Port Townsend is a city in the Olympic Peninsula region of Washington.

historic downtown Port Townsend

Get in

By car

From U.S. 101 at the tip of Discovery Bay, SR-20 splits off and runs 13 miles to downtown. Traffic coming from the Seattle area will want to take one of the many ferries across Puget Sound to reach the peninsula. Driving the land route alone, Port Townsend is roughly a two-hour drive north of Olympia, and one hour east of Port Angeles.

By bus

Both regional Jefferson Transit buses and the Dungeness Line conveys at 1 Haines Place Park & Ride, just north of the marina at 12th St & Haines Pl (next to the Safeway supermarket), from there one can continue by local bus to downtown.

• Jefferson Transit Connections to Sequim (Rt #8); Poulsbo (Rt #7) and to Brinnon (Rt #1). To get to Seattle take the #7 bus to Poulsbo and transfer to Kitsap Transit Rt#390 to the Bainbridge Island Ferry terminal and take the ferry into downtown Seattle. Take the Link Light Rail to continue from downtown Seattle to the airport. Take the #8 bus to Sequim Gateway Transit Center and transfer to Clallam Transit Rt#30 bus to Port Angeles. Takes longer but also the cheapest and more frequent option to travel between Port Angeles and Seattle without car. Take the #2 (Ft Worden) or the #11 (Port Townsend Shuttle) bus to get into town from the Haines Place P&R.
• Dungeness Line operated by Olympic Bus Lines, (bus stop) Haines Place P&R @ 12th St & Haines Pl. Operates the Dungeness Line route from Sea-Tac and Seattle to Port Townsend, Sequim and Port Angeles. The bus goes across the Puget Sound on the Edmonds-Kingston ferry and is the most direct way to travel between Seattle and the Olympic Peninsula by bus. Connections with Amtrak, Greyhound, Sound Transit and other inter-city services are in Seattle. 

By boat

• 1 Washington State Ferries, 1301 Water St (Along the waterfront.). There is a ferry connecting Port Townsend and Coupeville, on Whidbey Island. The small ferries required by Coupeville's narrow harbor mean that vehicle space is often limited, and drive-up motorists may have to wait several sailings for a space. Guaranteed reservations can be made in advance online or by calling 511, and are all but essential on Friday afternoons, weekends and holidays; another alternative is driving south via SR-19 and SR-104 (Hood Canal Bridge) to the larger ferries at Kingston or Bainbridge Island. Pedestrians and bicyclists will never have a problem boarding the ferry. 

Get around

Everything is in an easy walking distance. When you don't feel like walking it is easy to catch a bus to anywhere in the town.

See

Port Townsend Courthouse

• 1 Fort Worden Historical State Park, 200 Battery Way, ☏ +1 360 344-4412 (ranger office), toll-free: +1-888-226-7688 (campsite reservations). Features beaches, many trails, and abandoned military bunkers. (updated May 2020)
• 2 Manresa Castle, 651 Cleveland St (7th and Sheridan Sts). On the National Historic Registry. Also one of the most haunted buildings in America. 

Do

A house in the historic district

• See Port Townsend historic district, where there are still a lot of Victorian buildings in a "time capsule" atmosphere.

Uptown Theatre

• See a movie at the Rose Theatre, which gets mostly indie films that only open in certain theatres, or at the Uptown Theatre.
• In mid to late September Port Townsend has its film festival where there's movies indoors and outdoors during the night. This is one of the biggest independent film festivals in the world.
• Stroll around on the downtown strip, visiting the interesting shops.
• In the summer, relax on the beaches at Fort Worden. (You can camp there too either on the beach or further inland.)
• Port Townsend also holds a Wooden Boat Festival also in September.
• 1 The Broken Spoke, 835 Water St (at Taylor St), ☏ +1 360 379-1295. Rent a bicycle and pedal around town or on local trails! Many styles and sizes to choose from at The Broken Spoke bicycle shop. 

Eat

Rose Theatre & Elks Building

• 1 Fountain Cafe, 920 Washington St, ☏ +1 360-385-1364. Great little place up the hill from the fountain with mostly organic foods. (updated Mar 2016)
• 2 Waterfront Pizza, 951 Water St, ☏ +1 360-385-6629. The best pizza in town! Buy it by the slice or order a full pizza with all your favorites and dine upstairs in the funky atmosphere. (updated Mar 2016)
• 3 Lanza's Ristorante, 1020 Lawrence St. Located uptown has really great Italian food. (updated Mar 2016)
• 4 Khu Larb Thai Restaurant, 225 Adams St, ☏ +1 360-385-5023. Really great Thai food, a favorite with the locals. (updated Mar 2016)
• 5 Ichikawa Sushi Bar & Steak House, 1208 Water St, ☏ +1 360-379-4000. Japanese cuisine from its sister city. (updated Mar 2016)
• 6 The Silverwater Cafe, 237 Taylor St, ☏ +1 360-385-6448. Great atmosphere and is known for their exceptional seafood dishes. (updated Mar 2016)

Drink

• 1 1012 Coffee Bar, 1012 Lawrence St (at Tyler St), ☏ +1 360 379-1012. 7AM-1PM daily. Artisan espresso with a cozy local feeling. 

Sleep

In sharp contrast to many other American towns, Port Townsend has several historic downtown hotels.

• 1 Harborside Inn, 330 Benedict St, ☏ +1 360-385-7909. (updated Mar 2016)
• 2 The Belmont, +1 360-385-3007. (updated Mar 2016)
• 3 Palace Hotel Port Townsend, 1004 Water St, ☏ +1 360-385-0773. Occupying a historic Victorian building, this restored hotel is located right in downtown. (updated Mar 2016)
• 4 Water Street Hotel, 635 Water St, ☏ +1 360-385-5467. (updated Mar 2016)

Go next

Port Townsend is connected to Coupeville on Whidbey Island via the Washington State Ferries. It is also relatively close to Olympic National Park and the Kitsap Peninsula.

Routes through Port Townsend

END ← Jct W S ←

W  E

→ Car ferry → Coupeville → Burlington