Harbors, Bays, and Rivers around Hoquiam, Aberdeen, and Raymond, Washington - Aberdeen WA Off the Beaten Path

Preview: The twin port cities of Hoquiam and Aberdeen on Grays Harbor are hardworking communities where logging, fishing, and shipping are nearly everybody’s business. On a hillside above residential Hoquiam on Chenault Street sits the splendid Hoquiam’s Castle Bed and Breakfast, built in 1897 by lumber baron Robert Lytle and now listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The restored mansion is filled with opulent antiques, lovely cut-glass windows, a restored turn-of-the-century saloon, and five spacious guest rooms outfitted with antique furnishings and finery from the late 1800s. Downtown Hoquiam has a waterfront park where you can watch workand pleasure boats on the river. Or you and the kids can climb the viewing tower at the end of Twenty-eighth Street on Grays Harbor to see the oceangoing cargo ships. Continue west past Hoquiam to follow the coast north on Highway 109 past a number of small resort communities. Along the way you’ll find windswept beaches, art galleries, antiques and gift shops, and resorts. A few miles east of Hoquiam, the Aberdeen Museum of History, includes an eclectic variety of curiosities and displays from Grays Harbor’s past. You’ll see yesteryear’s logging and farming equipment, period clothing, and toys. Exhibits include a blacksmith’s shop, a general store, and a one-room schoolhouse. Grays Harbor was a major shipbuilding center during the days of sail, when locally milled lumber was in great demand for hulls, masts, and spars. Threeand four-masted schooners, wooden steamships, and tugboats were constructed along the bay, and they crowded the harbor’s docks. At the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport, you can absorb this marine history and tour a full-scale reproduction of the Lady Washington, one of the ships used by explorer Robert Gray to sail into the harbor in 1792. The replica was built in 1989 as part of the state’s centennial celebration and now sails regularly along the coast. The above description is an excerpt from "Washington: Off the Beaten Path." Whether you're a visitor or a local looking for something different, this chapter from the Off the Beaten Path series will help you take the "road less traveled" and discover hidden attractions, unique finds, and unusual locales that most tourists miss.
© Copyright Myrna Oakley published by Insiders' Guide all rights reserved.


This travel guide comes from:
Washington Off the Beaten Path Guide Book