the mood for camping, the park also has over 130 year-round camp sites.
- The Geoduck Café and Tavern (just south of Doeswallips State Park) is popular with locals and travelers alike and it has great views of the water.
- Seal Rock Campground is a nice, little campground that runs along the shore of the Hood Canal. It's rocky beach is a good place to stretch your legs, skip some rocks, and spend some quality time out of the car.
- Falls View Campground has a nice short walk to the viewspot of a pretty waterfall on the Big Quilcene River. For a longer walk, follow the path downhill to the bottom of the falls and then stroll for as long as you like along the banks of the river.
- Fat Smitty’s, which is located at the exit to Port Townsend, can’t be missed. Look for the large wooden statue of a, well, fat man who I presume to be Fat Smitty himself. This is a great place to stop for amazing homemade milkshakes.
- There's also a great photo stop 0.8 miles past the exit for Port Townsend. As you drive, look to your right. After you pass a railroad café, you’ll see a broken down house or factory on a dock. The ramshackle structure seems to be slowly sinking into the mud flats and waters beneath it and, in the hands of a skilled photographer, it's a scene that captures a bit of the essence of the Pacific Northwest.
