Take your car on the Washington State Ferry this weekend to a less-discovered and affordable destination — Bremerton, Washington. The Kitsap Peninsula town and surrounding area features surprising, fascinating natural wonders, unusual attractions, free museums, restaurants, stays and shops. It’s intriguing to anyone captivated by military history and giant boats but remarkable for most others, too.
The one-hour Seattle-Bremerton Washington State Ferry disembarks passengers and autos in downtown Bremerton. Find parking and begin your exploration.
The USS Turner Joy Museum is a museum within a retired naval destroyer moored on the waterfront. It’s the only museum on your visit with an admission fee, but it’s worth the cost.
For the self-guided tour, wear rubber-soled shoes to walk the ship’s slippery decks and comfortable clothes. You’ll climb nearly-horizontal ladders to access the destroyer’s multiple metal layers and crisscross narrow, mazelike “knee-knocker” passageways.
Explore the ship’s midcentury mess hall, Spartan officers’ quarters, and corridors of claustrophobia-inducing stacked cots on lower decks next to imposing engine rooms.
From the USS Turner Joy, meander the Louis Mentor Boardwalk along Bremerton’s scenic waterfront to the free-admission Puget Sound Navy Museum, one of just 10 U.S. museums funded and administered by the U.S. Navy. The museum is housed in a beautiful Classical Revival building where Shipyard commanders once resided.
One of the most compelling exhibits can be found upstairs, where you’ll learn more about everyday life on the USS Nimitz, a U.S. Navy nuclear aircraft carrier — more like a city at sea. Videos loop vivid storytelling from Navy professionals, from chefs to master helmsmen, and there are plenty of hands-on activities. Downstairs offers a history of the next-door Navy shipyards’ role in World War II and beyond.
The Navy Museum sits adjacent to the 2.21-acre Harborside Fountain Park. Although the handsome metal fountains are quiet in winter, you’ll still find seating on sunny days and lovely views out onto Sinclair Inlet.
