Free & Cheap Things to Do in Port Townsend

Historic Sites

A 434-acre former 1900s coastal artillery fort turned state park on the bluffs north of downtown, with two miles of saltwater shoreline, a maze of empty concrete gun batteries to explore, the 1914 Point Wilson Lighthouse, and the cliffside campus where An Officer and a Gentleman was filmed. Trails connect the parade ground to the beach and the lighthouse.

Address: 200 Battery Way, Port Townsend, WA 98368

Tip: Discover Pass required for parking in all areas since March 2026. Self-serve kiosks at the beach and near the main entrance. The concrete batteries are great for kids — bring flashlights.

Walking Tours

The entire downtown waterfront is a National Historic District — about ten square blocks of 1880s brick storefronts, ornate Italianate facades, and bluff-top Victorian mansions, designated together in 1976. A free self-guided walking tour map at the Visitor Center marks 24 notable sites including the 1889 Hastings Building, the 1907 Rose Theatre, and the Haller Fountain.

Address: Water Street between Madison and Quincy, Port Townsend, WA 98368

Tip: Free maps from the Visitor Center at 2409 Jefferson Street or the Northwest Maritime Welcome Center. JCHS guided walking tours run Saturdays in summer ($15) — the free self-guided version covers the same ground.

Parks & Nature

Port Townsend's first community park, dedicated in 1904 and named for the S'Klallam chief who befriended early settlers. The 6.5-acre hillside park steps down toward Admiralty Inlet through manicured rose and rhododendron beds, past a Victorian gazebo, picnic shelters, and an enormous trellised wisteria walkway, and ends at a public beach with sweeping Cascade Mountain views.

Address: Jackson & Blaine Streets, Port Townsend, WA 98368

Tip: Open dawn to dusk. Free parking on Jackson Street. The wisteria blooms in May. Stroller- and dog-friendly. Beach access at the southwest corner of the lawn.

Parks & Nature

A 75-acre freshwater lagoon and bird sanctuary on the Olympic Loop of the Great Washington State Birding Trail, with a 1.4-mile loop of accessible packed-earth trails through cattails, willows, and grasslands. Wintering ducks, herons, and bald eagles make it a quiet alternative to Fort Worden — and one of the only level walks in this hilly town.

Address: 12th & Kearney Streets, Port Townsend, WA 98368

Tip: Trails are wheelchair- and stroller-accessible — rare on the peninsula. Free parking off 12th Street near Henery's Hardware. Bring binoculars; the south end has the best bird viewing.

Arts & Culture

Housed in Port Townsend's 1892 City Hall — itself a brick Italianate landmark on Water Street — the JCHS Museum tells the maritime, logging, and S'Klallam history of Jefferson County across three floors of galleries, plus a basement jail block where Jack London was reportedly held in 1893. Rotating contemporary art exhibits fill the top-floor gallery.

Address: 540 Water Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368

Tip: Open Thursday–Sunday 11am–4pm year-round. Free First Saturdays run until 7pm. Admission also covers same-day entry to the Rothschild House (April–September).

Arts & Culture

The free public entry point to the Northwest Maritime campus on Point Hudson, with hands-on maritime exhibits, a ship-bridge simulator visitors can steer, an open boat-building shop where wooden boats are under live construction, and a working wood-fired oven. The campus hosts the annual Wooden Boat Festival each September.

Address: 431 Water Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368

Tip: Open 7 days a week, 10am–4pm. Free Maritime Washington National Heritage Area sticker at the front desk. Pair with a walk to the Point Hudson breakwater and the marina.

Arts & Culture

A pair of small but excellent natural history and aquarium buildings on the Fort Worden pier, with touch tanks of native sea stars, anemones, and rock crabs, a full orca skeleton, and a kelp-forest exhibit. Volunteer naturalists narrate the touch tanks — a genuine education for kids and adults.

Address: 532 Battery Way (Fort Worden), Port Townsend, WA 98368

Tip: June–early September: open daily except Tuesdays, 11am–5pm. Off-season: Fri–Sun noon–5pm. Touch-tank feeding sessions at 1pm and 3pm. U.S. military veterans free.

Historic Sites

An 1868 Greek Revival merchant's home preserved as a house museum, with original furnishings, wallpaper, and family possessions intact from the Rothschild family who lived here for nearly a century. Built by architect Horace Tucker for D.C.H. Rothschild — a German Jewish dry-goods merchant who arrived in Port Townsend in 1858 — it's one of the most untouched Victorian interiors on the West Coast.

Address: Jefferson & Taylor Streets, Port Townsend, WA 98368

Tip: Open Thursday–Saturday 11am–4pm, April through September only. Free First Saturdays. Same-day ticket from Jefferson Museum gets you in here too — bundle them.