Ideally, exploring Puget Sound would involve a boat. Last summer, after retreating from Canada, we spent the rest of the summer exploring the Puget Sound area in our RV. We were disappointed that fires forced our retreat from Canada, canceling our trip to Jasper and Banff. Still, closing one door allowed us to visit places we knew well and travel to new places we had never visited. The area around Puget Sound holds a special place for us for the last seven years of traveling in our RV.
First inhabitants
When the Spanish explorer Manuel Quimper Benítez del Pino “discovered” Puget Sound, it had been inhabited for centuries by the Skagit, Swimomish, and multiple other Native American tribes. Before that, it had been carved by glaciers that had advanced and retreated repeatedly over the ages. The Cordilleran ice sheet, along the coastline, all the way to Montana, connected with the Laurentide ice sheet, which covered the east half of Canada and reached south, covering the Great Lakes region. I discuss these details in my story about getting lost in Vancouver at this link. Lost in Vancouver
Puget Sound
Puget Sound defines the water, islands, and shoreline accessed by the Strait of Juan de Fuca south of Canada. In Canada, north of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the bay is called the Strait of Georgia. These waterways include all the water east of Vancouver Island, including Victoria and Vancouver. The San Juan Islands are at the north end of the Puget Sound. To the south of the San Juan Islands, the Puget Sound area includes both Seattle and Tacoma. The Puget Sound is a vast maze of islands, bays, and waterways.
The south end of Puget Sound is in Olympia, Washington, and the north end is at the San Juan Islands. We have explored the Puget Sound area several times, and it is one of our favorite locations.
Here are some links to other stories about Northwest Washington.
- Across the Cascade Mountains
- North Cascades National Park
- Northwest Washington
- Tacoma and Mount Rainier
Link to stories about our travels on the Olympic Penisula
- Quinault Rainforest and Kestner Homestead
- Kalaloch Beach Olympic National Park
- Hoh Rain Forest Olympic National Park
- Neah Bay at the end of the road.
- Lake Crescent Olympic National Park
- Hurricane Ridge Olympic National Park
- In the Olympic Rain Shadow
- The Charm of Port Townsend
- Taking our RV on the ferry, our RV Floats
Links to stories about Whidbey Island and Anacortes
Lieutenant Peter Puget
George Vancouver named Puget Sound after Lieutenant Peter Puget, one of the officers on the HMS Discovery during Vancouver’s four-and-a-half-year expedition from 1791–1795. At the time, the British competed with Spain for the governing rights of the area. Spain had a huge headstart and claimed the area as a Spanish territory, launching their explorations from Monterey in California and supported by Spain/Mexico. Spain claimed all the coastline from the tip of Baja California to and including the Aleutian Islands, which are now in Alaska.
Russia ignored Spain’s claims by establishing fur trading posts in Alaska. The British were trailing in the race for territory in the northwest. Vancouver hoped to find the fabled Northwest Passage but spent most of the expedition in the Puget Sound area, including everything east of the Strait Juan de Fuca.
Spain had a 300-year headstart but only had a few outposts in the area. The Nootka Sound Convention between England and Spain outlined the transfer of the area from Spain to England. The Nootka Sound Convention was loosely worded and perhaps understood by Spain as a plan to share, and England understood it as a transfer of territory. Thirty years later, Mexico broke away from Spain during the Mexican Revolution (1810-1821). Spain’s claims to territory in the northwest were quickly forgotten. By that time, British claims to the region were steadfast.
The United States acquired the Spanish claims to the Pacific Northwest through the Adams-Onis Treaty (1819). At that time, Spain abandoned the Pacific Northwest, leaving the area occupied by both the United States and England. It wasn’t until the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842 between the United States and England that the border between Canada and the United States was established. This border included half of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound.
Eventually, Russia (the other player in the region) sold Alaska to the United States. Here is my story about how Russia sold Alaska to the United States. Why Russia sold Alaska to the United States
Exploring the Puget Sound in 2024
You might say that we started exploring the Puget Sound area in June when camping near Tacoma, with only a brief break to take a cruise to Alaska and a quick visit to Canada.
The fires in Jasper caused our replanning. One of the fires was named the same as the campground where we had reservations. As I understand it, Jasper was devastated, and Canada canceled our reservations and closed the road we would take from Jasper to Banff. Overall, our two-month trip to Canada turned into ten days. Here is the story about our quick replanning during peak tourist season, starting with a stay at Whistler. Sadly, our Canada Trip was cut short.
The previous story about our cruise includes a description of our RV electrical problem, which started the morning we departed for Alaska. I assume you already know that my stories rarely follow a straight path. After our cruise to Alaska, we went to Canada, only to be turned around by the wildfires. This left us with a two-month hole in our plan. We filled this hole with our visit back to Puget Sound and had a wonderful time.
Whidbey Island
Reservations in August near Puget Sound were pretty hard to obtain on such short notice, and we had to visit one place and leave only to return later. Our first landing spot was at Whidbey Island, Naval Air Station, where we previously spent June and the first two weeks of July. Then, after our brief visit to Canada, we returned to Whidbey Island on August 4th for a week. Then, we departed Whidbey Island for two weeks, only to return on August 30th. Overall, we couldn’t piece together one stay and had to leave, heading east to the Cascade Mountains. After being gone for a little while, we could return to Whidbey Island for another two weeks.
Jim Creek
After departing Whidbey Island, we spent one week up the creek—in this case, up Jim Creek—and then went to Howard Miller Steelhead Park on the Skagit River. Our first visit to Jim Creek in 2018 was best described as rustic. Between 2018 and this year’s visit in 2024, they made significant improvements, including concrete pads, but didn’t install a sewer system, so camping at Jim Creek for us is best limited to a week-long stay.
The other thing missing from Jim Creek is cell phone service. In 2018, they had no cell phone service, and the story hadn’t changed this time. What we had this time, however, was Starlink, which fixed our lack of cell phone service.
Jim Creek is on a dead-end road east of Arlington Heights. The only place past Jim Creek (on Jim Creek Road) is Riley Lake Road, leading to (you guessed it) Riley Lake. Jim Creek Road is a dead end, and Riley Lake is a puddle. We drove up to Riley Lake, intending to explore it with our kayaks, but we could see the entire thing from the boat launch and never took the kayaks off the car. Instead, we returned to Arlington with our bikes and rode the Rails-to-Trails conversion north of Arlington to the Nakashima Heritage Barn.
Howard Miller Steelhead
Jim Creek is south of Washington State Route 530, leading directly to Howard Miller Steelhead, located 67 miles north. Howard Miller Steelhead is at the corner of WS 530 and the North Cascades Highway. It is a great place to stay and visit North Cascades National Park. During our travels, we have transited the North Cascades Highway several times in the last seven years. This time, we drove up to the North Cascades National Park and then, after an afternoon visit, turned back around to the west and returned to the Puget Sound area and our campsite at NAS Whidbey Island, Naval Air Station.
You can drive through Seattle or ferry from Whidbey Island to Port Townsend. We have done both before, and this time, rather than drive through Seattle, we decided to take the ferry to the Olympic Peninsula, heading south towards Olympia. Even though we had been to Olympia before, we had not driven to it directly from Port Townsend. Overall, the money we would have spent on the longer route through Seattle we instead spent on the ferry. This was a good trade and included some new places to explore.
Olympic Penisula
The ferry route from Whidbey Island goes to Port Townsend, but this time, we were going to see the east side of Olympic National Park. We already knew the attractions were on the park’s north and west sides, but this lonely highway was heading south directly towards Olympia. You may have heard of the road before. It is called US 101, and in this area, rather than like in California, US 101 makes a lap around Olympic National Park. Indeed, US 101 in this area is a loop. Much of the east side of US 101 follows the Hood Canal part of Puget Sound. Overall, it was a beautiful drive.
Campsites on the east side of US 101, on the Olympic Peninsula, along the Hood Canal part of Puget Sound, are rare, especially in mid-September, but we could stay at Dosewallips State Park mostly to break up the drive. This route was so much better than driving through Seattle.
Olympia
You might not consider Olympia part of Puget Sound, but the Budd Inlet leads to Capitol Lake, which bisects Olympia, Washington. In 1792, Peter Puget, during part of the Vancouver Expedition, recorded charting the Budd Inlet leading directly to downtown Olympia. Our vote next time we are in this area will be Olympia and the drive along the Hood Canal rather than via Tacoma and Seattle.
Reflections on our visit
The Puget Sound is so vast that there are so many places. Even though it is one of our favorite summer places (except the roads in Seattle) and the subject of many of our stories, our visits only seem to scratch the surface. Except for the wet weather for at least six months of the year, the Puget Sound area is high on our list of favorite places. We are already planning on another visit in 2026. Besides, it is great to have family in the area.
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Informative as always!