The City of Sequim

The City of Sequim is located in the heart of the Olympic Peninsula in the far Northwest corner of Washington State. You can reach Sequim by land, ferry and car, and by air through Port Angeles. Sequim is approximately a two hour trip from Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia and Victoria, British Columbia.

Sequim sits in a rainshadow of the Olympic Mountains and is one of the driest places in Western Washington making it a popular retirement community and a prime destination for outdoor adventure. True to its history as an agriculture center, Sequim is still rich with organic farm lands and lavender fields, and is known as the Lavender Capital of North America®. The City serves as a regional retail center for the Olympic Peninsula and offers advanced medical care services.

Sequim is centrally located between Port Angles, with access to the Olympic National Park, and the seaport town of Port Townsend.

History

The City of Sequim (pop. 6,600+) is small-town America. It has many unique gift shops, murals, antique stores, galleries and fine restaurants. The sun shines in Sequim more than anywhere else in Western Washington. The “rain shadow” effect, caused by the Olympic Mountains, shelters the valley from excessive rain. May brings the oldest continuous festival in Washington State, the Sequim Irrigational Festival – celebrating 119 years in 2014. This community event celebrates the irrigation ditches that made the arid valley lush and bountiful.

Shopping

shopping-in-sequim-344 (Custom) Unique garden, gift, book, and clothing stores fill our quaint downtown – scrapbooking, needlework, crystals, art galleries, even our own downtown neighborhood grocery store! Grab your favorite coffee or tea specialty drink and enjoy a walking shopping tour of Sequim. Visit the Sequim Farmers Market on Saturdays May through October, where local growers sell fresh produce and artisans display their hand-crafted items. Stop by the Sequim Museum & Arts Center to enjoy the wealth of Sequim history and visit the Manis Mastadon exhibit! And then relax and enjoy a local culinary delight at one of our many authentic restaurants.

Outdoors

Sequim is the Gateway to the Olympic National Forest! Bring your bike, kayak, golf clubs, walking shoes and binoculars, and plan to spend some time in the Dungeness Valley. You can pick raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries and savor the delicious Dungeness crab, native to the Dungeness area. Walk or bike the Olympic Discovery Trail to Railroad Bridge Park and visit the Dungeness River Audubon Center!

Events

Sequim hosts two popular festivals each year, the Sequim Irrigation Festival in May and the Lavender Festival in July. Enjoy a parade, carnival, logging show, and an arts and crafts fair at the Irrigation Festival. It celebrates the many waterways and irrigation channels developed to turn the dry Dungeness Valley into the lush farmland it is today. At the Lavender Festival tour the many fragrant lavender farms where you can listen to live music while gathering lavender and exploring the many artisan booths at each farm and the street fair.