Bremerton

Bremerton is located on the Kitsap Peninsula in the Puget Sound region of Washington state. Bremerton is a safe, environmentally clean community within an hour's ferry ride from downtown Seattle where you can visit the Navy destroyer Turner Joy, stroll along a delightful block-long waterfront promenade and check out the new Kitsap Conference Center Plaza with its fascinating fountains, and enjoy a bounty of seasonal community events and concerts.

Understand
Downtown Bremerton is experiencing a renaissance, starting with the new Transportation Center, Kitsap Conference Center and a new hotel on the city's waterfront. A new government center, which provides combined governmental services in a single building, anchors the town's revitalized core.

Already contributing to the downtown revitalization are art galleries, the Admiral Theatre, museums and many quaint shops and restaurants.

Downtown has three museums, in one block, within walking distance of the ferries.

History
Native American Salish people lived comfortably in the Puget Sound area navigating the local waterways in well made cedar canoes for thousands of years before 1792 when Captain George Vancouver 'discovered' the area, named it after one of his officers and declared the area for Great Briton.

Once the Washington Territory was established in 1853, the U.S. government began signing treaties with area tribes to acquire their lands. The Suquamish people ceded most of their land around the Kitsap Peninsula to the United States and logging came into the area in full force. The areas once impassible thick forests gave way to farms, towns and industry as lumber was shipped off to areas such as San Francisco or burned as fuel for the growing fleet of boats known as the Mosquito Fleet. In 1888, William Bremer, a German immigrant from a wealthy banking family, traveled by boat from Seattle and purchased land that is now Bremerton from a local logger.

In 1891, Bremer negotiated with Lt. A.B. Wyckoff to sell 190 acres to the U.S. Navy for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, still a major employer. Bremer platted the town around the Navy's property and gave it his name. He opened businesses to support the Navy's activities.

The City of Bremerton was incorporated in 1901. The Bremerton Chamber of Commerce was incorporated in 1928 with William Gates, Sr., grandfather of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, as treasurer.

The town exploded in size during World War I and II, when more than 40,000 workers arrived to work at the shipyard. Since then fortunes have been through boom and bust and the town is now revitalizing the downtown area.

By car
Main Highways to Bremerton are WA Highway 3 from Shelton, north through the county to the Hood Canal Bridge near the northern tip of the Kitsap Peninsula. From Tacoma and Interstate 5, take WA Highway 16 north from Tacoma across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge until it combines with WA Highway 3 near Gorst.

By private boat
Arriving by water, you'll find a large, destination public marina making Bremerton a favored boating venue with a central location for exploring the area but there is a buffer zone around US Navy vessels and facilities.



By bus
Kitsap Transit offers transit services throughout Bremerton and between Bremerton, to Silverdale, Poulsbo, Bainbridge Island, Port Orchard. They also operate the foot ferry between Port Orchard, Bremerton and the Annapolis Ferry Terminals (see "By foot ferry" below). Kitsap Transit connects with Mason Transit Rt #3 (Mason County) at the Bremerton Ferry Terminal; Pierce Transit (Pierce County) in Purdy Park & Ride; and Jefferson Transit Rt# 7 (Jefferson County) at the Poulsbo North Viking Transit Center.

See




Birdwatching
The Kitsap Audubon Society has been actively meeting since 1972 and has a broad coalition of birders actively tracking and sharing sightings since then. They also maintain an active website with updates of the latest sightings, suggestions on areas for birders and even a regular newsletter. They also developed a checklist of birds likely to be seen birds in the area.

The state Audubon society developed 'The Great Audubon Birding Trail' which includes key migration flyways. Flyways are major north-south routes of travel for migratory birds and likely areas to see birds along the route extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Lions Park in Bremerton is one of only a handful of areas in the region named to this list.

Scuba diving
Diving the cold waters of Puget Sound takes a bit more gear and training than other warm water locations, but the rewards are incredible. The area contains some of the best diving in the world and many areas are accessible from the Kitsap Peninsula. Many dive sites are completely covered with colorful sea creatures that defy description. Giant Pacific Octopus are common, along with friendly wolf eels. Colorful sponges, sea cucumbers, sea stars, soft corals, anemones and fish can be seen on nearly every dive. The state has offers a guide to parks with launch sites HERE



Sea kayaking
With two local sea kayaking clubs based here, Bremerton is clearly a popular place for this sport with miles of coastline allowing the paddler a closer and slower look at their surroundings and exploring both urban and rural surrounding areas. Harbor Seals, Otters, Sea Lions, Bald Eagles and Blue Herons are common sites while the occasional viewing of an Orca or Grey Whale is not out of the question.

Buy
Wheaton Way (WA Highway 303) is a major commercial road that extends from Bremerton across the Warren Avenue Bridge several miles north to Silverdale, the commercial district of Kitsap County. Food, motels and other businesses are available along Kitsap Way between the WA Highway 3 interchange and downtown Bremerton.



Drink
In the immediate downtown area there are three newer bars: and a beer and fry place called
 * The Bremerton Bar and Grill, 190 Pacific Ave, +1 360 627-8081
 * The Toro Lounge, 315 Pacific Ave, +1 360 813-1910
 * Fritz European Fry House, 94 Washington Ave (hiding behind the taco place) +1 360 479-1088

There are two other very worthy neighborhood places to go:


 * The Hi-fidelity, 2711 6th St, +1 360 373-5454 (very funky)

Go next
According to a Seattle newspaper, the Kitsap Peninsula has three of the top four golf courses in the state - The City of Bremerton's Gold Mountain Golf Course with its award-winning Olympic and Cascade courses, Kitsap Golf and Country Club, and McCormick Woods.