Things to Do in Sequim, Washington

Dungeness Spit is one of the world’s longest sand spits, and President Woodrow Wilson made it a wildlife refuge in 1915. An easy half-mile forest trail leads to a bluff overlook, then drops to the spit for a 5-mile beach walk to the lighthouse, built in 1857. Volunteers give daily tours of the lighthouse.

★ Good to know The full hike is about 11 miles round trip, so check the tide tables and start early; pets and bikes aren’t allowed in the refuge.

About a dozen farms grow lavender across the Sequim-Dungeness Valley, and many open for u-pick in summer. Purple Haze Lavender on Bell Bottom Road, B & B Family Farm on Old Olympic Highway and The Lavender Connection on Cays Road are three to start with. Several farms welcome visitors year-round.

★ Good to know Sequim Lavender Weekend is always the third weekend in July, with farm events and a Lavender Festival in the Park at Carrie Blake Park.

Sequim sits in the middle of the Olympic Discovery Trail, which runs from Port Townsend to Port Angeles and is part of the Great American Rail Trail. At Railroad Bridge Park the trail crosses the Dungeness River on a truss bridge the Milwaukee Road built in 1915. It’s the longest bridge over the river.

★ Good to know The paved stretch from just east of Sequim to Port Angeles is flat enough for an easy family ride.

This was the first Audubon center in Washington, and it’s the only one partnered with a Native American tribe, the Jamestown S’Klallam. It sits at Railroad Bridge Park on a salmon-spawning river. Inside are exhibits on local birds and wildlife.

★ Good to know Bird walks leave every Wednesday morning, and the center hosts a Bird Festival in April and a River Festival in September.

Half of this museum at 544 North Sequim Avenue is local history, including the Manis Mastodon exhibit. The mastodon was dug up near Sequim in the late 1970s with a bone point embedded in one of its bones, evidence of hunters here about 14,000 years ago. The other half shows local art, from driftwood sculpture to glass.

★ Good to know It’s a stop on the First Friday Art Walk, held every month.

This drive-through wildlife park at 1423 Ward Road worked exclusively for Walt Disney Studios for 28 years. Its animal actors appeared in Grizzly Adams, The Incredible Journey and Charlie the Lonesome Cougar. You can feed yaks from your car, and there’s a petting farm and a freshwater aquarium.

★ Good to know Bring bread for the bears on the driving tour; the farm says they’ll make it worth your while.

Sequim Bay State Park has 92 acres and nearly a mile of shoreline on the 4-mile-long bay, with the Olympic Discovery Trail running through it. Also on Sequim Bay, John Wayne Marina sits on land the actor’s family donated; he often sailed Sequim Bay on his yacht, the Wild Goose. The marina has public beach access, picnic areas and the Dockside Grill.

★ Good to know The state park needs a Discover Pass, and it’s worth checking the park’s alerts for campground closures.

Berries grow as well as lavender in Sequim’s sun. Graysmarsh Farm offers u-pick lavender, strawberries, raspberries, loganberries, blueberries and blackberries in season, and Dungeness Meadow Farm grows certified organic u-pick blueberries.

★ Good to know The Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market runs Saturdays May through October at the Civic Center Plaza on West Cedar Street.