Whether your interests lie indoors, outdoors, or past, present or future, Fort Worden provides many opportunities to explore.

Beaches and trails

Located on the northeast tip of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, Fort Worden has panoramic views of the Cascade and Olympic Mountain ranges. The Fort’s 434 ares are located directly on the water, with over two miles of saltwater shoreline spanning the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Admiralty Inlet. Although the water is too cold for swimming much of the year, the beaches are filled with marine life, making this one of the West’s great beachwalking destinations.

For much of the 20th century, the Fort was a military facility, serving as a defense installation at the entrance to Puget Sound. Visitors to the Fort today can walk, hike, or bike miles of trails through the forests and bunkers left after the facility was converted to a State Park facility. Home to cross-country races and multi-sport cyclo-cross, it’s a fun place to explore via muscle-power.

History & Museums

Fort Worden is an early 20th century U. S. Army, Coast Artillery Corps facility. The Fort, as headquarters for the Puget Sound Harbor Defenses, held a strategically important position in the triangle of defensive forts constructed to protect the entrance to Puget Sound and to safeguard the naval shipyard at Bremerton. Twelve gun batteries stand as mute testimony to the Fort’s original purpose.

Two museums exist at Fort Worden to showcase this history: The Commanding Officer’s Quarters, and the Coast Artillery Museum.

Cultures

For hundreds of years, Native tribes gathered here to share stories, cultures, and more. When the State Arts Commission and State Parks Commission created Fort Worden State Park, they envisioned a renewed sense of gathering and learning, where people form around the world could come to learn and share.

Should you come to Fort Worden in the summertime, you will likely hear the sounds of Cajun music, or Scottish fiddling, or back porch, acoustic blues. In fact, the Fort is a seminal location for residential, total-immersion cultural experiences in a wide range of genres and disciplines.