Washington's Gorgeous Waterfront City Is A Historic Harbor With Scenic Mount Rainier Views

With its historic buildings, boat-filled marinas, and protected spot on Puget Sound, Gig Harbor is a picturesque waterfront city. Then you add striking views of Mount Rainier. Suddenly, there is no doubt that you just stumbled upon one of the most stunning places in Washington.

This spot on Gig Harbor Bay was originally the home of the Twa-Wal-Kut, a tribe of the Puyallup people. They had a longhouse and a permanent camp at the head of the bay near a salmon stream. It was an ideal spot, rich in natural resources. Explorers from the Wilkes Expedition agreed when they arrived in 1841. They named the area Gig Harbor after the small boat, a captain's gig, in which they entered the bay. Within a few decades, Gig Harbor became a busy fishing village with lumber mills and shipyards along the waterfront. It soon earned the nickname "the Maritime City."

Gig Harbor sits on the western shore of Puget Sound. Boats and ferries connected the Gig Harbor Peninsula to other spots across the Sound until the Tacoma Narrows Bridge was built in 1950. Tacoma, where nature's beauty and urban charm unite, is now just a 14-mile drive from Gig Harbor. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), which receives nonstop flights from cities all over the world, is only 31 miles away. The airport, considered to be the best in North America, makes it quite easy to visit Gig Harbor.

Life in Gig Harbor, a small city that 12,000 people call home, still revolves around the bay. Harborview Drive, its main street, hugs the edge of the water. It is lined with historic boatyards, scenic parks, and a walking path. Its most recognizable building is the Eddon Boat Building. The brick boathouse was built in the 1940s around an early 20th-century boatyard. It is now part of the 3-acre Eddon Boat Park. 

Skansie Brothers Park is another historic spot. It is where four Croatian brothers lived and established a boat-building company. This park is now home to the historic Skansie Brothers House and Netshed over the water. It also hosts seasonal community activities, such as the farmers market, the Maritime Gig Festival, and the Gig Harbor Tree Lighting.

The Gig Harbor waterfront is also filled with breweries, restaurants, wine bars, and inns with unbeatable views. 7 Seas Brewing is a microbrewery with a wooded beer garden. Its gorgeous new taproom offers waterfront views that will impress even teetotalers. Nearby Tides Tavern opened as a general store in 1910. It was turned into a casual restaurant with a waterside patio in 1973 and is now one of the oldest restaurants in the city. At the family-owned Hidden Harbor Wine Library, you can learn about — and taste, of course — locally produced wines. The Waterfront Inn (from $249 per night), a 1918 fisherman's house, has cozy rooms and complimentary kayaks for guests to use.

Though the water holds your constant attention in Gig Harbor, it's impossible not to notice the huge mountain in the distance. It's iconic Mount Rainier. The active stratovolcano is in the Cascade Range, which extends from California to British Columbia, Canada. It rises more than 14,000 feet above sea level, making it the tallest mountain in Washington. It's also home to Mount Rainier National Park, the fifth national park established in the United States.

You can see Mount Rainier from almost everywhere in Gig Harbor. The hillside Finholm View Climb has a panoramic view of the marina with the mountain in the distance. Its 100-step staircase is short but steep. Destiny Harbor Tours (from $55 per person) and Gig Harbor Gondola (from $100 for two people) are easy, guided ways to get out on the bay. You can also sail on your own by renting an electric boat from Gig Harbor Boat Rentals (two hours for $300).

To truly take in the scenic beauty of Mount Rainier, though, you should see it up close. There are more than 260 miles of well-maintained trails in Mount Rainier National Park. The most popular route up the mountain is the Camp Muir Trail. The summer-only, 8-mile out-and-back day hike to Camp Muir is strenuous, and the top of the trail is always covered with snow. But it offers views worthy of the dangerous trek.