City of Bremerton

The city of Bremerton is about a thirty minute drive north from Gig Harbor. It is by far the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula with a population of forty thousand.

It does have its pluses and minuses For instance on the negative side I would likely not live there because of the look of the neighborhoods, however, I find it a really good place to visit.  The easiest way get to Bremerton from Seattle is by ferry.  In fact, there is a great view of Puget Sound riding the ferry between Seattle and Bremerton. It takes about an hour ferry ride either way. You actually pay the fare for the ride only on the Seattle side. You can drive your car, ride a bike, or be a passenger only.  I take the ferry ride at least once a year when there is family in town.  It is fairly easy walk to the Pike Place Market; also you can go to see the Seahawks, or Mariners play very easy too. Many people take the ferry for work on either side.  Of course, a lot of visitors take the ferry ride to Bremerton for easy access to the rest of the Olympic Peninsula.

The largest employer in Bremerton by far is the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Many people live in Bremerton or other areas near by including Gig Harbor and Port Orchard.  A couple places near Bremerton that are really nice to visit are Silverdale, Seabeck, and Belfair.  A little north of Silverdale is the Naval Base at Bangor.  Seabeck is west of Silverdale, and Belfair is west of Bremerton; both places are easy access to the Hood Canal which is a wonderful place to visit.  When I was a kid our family would go to Twanoh State Park at least once or twice each summer which is west of Belfair. It takes about fifteen minutes from Belfair.  There a lot of other wonderful places to visit beyond Twanoh State Park as well.  I will write about them at another time. You can view and visit a number of naval ships in Bremerton Bay as well. I would call it the best place to visit in Bremerton.

There are so many places on the Olympic Peninsula to visit, and do a lot of camping as well.  Besides the Hood Canal there are the Olympic Mountains, and the Olympic Rain Forest. When I was in boy scouts we went on a fifty mile hike each summer along with some other smaller hikes.  The hiking wasn’t always easy; however, the scenery was fantastic.  Those were some of the really good times.