Aberdeen (Washington)

Aberdeen is a city in the Olympic Peninsula region of Washington. The city is the economic center of Grays Harbor County, bordering the cities of Hoquiam and Cosmopolis. The population was about 17,000 in 2019.

Understand
Aberdeen is called the "Gateway to the Olympic Peninsula", because of its proximity to the southern end of the peninsula and to Olympic National Park. Since the late 1980s, Aberdeen has been famous as being the "Birthplace of Grunge", and the hometown of Nirvana members Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic. A sign welcoming visitors to Aberdeen proclaims "Come As You Are" as a tribute to the band. Professional wrestling fans will know it as the hometown of Bryan Danielson, now performing under his real name in All Elite Wrestling but perhaps better known for his long run in WWE as Daniel Bryan.

Although it's hard to imagine today, at one point Aberdeen was a notorious Western outpost at the turn of the 20th century, with a number of saloons, brothels, and gambling halls in and around the town. Because of the wild atmosphere associated with these establishments, Aberdeen was nicknamed "The Hellhole of the Pacific."

By plane
The nearest major airport for commercial flights is Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which is about 80 miles away. While it's possible to get to Aberdeen via a number of different bus routes, your best bet is to rent a car, especially if you are using Aberdeen as a jumping point into Olympic National Park as public transportation inside the park is unavailable.

By car
From Seattle, Interstate 5 provides access to Olympia, where you can take US Hwy 101, which becomes State Route 8 after passing the Shelton Exit into or along U.S. Route 12 from Exit #88 (especially if coming from south of Olympia) west into the city.

By bus
If traveling into Aberdeen without a car from Sea-Tac take:

The Aberdeen (bus) Station for Grays Harbor Transit and Pacific Transit occupies an entire city block at Wishkah & G Streets, across the street from Rite Aid in downtown Aberdeen:


 * Grays Harbor Transit provides onward bus services to Hoquiam (Rt #20); Ocean Shores (Rt #60); Quinault (Rt #50) (with connections to Forks and Port Angeles on Jefferson Transit-Olympic Connection at Amanda Park Mercantile); Westport & Grayland (Rt #70); Olympia (via Elma and Montesano) (Rt #40); and to Centralia (via Oakville & Rochester on Rt#45).  Nearest point for connections to Greyhound, Amtrak and other bus lines are in Olympia.
 * Pacific Transit #14 goes south to Raymond in Pacific County along Hwy 101. Transfer to Pacific Transit Rt #32 (to South Bend only on Saturdays) or #50 (weekdays only to Ilwaco via South Bend and Astoria) from Raymond.

By public transit

 * Grays Harbor Transit provides local bus services in and around Aberdeen (Rt #5, 10A, 10B, 20); Cosmopolis (#30) and Hoquiam (Rt #20, 40, 50, 60, 70)

See
Aberdeen is well known for its lovely harbor, spread glittering and gray along the west edge of town, where the bay bobs with sailboats and speed cruisers.



Buy

 * Cannabis 21, 1000 E. Wishkah. Recreational marijuana retail store.
 * Cannabis 21, 1000 E. Wishkah. Recreational marijuana retail store.
 * Cannabis 21, 1000 E. Wishkah. Recreational marijuana retail store.
 * Cannabis 21, 1000 E. Wishkah. Recreational marijuana retail store.

Go next
Aberdeen has been referred to as the 'Gateway to the Olympic Peninsula' and is a great stop off before venturing into this impressive range. The Olympic Peninsula is home to some of the few temperate rain forests in the world, including the Hoh, Queets, and Quinault. The Olympic mountain range sits in the center of the Olympic Peninsula. This range is the second largest in Washington State. Its highest peak is Mt. Olympus.


 * Hoquiam - sharing a border with Aberdeen, Hoquiam maintains its own identity but shares a history in the lumber industry.
 * Westport - located fifteen miles west of Aberdeen, Westport is situated on a peninsula on the south side of the entrance to Grays Harbor from the Pacific Ocean and is home to Washington's tallest lighthouse.