sequim Sunny weather is one of many things that makes Sequim a favorite retirement spot and a good bet for a rain-free picnic. If this is your first visit, stop by the Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center at the east end of town for a self-guided tour of local attractions, both in town and in the valley beyond. The in-town tour includes the scale model of a working water wheel at the Visitors Center, the Sister City Friendship Garden at Carrie Blake Park, Pioneer Park with its colorful flower gardens and foliage, the city’s scenic murals and Heritage Park, Sequim’s newest park on the way to the downtown business district. Downtown, you’ll find specialty gift shops, art and antique dealers and smalltown cafés. Efforts are under way to make the downtown areas even more pedestrianand bicycle-friendly. Irrigation — namely, the opening of the first ditch channeling water from the Dungeness River — brought the community together more than 100 years ago. Today, the annual Irrigation Festival — the oldest continuing festival in Washington — celebrates the initiation, development and support of the irrigation ditches that brought water to the once dry prairies of Sequim. For more information on the festival, turn to page 28. The Scenic Loop Drive is a driving tour through Sequim that takes you along Marine Drive, with its breathtaking view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Dungeness Spit and Lighthouse and — on a clear day — Victoria, British Columbia. To get some exercise while exploring Sequim, go for a walking tour. Walking maps are posted at five locations around town — two at the public restrooms at Sequim Avenue and Washington Street; and one each at the Seal Street mini park, Washington and North Seal streets; Water Reuse Demonstration Site, North Blake Avenue and Fir Street; and Carrie Blake Park, North Blake and Cedar streets. Framed by local artist Karin Anderson’s verdant rendering of farmland, fish, elk, mountains and other natural features, the maps show walking routes that offer such an interesting array of scenes and scents you’ll forget you’re exercising! There’s the 1.1-mile blue line along Cedar; the 2.6-mile gold route from East Washington through Carrie Blake Park and up across Fir Street. And the 2.3-mile green line almost circumnavigates the city core, going out Sequim Avenue to Hendrickson Road and then back in along Fifth Avenue to Bell and Maple streets. The beauty — one of them at least — is that all Sequim walks are flat. n
In downtown Sequim you’ll find specialty gift shops, art and antique dealers and small-town cafés. Efforts are under way to make the downtown areas even more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly. Sequim pit stops n Cline Spit, off Marine Drive in the New Dungeness area of the original New Dungeness town, was the first Clallam County seat. In the early 1890s, a thriving community developed at the edge of a three-quarter-mile dock, the remains of which can still be seen. n The McAlmond House, built in 1861, is west of the Old Dungeness Schoolhouse, on the bluffs. Designated a national historical site, it was the first house of sawed lumber built in the county. The home is not open to the public. n Carrie Blake Park on the east side of Sequim offers a picnic area with a playground for kids and a small stream and pond for feeding ducks. The park hosts outdoor concert series throughout the summer, and there is also a community center that is the site of other events. n Sequim Bay State Park is a year-round, 92-acre marine camping park with 4,909 feet of saltwater coast in the Olympic Mountains’ rain shadow. The entrance to the park is west of Sequim on U.S. Highway 101. n The Sequim Dog Park is an off-leash park for your four-legged pals. The park at 202 N. Blake Road is on the east side of Carrie Blake Park. The park is “self policing” for users, so please be considerate and clean up after your animals. For park rules, guidelines and information, visit www.sequimdogparks.org. n Old Olympic Highway offers a pretty, quiet country drive for those who want to escape U.S. Highway 101. Old Olympic Highway is accessible from many Sequim streets. n 7 Cedars Casino is a popular spot to stop by. Operated by the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe, the casino is right off U.S. Highway 101 east of Sequim in the town of Blyn. Also treat yourself to a visit to the Northwest Native Expressions Art Gallery, located at the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Center, featuring a wealth of Native American artwork, a majority of which comes from the North Olympic Peninsula and also Vancouver Island. n Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge encompasses Dungeness Spit and part of Dungeness Bay. This is a prime nesting area for waterfowl and shorebirds, and the tideflats house clams, crabs, oysters and other shellfish. The refuge is open all year for hiking, with camping available at the adjacent Dungeness Recreation Area.
22 Newcomers’ and visitors’ guide C fall | winter 2010/2011