Hood Canal is one of the most magnificent bodies of recreational salt water anywhere in the world. It has warm, clear swimming water, incredible views of the Olympic Mountains, fantastic beach combing opportunities, and its location makes it easy to reach from many metro areas. It's no wonder that waterfront home owners are mostly second, third, or even fourth generation Hood Canal residents. Once you've experienced Hood Canal's magic, it's hard to find a better spot - anywhere!

Located in western Washington State, Hood Canal is not really a canal at all but rather a picturesque fjord, which separates most of Puget Sound from the Olympic Peninsula. Discovered by Captain George Vancouver, it was first called Hood's Channel. The Canal has never been the scene of heavy industry and is today still dominated only by recreational properties and virgin beaches. It has a length of nearly 90 miles which makes it's lower 15 mile stretch hard to reach by the yachting set leaving this "lower Hood Canal" section a preserve for local boating and beach recreation. This web site focuses on this lower part of Hood Canal.

Two routes rim it's shoreline, from Union to Belfair (Hwy 106 - South Shore Road) and from Belfair to Tahuya (Hwy 300 - North Shore Road). The town of Belfair is the gateway to the area. Lower Hood Canal's unique features have made it a popular but not a widely known destination for nearly 100 years.

After being logged in the later 1800's and again in the early part of the 1900's the land and shoreline was gradually subdivided and sold to homeowners who embraced the Canal's beauty and solitude. During World War II with roads along the shoreline completed and employment available in the Puget Sound Navel Shipyard in Bremerton, lower Hood Canal became populated with young families, many of whom had immigrated here for the war effort.

...they all seem to love Hood Canal for it's enormous beauty and it's versatile environment...

As the decades passed, property values increased as early visitors and children of residents returned to secure homes for recreational purposes, a process that continues to this day. As has been the case from the beginning, the Canal remains populated by a mix of full tome residents and vacation folks from metropolitan areas of Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Aberdeen/Hoquium, Portland, and beyond. Regardless of their connection or origin they all seem to love Hood Canal for it's enormous beauty and it's versatile environment.

... If you remembered to pick some oysters earlier that day you can roast them, or eat them raw, right there on the beach...

The salt-water beaches are loaded with oysters, clams, mussels, and many other forms of sea life. At low tide children squeal with joy as they turn over rocks and find abundant sea life wriggling around in front of their eyes.

Adults too are always delighted as they pull fresh Dungeness crabs and famous Hood Canal shrimp from pots they can set right in front of their homes. Hood Canal also offers the best saltwater recreational boating water in the State.

... children squeal with joy as they turn over rocks and find abundant sea life wriggling around in front of their eyes...

Unlike the majority of the Puget Sound, where waters rarely exceed 60 degrees, Hood Canal's water temperatures are always in the mid 70's during the summer's best months. Warm water and a small number of boats (compared to Lake Washington, for example) make Hood Canal an ideal spot for swimming, sailing, diving, water-skiing, inner tubing, jet- skiing, or windsurfing. You name it; if you are going to get wet you will enjoy Hood Canal's refreshing warm and clear waters.

... Hood Canal has the best salt water recreational boating water in the State...

Two scenes that cement Hood Canal into the hearts of locals are: a cool, brisk, clear, spring day with the snow covered Olympic Mountains towering above the blue water and white capped waves. The second is a hot, August, high tide, summer afternoon with the sun setting in the west and children playing in the warm shallow water on the fine gravel beaches. If you remembered to pick some oysters earlier that day you can roast them, or eat them raw, right there on the beach.

Summertime of course isn't the only tome of the year to appreciate Hood Canal's beauty. Migratory birds pass through the area in both spring and fall and an occasional gray whale will show up once in a while. Seals and bay otters always entertain residents and the magnificent and majestic blue herons of the area grace the beaches and docks all year long Summer, fall, winter, or spring the Canal and it's beaches offer unending entertainment.

Whether you are falling in love with Hood Canal for the first tome or returning to enjoy her beauty and majesty, you will not be disappointed. Through the seasons and over the years Hood Canal will capture and hold your heart. The quality of experience is unsurpassed. Come and enjoy Hood Canal, you won't be disappointed.

It takes 1.5 hours to reach lower Hood Canal from Seattle or Everett, less from Tacoma. To get there, take the ferry from Edmonds, Seattle/Bainbridge, Seattle/Bremerton, Fauntleroy, or drive over the Narrows Bridge. Regardless of your route it takes about the same amount of tome - 1.5 hours. Then go to Belfair on Hwy 3.