sequim | Small Home

The Olympic Peninsula

4 07 2026

It’s about 40 miles “as the crow files” from Angel of the Winds to John Wayne Marina in Sequim, WA. However the driving distance is nearly 180 miles and over 3 hours including a transit of Seattle, Tacoma and across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. After the narrows, it’s a beautiful drive past Gig Harbor, the massive naval base at Bremerton, over the Hood Canal floating bridge and along Discovery Bay to the picturesque marina on Sequim Bay. We last visited John Wayne Marina RV in 2024, and have returned for another fun filled July 4^th weekend. We’re in site #42, which is a full hookup, 50A back-in site in the top row. In addition to Independence Days celebrations, Dungeness Crab season opened on July 2^nd, and nearly every site has steamer pots set-up anticipating the daily catch.

John Wayne Marina, Sequim, WA

Most of the time in Sequim is about relaxing after the busy rally schedule last week. However, we did manage an afternoon trip to Port Townsend and nice dinner at Siren’s Pub. The weather wasn’t optimal for outdoor dining, but we enjoyed selections from their bar menu that included handmade burgers, wild salmon, fish and chips and a few local brews and excellent cocktails.

Port Townsend, WA

From Sequim, we’re off to Salt Creek Recreation Area. This sprawling county park provides about 90 camp sites. 40 of these provide power and electric, and only half of those reservable. Sites 35-38 are nice pull-through sites, 26-32 offer the best “out the back window view” and 16-24 are the closest to the water. Which, in this case is a tall cliff overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca with Victoria, Canada in the distance. The water is accessible from a few paths, but there’s not much in the way of beach. For a better beach experience, Crescent Beach & RV Park is optimal with back-in sites directly across from a large sandy beach.

Salt Creek Recreation Area, Sites 35-39, Port Angeles, WA

Salt Creek Recreation Area, Sites 21-24, Port Angeles, WA

Salt Creek Recreation Area campground map

Salt Creek Recreation Area tide pools

Marymere Falls, Olympic National Park, Port Angeles, WA

While at Salt Creek we drove around Lake Crescent and took a short hike to see the beautiful Marymere Falls. After 4 nights of wonderful coastal views, dark, quiet nights and a few wildlife visits, we’re headed east. And, instead of going around the long way again, we’ve opted to travel aboard the Washington State Ferry from Kingston to Edmonds – a first for us! More about the ferry ride when we get to Leavenworth, WA, our next stop.

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Tags: ferry, john wayne marina, Port Angeles, port townsend, sequim
Categories : Summer Camping 2026

Sequim & John Wayne Marina RV

1 07 2024

Good morning from lovely Sequim, WA – the Lavender Capital of North America! We last visited Sequim in 2016 and are once again parked at the John Wayne Marina RV alongside picturesque Sequim Bay. After our short visit in 2016, we’re back for a full week that includes the 4^th of July festivities.

Lavender Fields of Sequim, WA

Sequim is located on the northern coast of the Olympic Peninsula, the large arm of land separated by Puget Sound from the Seattle/Tacoma area. This coast overlooks the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which creates the border between the US and Vancouver Island, Canada. On a clear day, it’s easy to see the city of Victoria, BC only about 20 miles across the Strait. To the west of Sequim is Port Angeles, and to the east is Port Townsend.

With almost perfect weather every day, we spent most of our week exploring Sequim and the surrounding area. On Saturday after enjoying snacks at Jose’s Famous Salsa Cantina (they make a Lavender Margarita!), we joined friends who we have not seen in years and years in their new home in Port Townsend. Sunday was our day to explore other camping options in area. Crescent Beach is a private campground just west of Port Angeles. This beach is beautiful, and the full and partial hookup sites offer great views over the beach and Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Crescent Beach near Port Angeles, WA

Adjoining along the Strait is a county park, Salt Creek Campground. With about 100 sites high up on a bluff, there’s little in terms of beach, but a beautiful view out across the Strait towards Victoria. These electric/water sites are well spaced and many offer great shade from towering evergreens. Rates are around $50/night, plus a seemingly very expensive one-time reservation fee of $15. Following our park tours we enjoyed a cold beverage at Stymie’s Bar & Grill located on the beautiful Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course. The menu at their dining room, the Double Eagle Steak & Seafood looks delicious – maybe on the next trip!

Salt Creek Campground, Port Angeles, WA

It’s been a long time – pre-Covid, that we’ve checked in with cousins in the Seattle area. So on Monday we hopped the ferry from Kingston and took the relatively short ride over to Edmonds. It’s been years since we’ve been on a Puget Sound Ferry, but it’s still high on our list of the best ways to travel around the Seattle area. Warned that the ferry service often misses schedules and had ships out of service, our trips to and from Edmonds couldn’t have been better. We enjoyed our day touring around the area including a stop at the impressive Snoqualmie Falls.

Snoqualmie Falls, WA

“City of Puyallup” Washington State Ferry crossing from Edmonds to Kingston

Our last 3 days in Sequim were spent enjoying our new e-bikes. We explored much of the Heritage Trail that runs all the way across the northern peninsula from south of Port Townsend to Port Angeles. The lavender fields were beautiful, the parks relaxing and the 7 Cedars Casino offered plenty of cold, refreshing cocktails. After a full week in Sequim, it’s time start the journey home. We’ll once again be doing lots of “1-nighters”, first stop is west of Seattle in Easton. More from there…

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Tags: Edmonds, ferry, Kingston, lavender, Port Angeles, port townsend, Puget sound, sequim
Categories : Summer Camping 2024

Welcome to Sunny Sequim!

30 08 2016

Welcome to Sunny Sequim, in the “blue-hole” of the Olympic Peninsula. Positioned in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, most Pacific rain falls on the windward side as storms drop their moisture due to the elevation increase. Left dry, the storms over Sequim produce only about 16 inches of rain per year, as compared to the Hoh Rain Forest only 40 miles to the southwest and drenched with over 12 FEET of rain annually. Mispronouncing Sequim is common, most often “see’quim” – but the correct way is “skwim”.

We’re parked at John Wayne’s Waterfront Resort, just a few miles east of downtown Sequim. The real John Wayne, the Duke, spent many summers navigating the waters around Sequim, the San Juan Islands and Puget Sound. The RV resort is still owned by John Wayne Enterprises, headed by Wayne’s youngest son Ethan. And, the land for the John Wayne Marina across the street was originally donated by the family. We’re in site #42, the second to the last site in the far back row. With 4 rows of RV’s, the back row probably has the narrowest view of the marina and Sequim Bay, but provides nice tall trees and is fairly private and quiet. The front row undoubtedly has the best views, but also suffers from some traffic noise along Sequim Bay Road.

With a full weekend and a Monday afternoon in Sequim, we explored as much as possible – Dungeness Spit and Campground, Port Angeles and into Olympic National Park along Hurricane Ridge, shopping for delicious Pacific Northwest seafood, produce and beautiful Sequim lavender products plus a relaxing afternoon along the waterfront in Port Townsend. In Dungeness Recreation Area Campground, site #8 is probably the optimal non-reservation site and #49, #51 & #53 are best reservation sites. All of these sites back to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and offer some degree of viewing across the water. All sites are dry, with water and a dump station within the campground.

Sequim and the northern Olympic Peninsula is a “must return soon” destination – there’s so much more to do! Thanks to our awesome tour guides, G & D – we’d never have managed to see as much without you guys!