With These Rings' Guide to Chimacum

Just 20 minutes from the With These Rings studio is a historic, agricultural community full of rich history and artisan farms specializing in produce, meats & cheese, flowers, and wine & cider.

Chimacum and its neighboring towns of Port Hadlock and Irondale are unincorporated parts of Jefferson County and are known as the Tri-Area. Adjacent to the Tri-Area is Marrowstone Island which is connected to Port Hadlock via a bridge with deep military roots.

From shopping to the great outdoors, there is so much explore, eat & drink, and breathe in the beauty of the Olympic Peninsula. Here are just several of With These Rings favorite spots in Chimacum and beyond.

Shopping

Photo c/o Millbrook Clayworks

Photo c/o Millbrook Clayworks

Millbrook Clayworks

Millbrook Clayworks is known for their handmade pottery that reflects their love of nature and the great outdoors. And bonus, all their bowls, cups, mugs, and tumblers are dishwasher and microwave safe! Millbrook is owned by husband and wife team, Todd and Sarah, who’s mission is to make art with environmental sustainability.

Millbrook Clayworks is both a studio and a gallery, you can visit Tuesday - Thursday from 11am to 5pm or by appointment. In addition to their gallery, you can find their work at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center, Nordland General Store on Marrowstone Island, and the Jefferson County Farmer’s Markets. Millbrook Clayworks also offers private, adult classes for potters of all levels.

Photo c/o Chimacum Corner Store

Photo c/o Chimacum Corner Store

Chimacum Corner Store

Never was there a grocery store as sweet as Chimacum Corner Store. The store and deli celebrates “food from here” featuring Olympic Peninsula farmers, foragers, fishermen, producers and more!

Gather your Olympic Peninsula favorites like Mt. Townsend cheeses, pickles and tamales from Mama’s Harvest, Marrowstone Island Raw Honey, handmade breads from Pan d’Amore, as well as the store’s own delicious sandwiches and pastries including their own housemade lemon curd (delicious on top of scones or layered into cakes!)

It’s highly unlikely you’ll walkout without a hat or sweatshirt with the store’s mascot, Cracker, on it! The store sells great t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and bandanas that will remind you to support your local farmers!


Food & Beverage

Photo c/o Farm's Reach Cafe

Photo c/o Farm's Reach Cafe

Farm's Reach Cafe

This sweet cafe and coffee shop is aptly name as the cafe quite literally in (f)arm’s reach of the local farms and their in-season, organic produce.

Serving breakfast and lunch, Farm’s Reach Cafe serves homemade soups & salads, sandwiches, quiches, breakfast burritos, pancakes and pastries featuring in-season, local ingredients. The cafe has many vegan and gluten-free dishes and pastries including vegan, GF donuts.

As the weather warms up, Farm’s Reach will open their dog-friendly patio! It’s a beautiful spot to relax and enjoy boozy brunch with local beer, ciders, and wines.

Photo c/o Metro Bagels

Photo c/o Metro Bagels

Metro Bagels

Metro Bagels, with locations in Port Hadlock and Port Townsend, serves up the most delicious bagels and bagel sandwiches on the Olympic Peninsula (and arguably West of the Mississippi.)

9 different types of bagels are cooked fresh daily as well as delicious house-made cream cheeses, including my two favorites jalapeno cheddar and feta garlic dill. Metro also has a full espresso bar featuring Batdorf and Bronson's Dancing Goats Coffee.

Red Dog Farm

For a truly unique and farm-fresh grocery shopping experience stop by the Red Dog Farm Stand located on the farm’s beautiful 23 acres with over 150 varieties of vegetables, berries, cut flowers, and plant starts.

Peruse Red Dog’s self-serve, honor-system farm stand with refrigerators stocked full of organic, in-season produce. The farm stand is open daily from 8am to 8pm and Red Dog produce can be found at the Chimacum Corner Store, PT Co-Op, and at the Farmer’s Market - opening for the season in April!

 

Photo c/o Red Dog Farm

Photo c/o Red Dog Farm


Cider, Wine, & Cannabis

Photo c/o Finnriver

Photo c/o Finnriver

Finnriver

A trip into Chimacum wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Finnriver, open daily.

Finnriver is an award-winning cidery located on a historic 50-acre dairy farm that has been renovated with an organic farm, vast apple orchard with over 6,000 trees, salmon stream, and farm-coop. Stop by their rustic tasting room for a guided tasting, a few of my favorite ciders include their Forest Ginger infused with pine needles and the Black Currant.

Springtime is beautiful at Finnriver. Walk the farm to see the apple orchard up close and enjoy sweeping views of the Chimacum Valley with the orchard’s sheep and trumpeter swans soaking up the sunshine amongst blooming flowers.

Marrowstone Vineyards

Marrowstone Vineyards not only produces handcrafted wine but offers stunning views of Puget Sound and the Cascade Mountains as you sip Cab Franc or Sauvignon Blanc. Their vineyard is planted with well-known varietals like Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris grapes but also European white wine grapes including Siegerrebe and Melon de Bourgogne.

Marrowstone Vineyards celebrates local art and artists with a gallery upstairs from the tasting room. The gallery features paintings, sculptures, and ceramic pottery rotated seasonally.

The tasting room is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from noon to 5pm or by appointment for a tasting or winery tour.

Marrowstone Vineyards, Marrowstone Island, Wine
Photo c/o Chimacum Cannabis Co.

Photo c/o Chimacum Cannabis Co.

Chimacum Cannabis Co.

Located in a restored, historic farmhouse Chimacum Cannabis Co. has knowledgeable and friendly budtenders who can help you find the perfect strains, pre-rolled joints, extracts, topicals, and more.

The store was recently recognized as one of the “Best Dispensaries in America” by High Times and sources marijuana that is grown and produced using organic practices including Chimacum’s own Treehawk Farms.

Click here to view their menu.

 

Coming soon...the keg & i

Chimacum is excited to welcome The Keg & I, opening late-spring/early-summer! The taproom will serve craft beer, wine, cider, and coffee with a modest selection of food all sourced locally. 


The Great Outdoors

Photo c/o Washington State Parks

Photo c/o Washington State Parks

Fort Flagler

Last but certainly not least is Fort Flagler, Fort Worden’s lesser known counterpart. These two plus Fort Casey on Whidbey Island once made up the “Triangle of Fire” to protect the Admiralty Inlet - the entrance to Puget Sound, during wartime.

Fort Flagler is located on the northern tip of Marrowstone Island. The historic military fort was built in the late 1800s and was operational for WWI, WWII, and the Korean War. Today enjoy the Fort’s two miles of beach trails, five miles of hiking & biking trails, and of course the abandoned bunkers, batteries, and searchlights.

Source: www.fortflagler.net