July
Lavender peak and the busiest visitor weekend. Don’t stack another outing that day if the festival is why you’re going.
Rain shadow
Sequim: Dungeness Spit, Lavender & the Rain Shadow
Forty minutes west of Blue Mountain Retreat, Sequim sits in the Olympics’ rain shadow — drier air, a five-mile sand spit, and lavender in summer. A calmer day trip than Hurricane Ridge.
Signature stops
Places worth seeing in Sequim
Why go
How far is Sequim from Blue Mountain Retreat?
Sequim is about 40 minutes west of Blue Mountain Retreat on US 101. It sits in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, so it is often drier and brighter than the west-side forests. People come for Dungeness Spit, farm stands, and lavender in July.
A long beach walk on a wildlife refuge, lunch in town, and home before quiet hours. It is the westbound day that does not require a park entrance station.
Once you’re there
What to do in Sequim
Dungeness Spit is one of the longest natural sand spits in the United States. The hike to the lighthouse is miles of beach; most reunion groups walk a piece of it and turn around. It is a National Wildlife Refuge — birds, tide, and rules about where you may go.
Lavender farms open to visitors in summer, with the Sequim Lavender Festival as the loud weekend. If you do not like crowds, go on a weekday or skip the festival and still smell the fields from the road.
The town itself is practical: groceries, a few restaurants, and the Olympic Discovery Trail. It is a valley town, not Port Townsend’s Victorian set. Come for the spit and the light, not for nightlife.
Sequim is also the on-ramp to Hurricane Ridge. If half the cars want the park and half want a beach, you can split in Sequim and still eat together later at Blue Mountain Retreat.
- Dungeness Spit and Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge
- Lavender farms and festival season in summer
- Rain-shadow weather — often drier than the rest of the peninsula
- About 40 minutes from Blue Mountain Retreat
By season
When Sequim shines
Fall through spring
The spit in weather gear is the real Sequim outing. Fewer farm stands; more birds.
Useful links
Parks, operators, and visitor sites
Official parks and local operators — the links people ask for when they’re planning a day out.
See it
A look at Sequim
Destination photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, the National Park Service, and Blue Mountain Retreat.
Trip notes
Practical details before you go
- Refuge parking and a walking trail to the spit — check FWS for current fees and dog rules (often restricted).
- The lighthouse hike is long. Little kids do a shorter out-and-back on the sand.
- US 101 through Sequim is ordinary highway driving, not a mountain pass.
- Groceries in Sequim if you are westbound and the grocery list ran out.
Drive time from Blue Mountain Retreat: about 40 minutes.
Then come back
A spit walk. Then the field at Blue Mountain Retreat.
Sequim is a pleasant town. It is not a 25-person house. Stay where the playrooms are and treat Dungeness as the westbound half day.
Blue Mountain Retreat looks at Center Valley — the same rain-shadow idea, closer to Port Townsend, with woods the kids already claimed.
Ways to use a week here
If this outing is part of your stay
More nearby
Other Olympic Peninsula guides
about 15–20 minutes
Port Townsend
Walkable Victorian downtown, a working waterfront, and enough food and shops for a town day without turning the week into an itinerary.
about 20–25 minutes · ~16 miles
Fort Worden
Beaches, bunkers you can explore, and bluff trails at the north end of Port Townsend — the outing the original site always listed first.
about 20 minutes to the dock
Whale watching
Day boats on the Salish Sea from Port Townsend — orcas and other whales in season, booked as a single outing, not a week-long safari.
about 15–20 minutes to the launch
Kayaking
Kayak, SUP, and bikes from Port Townsend — a water day that still gets everyone home for dinner on the acres.
about 1 hour 45 minutes to Hurricane Ridge
Olympic National Park
Hurricane Ridge for a mountain day; rain forest and coast if you want a longer drive. One park day, then back to Blue Mountain Retreat.
you are already here
Chimacum & Port Hadlock
The house’s valley plus Port Hadlock a few minutes down the hill — QFC grocery, farmstand, fuel, and boarding in one loop.
about 15 minutes · ~8 miles
Port Ludlow
Marina, championship golf, and a planned waterfront community about 15 minutes south — a half day on Ludlow Bay, then back to the acres.
ferry plus a peninsula drive
Getting here
Kingston or Bainbridge ferry, SEA, and the 516 map pin — practical arrival notes before anyone puts 512 in the GPS.
Common questions
Questions about Sequim
Drive time, seasons, and what actually fits a family group.
How far is Sequim from Blue Mountain Retreat?
About 40 minutes west on US 101, depending on traffic through Discovery Bay.
Is Dungeness Spit good for kids?
The first stretch of beach is. The full walk to the lighthouse is long, exposed, and tide-aware. Turn around before anyone is done.
When is lavender season?
Peak bloom is typically July, with a festival weekend that packs the town. Weekdays are easier with a large group.
Dave & Patti
Walk the spit. Sleep at Blue Mountain Retreat.
Check dates for Blue Mountain Retreat — Sequim is a 40-minute outing, not the reunion address.