Gig Harbor (Wash.) Visitors Guide 2018

TOUR THE AREA’S
HERITAGE, HISTORY
Browse an array of heritage markers
Harbor WildWatch,
a marine and
environmental
education
organization, in partnership
with the City of Gig Harbor,
has posted several interpretive
natural history and marine signs
in parks and beaches of Gig
Harbor bay. Through the harbor,
you will learn about:
The salmon life cycle
Find out more about the chum
salmon and what exactly are
those black barrels for? The
black barrels are remote site
incubators and they can be seen
from the viewing platform at
Donkey Creek Park.
Respect the riparians
A riparian is where water
and land meet. It plays a vital
role in the health of our entire
ecosystem. Learn about the
riparian, aquatic and upland
zones at Donkey Creek Park.
Habitats of the harbor
Located near the home of the
Harbor History Museum, this
interpretive sign explores the
variety of habitats found in the
waters off (and on) the shores of
Gig Harbor.
The wetlands around us
At Wilkinson Farm Park —
along Rosedale Street, blocks
up from Harborview Drive —
view a true wetland buffer area.
Maybe even catch wildlife!
And there is self-guided tour
of the heritage makers, too.
Galloping Gertie
At Ferry Landing Park near the
mouth of the harbor, learn about
the collapse of the Narrows
Bridge that fateful day in which
the road tilted, swayed, and
eventually began to break up.
First settlers
At 3207 Harborview Drive,
near Jerisich Dock, you will
find information about three
friends fishing on Puget Sound
when they were forced into a
protected harbor to wait out a
storm, only to eventually call the
area they discovered, home.
From Croatia to Millville
At the Dorotich Public Dock,
near 3323 Harborview Drive,
is where the first homes in the
harbor were built and the town
of Millville was established. In
2014, Gig Harbor city officials,
Washington state leaders and
local residents welcomed the
then-Prime Minister of Croatia,
Zoran Milanovic, in a public
ceremony including a tour of the
Millville District. Gig Harbor’s
ties to Croatia remain strong
today.
The last minutes
of the original
Narrows bridge.
Heart of the harbor
Peninsula
Gateway file
At the corner of Harborview
Drive and North Harborview,
you will find the heart of the
harbor. The community’s last
and longest running sawmill
called this corner home for close
to 100 years, and where the
Austin Erickson-style log homes
originated.
From valley to bay
Crescent Creek Park sits at the
northernmost corner of the bay
and is where families began to
homestead throughout Crescent
Valley in the late 1880s. Today,
families still visit the park and
play on the all-inclusive play
structure while admiring the
wood carving by local artist Jeff
Samudosky. For a complete list
of markers, see gigharborguide.
com.
2018-19 GIG HARBOR VISITORS GUIDE | GIGHARBORGUIDE.COM 57