Kitsap County occupies a peninsula in Puget Sound, directly across the water from Seattle and reachable by the Washington State Ferry system. The hour-long ferry ride from downtown Seattle to Bremerton is one of the best cheap boat trips in the Pacific Northwest, with views of the Olympic Mountains and the Seattle skyline.
The county's identity is closely tied to the U.S. Navy. Naval Base Kitsap is one of the largest naval installations on the West Coast, split between Bremerton (home to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, where you can see aircraft carriers in drydock) and Bangor (the Trident submarine base in Silverdale). The Puget Sound Navy Museum downtown tells the story of the shipyard and the Pacific fleet. The retired destroyer USS Turner Joy, a Vietnam-era ship, is open for self-guided tours at the waterfront. North of town, the Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport covers the Navy's secret submarine and torpedo programmes.
Beyond the military heritage, Kitsap has a quieter appeal. Poulsbo, on the north end of the peninsula, is a charming waterfront town with Scandinavian heritage, good bakeries like Sluys, and kayak rentals on Liberty Bay. Port Orchard, the county seat, has an antiques district and a foot ferry to Bremerton; nearby is the ancient bonsai collection at Elandan Gardens. The Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island and the preserved 19th-century timber town of Port Gamble up at the north tip are both worth a half-day. The peninsula is also the jumping-off point for the Olympic Peninsula and the vast wilderness of Olympic National Park to the west. Kitsap rewards a slower pace: take the ferry, walk the waterfront, eat some fish and chips, and watch the boats go by.