Audio Tour
Seattle to Olympic National Park
143miles
23stops
2h37m
Listen — all 23 stops free
1
Seattle Skyline Built on Regrade Projects
Mile 0 — Seattle
Seattle's downtown sits on land that was literally reshaped by hydraulic engineering.
0:00
2
Boeing Field Still Tests Every 737
Mile 5 — Seattle
Boeing Field, officially King County International Airport, is where every single 737 ever built has made its first flight.
0:00
3
Kent Valley Was an Ancient Lakebed
Mile 18
You're driving through the Kent Valley, which is one of the flattest places in western Washington, and that's no accident.
0:00
4
Tacoma Dome and the Lumber City
Mile 32 — Tacoma
The Tacoma Dome, which you may spot as a massive white structure near the highway, was the world's largest wood-domed arena when it opened in 1983.
0:00
5
Galloping Gertie and the Narrows Bridge
Mile 39 — Gig Harbor
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge ahead replaced one of history's most spectacular engineering disasters.
0:00
6
Gig Harbor and Its Croatian Roots
Mile 43 — Gig Harbor
Gig Harbor got its English name in 1841 when Lieutenant Charles Wilkes sent a small rowing boat called a captain's gig into this inlet during the United States Exploring…
0:00
7
Purdy Spit: Glacial Knife-Edge Land Bridge
Mile 47 — Gig Harbor
The road here crosses one of Puget Sound's most dramatic geological features — the Purdy sand spit, a strip of land barely wide enough for the highway, squeezed between…
0:00
8
Highway 16 Corridor Through Navy Country
Mile 59
You're driving through one of the most military-dense corridors in the Pacific Northwest.
0:00
9
Glacial Till Under Kitsap Peninsula Forests
Mile 70 — Silverdale
The ground beneath you is glacial till, an unsorted mix of clay, sand, gravel, and boulders dumped directly by the Vashon ice sheet around fifteen thousand years ago.
0:00
10
Nuclear Submarine Base on Hood Canal
Mile 74 — Poulsbo
Naval Base Kitsap Bangor, hidden in the forest along Hood Canal just east of here, is home to the largest concentration of deployed nuclear weapons in the Western…
0:00
11
Highway 3 Through the Kitsap Timber Corridor
Mile 80
You're driving through one of the most heavily logged and regrown landscapes in western Washington.
0:00
12
Port Gamble: Maine Rebuilt in Washington
Mile 85 — Washington 98370
Port Gamble, just ahead near the Highway 104 junction, is a nearly intact company town built in 1853 by Andrew Pope and William Talbot, lumber entrepreneurs from East…
0:00
13
Hood Canal Bridge Floating on Tidal Water
Mile 86 — Washington
The Hood Canal Bridge is the world's longest floating bridge over a saltwater tidal basin, stretching seven thousand eight hundred sixty-nine feet across Hood Canal.
0:00
14
Ancient Shell Middens at Shine Tidal Flats
Mile 87 — Port Ludlow
The tidal flats near Shine contain shell middens — compacted layers of discarded shells, bone, and charcoal — that represent thousands of years of continuous food…
0:00
15
Discovery Bay and the Quimper Peninsula
Mile 100
You're skirting the edge of Discovery Bay right now, named by Captain George Vancouver in 1792 during his survey of Puget Sound.
0:00
16
Jamestown S'Klallam Bought Back Their Homeland
Mile 114 — Blyn
In 1874, a group of S'Klallam families did something remarkable. The U.S.
0:00
17
Sequim's Rain Shadow Lavender Country
Mile 119 — Sequim
Sequim receives only about sixteen inches of rain per year, less than Los Angeles, despite sitting in the notoriously wet Pacific Northwest.
0:00
18
Dungeness River and the Longest Spit
Mile 120 — Sequim
The Dungeness River you're crossing here delivers glacial meltwater straight from Olympic Mountain glaciers to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where it has built Dungeness…
0:00
19
The Strait of Juan de Fuca Corridor
Mile 128
The water visible to the north is the Strait of Juan de Fuca, one of the most strategically contested waterways in Pacific Northwest history.
0:00
20
Port Angeles and Its Remarkable Harbor
Mile 136 — Port Angeles
Abraham Lincoln personally designated Port Angeles as a federal townsite in 1862, making it only the second such reserve in U.S. history after Washington, D.C.
0:00
21
The Coho and the Strait Crossing
Mile 136 — Port Angeles
The MV Coho, which docks here in Port Angeles, is one of the last privately operated international ferry routes in North America.
0:00
22
Hurricane Ridge Road Geology and Ecology
Mile 137 — Port Angeles
The road to Hurricane Ridge is built on pillow basalts—lava that erupted on the ocean floor fifty-five million years ago, then got scraped off the Pacific plate and…
0:00
23
Entering Olympic National Park Boundaries
Mile 142 — Washington 98362
You're crossing into Olympic National Park, one of very few national parks that protects an entire mountain range from summit to sea.
0:00
iOS · Works offline · Hands-free
Listen — all 23 stops free
1
Seattle Skyline Built on Regrade Projects
Mile 0 — Seattle
Seattle's downtown sits on land that was literally reshaped by hydraulic engineering.
0:00
2
Boeing Field Still Tests Every 737
Mile 5 — Seattle
Boeing Field, officially King County International Airport, is where every single 737 ever built has made its first flight.
0:00
3
Kent Valley Was an Ancient Lakebed
Mile 18
You're driving through the Kent Valley, which is one of the flattest places in western Washington, and that's no accident.
0:00
4
Tacoma Dome and the Lumber City
Mile 32 — Tacoma
The Tacoma Dome, which you may spot as a massive white structure near the highway, was the world's largest wood-domed arena when it opened in 1983.
0:00
5
Galloping Gertie and the Narrows Bridge
Mile 39 — Gig Harbor
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge ahead replaced one of history's most spectacular engineering disasters.
0:00
6
Gig Harbor and Its Croatian Roots
Mile 43 — Gig Harbor
Gig Harbor got its English name in 1841 when Lieutenant Charles Wilkes sent a small rowing boat called a captain's gig into this inlet during the United States Exploring…
0:00
7
Purdy Spit: Glacial Knife-Edge Land Bridge
Mile 47 — Gig Harbor
The road here crosses one of Puget Sound's most dramatic geological features — the Purdy sand spit, a strip of land barely wide enough for the highway, squeezed between…
0:00
8
Highway 16 Corridor Through Navy Country
Mile 59
You're driving through one of the most military-dense corridors in the Pacific Northwest.
0:00
9
Glacial Till Under Kitsap Peninsula Forests
Mile 70 — Silverdale
The ground beneath you is glacial till, an unsorted mix of clay, sand, gravel, and boulders dumped directly by the Vashon ice sheet around fifteen thousand years ago.
0:00
10
Nuclear Submarine Base on Hood Canal
Mile 74 — Poulsbo
Naval Base Kitsap Bangor, hidden in the forest along Hood Canal just east of here, is home to the largest concentration of deployed nuclear weapons in the Western…
0:00
11
Highway 3 Through the Kitsap Timber Corridor
Mile 80
You're driving through one of the most heavily logged and regrown landscapes in western Washington.
0:00
12
Port Gamble: Maine Rebuilt in Washington
Mile 85 — Washington 98370
Port Gamble, just ahead near the Highway 104 junction, is a nearly intact company town built in 1853 by Andrew Pope and William Talbot, lumber entrepreneurs from East…
0:00
13
Hood Canal Bridge Floating on Tidal Water
Mile 86 — Washington
The Hood Canal Bridge is the world's longest floating bridge over a saltwater tidal basin, stretching seven thousand eight hundred sixty-nine feet across Hood Canal.
0:00
14
Ancient Shell Middens at Shine Tidal Flats
Mile 87 — Port Ludlow
The tidal flats near Shine contain shell middens — compacted layers of discarded shells, bone, and charcoal — that represent thousands of years of continuous food…
0:00
15
Discovery Bay and the Quimper Peninsula
Mile 100
You're skirting the edge of Discovery Bay right now, named by Captain George Vancouver in 1792 during his survey of Puget Sound.
0:00
16
Jamestown S'Klallam Bought Back Their Homeland
Mile 114 — Blyn
In 1874, a group of S'Klallam families did something remarkable. The U.S.
0:00
17
Sequim's Rain Shadow Lavender Country
Mile 119 — Sequim
Sequim receives only about sixteen inches of rain per year, less than Los Angeles, despite sitting in the notoriously wet Pacific Northwest.
0:00
18
Dungeness River and the Longest Spit
Mile 120 — Sequim
The Dungeness River you're crossing here delivers glacial meltwater straight from Olympic Mountain glaciers to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where it has built Dungeness…
0:00
19
The Strait of Juan de Fuca Corridor
Mile 128
The water visible to the north is the Strait of Juan de Fuca, one of the most strategically contested waterways in Pacific Northwest history.
0:00
20
Port Angeles and Its Remarkable Harbor
Mile 136 — Port Angeles
Abraham Lincoln personally designated Port Angeles as a federal townsite in 1862, making it only the second such reserve in U.S. history after Washington, D.C.
0:00
21
The Coho and the Strait Crossing
Mile 136 — Port Angeles
The MV Coho, which docks here in Port Angeles, is one of the last privately operated international ferry routes in North America.
0:00
22
Hurricane Ridge Road Geology and Ecology
Mile 137 — Port Angeles
The road to Hurricane Ridge is built on pillow basalts—lava that erupted on the ocean floor fifty-five million years ago, then got scraped off the Pacific plate and…
0:00
23
Entering Olympic National Park Boundaries
Mile 142 — Washington 98362
You're crossing into Olympic National Park, one of very few national parks that protects an entire mountain range from summit to sea.
0:00