Port Townsend

Understand

Get in

By car

to From U.S. 101 at the tip of Discovery Bay, State Route 20 (SR-20) splits off and runs 30 mi into downtown. Port Townsend is roughly a two-hour drive north of Olympia, and one hour east of Port Angeles.

to SR-19 comes up from SR-104 west of the Kingston Ferry Terminal near the Hood Canal Bridge and terminates at SR-20 just south of town. Traffic coming from the Seattle area will want to take the Downtown to Bainbridge Island or the Edmonds to Kingston Ferries towards the peninsula.

By public transit

• From Seattle, there are two options to reach Port Townsend by Jefferson Transit:
• Routes 7 & 390: Take the ferry to Bainbridge Island, then Kitsap Transit 390 bus to North Viking Park and Ride in Poulsbo, and then Jefferson Transit bus route 7 to Haines P&R (south of town) from Poulsbo. If going to the airport take the Link Light Rail #1 (towards Angle Lake) from downtown Seattle. The connections are timed and it takes about two and a half hours.
• Route 14: Take the Kitsap Transit Fast Ferry to Kingston, then transfer to the Jefferson Transit bus route 14. If the #14 bus is not operating take Kitsap Transit #307 to Poulsbo and transfer to the #7 bus to Port Townsend.
• From Port Angeles and Sequim:
• Routes 8 & 30: From Port Angeles take Clallam Transit #30 (101 Commuter) or 123 (Strait Shot) to the Sequim Transit Center and transfer to the #8 bus to Port Townsend (Haines P&R).
• From Olympia and Shelton:
• Route 1 and Mason Transit #6 & 8: From Downtown Olympia Transit Center take Mason Transit #6 bus to Shelton and transfer to the #8 bus to Triton Cove. At Triton Cove, transfer to Jefferson Transit #1 to Haines P&R. Notify driver of transfer when going towards Olympia as there is a close connection time. Caveat with this option is that they operate twice daily during the week and once on Saturdays between Triton Cove and Shelton. Therefore, a missed connection will ruin your day.
• Routes 620 and 594: Alternatively take Intercity #620 bus from Olympia to the SR 512 P&R in Lakewood (south of Tacoma) and transfer to Sound Transit 592 or 594 bus to downtown Seattle for Bainbridge Island Ferry (see above). The buses run more frequently between Olympia and Seattle then from Olympia to Port Townsend via Shelton and Triton Cove.
• From Whidbey Island, via the Coupeville Ferry at Fort Casey State Park:
• Island Transit Route #6 goes from Oak Harbor to the Coupeville Ferry Terminal
• Island Transit Route #1N goes up from the Clinton Ferry Terminal to Coupeville Park & Ride on S Main. From there, transfer to the southbound #6 bus in front of Coupeville Elementary School, to Coupeville Ferry Terminal.

Travelers make connections between Jefferson Transit buses at Haines P&R south of town. See schedules here.

By bus

By ferry

Washington State Ferries (WSF) operates the Port Townsend / Coupeville route, connecting Whidbey Island to the Olympic Peninsula.

SR-20 continues north from Coupeville (at the other side), around Whidbey Island, through Deception Pass and Anacortes, to I-5 (exit 230) in Burlington.

Reservations are recommended for vehicles. The small ferries required for the narrow Keystone Harbor mean that vehicle space is often limited, and drive-up motorists may have to wait several sailings for a space. Advance reservations are all but essential on Friday afternoons, weekends and holidays. There's always room for pedestrians and bicyclists.

By bicycle

Get around

Port Townsend has a compact, walkable, gridded center, divided into Downtown and Uptown.

• Downtown, where most attractions are, including most hotels, art galleries, the ferry terminal and the marina, is along Water and Washington Streets, roughly from the ferry dock in the southwest, to Point Hudson in the northeast.
• Uptown, which has some more hotels and other businesses of note, is, as the name suggests, uphill from Downtown, to the northwest. Fort Worden, where a number of attractions lie, is about a mile north of Downtown.

By public transit

Fares are $1.50 for a daily pass; $1.00 for seniors 60+, disabled, and youth 7-18; and free for children 6 and under. The most useful routes for visitors, running hourly, are:

• Route 2 to Haines Place Park & Ride and Fort Worden
• Route 11 to Haines Place Park & Ride, and looping around Uptown and Downtown. Actually two routes, in opposite directions: #11A is counter-clockwise, and #11B is clockwise.

By bicycle

By taxi

As of December 2020, ride-sharing services such as Uber or Lyft are banned, and not available.

Go next

• Coupeville, on Whidbey Island, can be reached by ferry. It is a small rural town, part of a historic reserve.
• Sequim, the sunniest place in Western Washington and the lavender capital of North America, is 30 miles to the west.
• Port Angeles, the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula and most convenient gateway to Olympic National Park, is about 50 miles west.
• Bainbridge Island, a scenic island suburb of Seattle, is about 50 miles south.