Fort Worden State Park

  Around the turn of the 20th century three forts, designed to guard the entrance of Puget Sound, were built on opposing outcrops of land. Over 100 artillery pieces formed a "Triangle of Fire" ready to thwart any invasion from sea. The forts never saw any action but were manned through WWII.

    Fort Worden was an active military base until 1953 - a few years longer than the other two. It was sold to the State of Washington in 1957 and used as a  juvenile detention facility until 1971 when it was transferred to the Washington State Parks Commission. Because the property was always in use most of the historic wooden structures built for housing and administration purposes are still in good condition. Many can be rented for vacation stays. Others house restaurants, museums, performance venues, and oddly enough, college class rooms.

   The park is not very accessible. The road to the lighthouse (the lighthouse is not opened to tour) has a painted line a few feet from the curb designating it as a walking trail but essentially you’re walking on the road. This is marked on the map as an ADA accessible path. The sidewalks in the area where the buildings are located do not have good curb cuts. The paved walking and biking roads that circle around the gun emplacements are very hilly. The Coast Artillery Museum has a ramp at the rear but no sign at the front (where there are steps) indicating where to go. The Commanding Officer’s Quarters Museum has steps and no ramp.

    Both buildings of the Marine Science Center are accessible. The main display in the museum is a orca whale skeleton. The whale was found beached on the Olympic Peninsula in 2002. Examination and analysis of her body found very high concentrations of DDT and PCBs. Interactive displays and videos explore the impact people make on the ocean ecosystem.  The aquarium has tanks filled with a beautiful variety of local fish and invertebrate species plus several touch tanks with starfish, anemones, and other sea creatures. Definitely worth a visit!

  There’s a beach campground and a forest campground – both very popular so reservations are necessary. We did not stay at either campground.

   There are numerous parking lots where RVs will fit. Even though everything is within walking distance, I recommend that visitors with mobility issues park at one of the beach lots to see the Marine Science Center and moved to one of the lots in the housing area to visit the Coast Artillery Museum. The sidewalks are not in the best condition and there’s a steep hill between the two locations. Science Center  48.1362, -122.76187   Park  48.13451, -122.77042