11 Best Sights in The Olympic Peninsula and Washington Coast, Washington

The small museum has canoes from local tribes, as well as photographs that document Aberdeen's logging and shipping industries and exhibits portraying an old blacksmith shop and general store.

The former site of a Native American fishing village, where eagles and osprey can be found feeding on the sand, attracts beachcombers, fishers, and divers. The Pillar Point Fishing Camp to the east has campsites and a boat ramp. Dress warmly: Pysht Bay takes its name from a S'Klallam term meaning "where the wind blows from all directions." Amenities: toilets. Best for: walking; solitude; sunset.

Set high along the bay-side bluffs, the tower is recognizable by its pyramid shape and red paint job. Built in 1890 to hold a 1,500-pound brass alarm bell, the 75-foot wooden structure was once the key alert center for local volunteer firemen. A century later it's considered one of the state's most valuable historic structures. Reach the tower by climbing the steep set of stairs behind Haller Fountain at the end of Taylor Street. The tenth-of-an-acre plot also holds a park bench and five parking spots.

The enormous, sandstone courthouse seems exceptionally grand for such a small town, but it was entirely appropriate at the time it was built, between 1909 and 1912, when Montesano was a prosperous railroad boomtown. Its clock tower soars above the classical, pillared entrance. The lobby has a marble staircase flanked by murals depicting Robert Gray in 1792, discovering the harbor that bears his name, and Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens negotiating with Native Americans at Cosmopolis in 1855. The murals inaccurately depict native people wearing feather headdresses and standing in front of tepees (neither was used by the local Chehalis). Information packets for self-guided tours around town are available in the room to the right of the Commissioner's Office.

In fall and spring, this refuge, established in 1990, is a perfect place to observe the multitude of migrating shorebirds that visit the area. Keep your binoculars handy as you stroll along the 1,800-foot-long boardwalk, and make sure to stop at the visitor center's shop and bookstore.

This pocket park, dedicated in 2011 along the muddy banks of the Wishkah River, pays homage to grunge legend and Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain, who grew up in a modest home two blocks from here. A guitar sculpture, lyrics to “Something in the Way,” and other remembrances—like an empty instrument-stand sculpture identified as the musician's air guitar—mark the quiet spot that fans still seek out more than 20 years after the rock star's death. Some leave messages on the park bench and picnic table as well as under the bridge.

Tall, billowing white sails in the harbor mark the presence of this replica of the 1750s coastal freighter from Boston that in 1792, under the command of famous explorer Captain Robert Gray, was the first American vessel to reach the northwest American coast. The replica was famously converted into the multimasted HMS Interceptor sloop for the 2003 Disney movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. Its main base is the Grays Harbor Historic Seaport, but you'll find the vessel at local coastal towns throughout the region, where it's open for self-guided tours. Three-hour cruises include the hands-on "Adventure Sail" and a mock "Battle Sail" war between two vessels, and if you're at least 18 you can volunteer as a deckhand for multiday trips. The free Seaport Learning Center, a 214-acre site spread across the harbor and surrounding wetlands, runs tours on two historic longboats, and schedules monthly boatbuilding, rope-climbing, and marine-trade programs for families and students.

For a general look at the lay of Aberdeen, follow this 1½-mile-long, paved walkway to the 40-foot-wide Compass Rose mosaic, inlaid at the confluence of the Wishkah and Chehalis rivers.

This 200-acre property—part zoo, part safari—is Sequim's biggest attraction after the Dungeness Spit. For years, the farm's exclusive client was Walt Disney Studios, and many of the animals here are the offspring of former movie stars. On the hour-long, drive-through tour, which covers some 84 acres of the picturesque property, be prepared to see large animals like buffalo surround your car and lick your windows. You'll also see zebras, llamas, lynx, lions, elk, Tibetan yak, emu, bobcat, Siberian and Bengal tigers, and Kodiak and black bears, among other animals. Facilities also include an aquarium, studio barn with movie sets, snack kiosk, and a gift shop. Guests are allowed to feed uncaged animals (with wheat bread only), except for the buffalo and elk at the entrance gates, but must stay in their vehicles. Even sunroofs must remain locked.

Walk through the kitchen door off the garden—which contains old varieties of roses, peonies, and lilacs—and step into a different era. One of Washington's smallest state parks, operated by the Jefferson County Historical Society, offers a look into what life was like on the bluff overlooking the bay during the late 1800s. Built for a mercantile store owner and his family, the Greek Revival–style home remains largely unchanged since it was completed in 1868.

Built in 1887, this hotel houses Adelaide's Coffee and Books, and is the only structure from the early days that's open to the public. The cheerful establishment offers an array of pastries and ice cream, espresso, and tea.