See a short list of the best things to do outside on a morning in Gig Harbor with kids if you find yourself there for a few hours!
Gig Harbor is a little over 30 minutes from the Seattle airport and about 45 minutes from the city. It's a quaint little town right on the water, and we've found it's the perfect place to spend a few hours if you're exploring the Washington pennisula with kids!
We've been a few times and most recently on a summer morning. I was solo with the kids for most of it, but it was pretty easy to manage with these kid-friendly (and mostly free!) activities.
Of course an obvious activity (that isn't listed below) is heading to the actual harbor and looking at the boats... which we've done and loved! But below if you're outnumbered with littles, I'd recommend the stuff below instead.
Stop 1: COFFEE.
Kimball Coffeehouse happened to be right next to our hotel (more below), but it's worth a drive if you're staying elsewhere. It's been around since the 80's (although now in a new location), and it's highly rated both for the coffee and the other treats. They have a full menu of breakfast sandwiches, but on this visit we stuck with coffee, pastries, and a few Nutella smoothies!
Stop 2: Nautical Playground.
Sure you can find a playground anywhere, but Maritime PlayZone at Crescent Creek Park is close to the harbor and is nautical themed! Oh and it has clean bathrooms, easy parking, and friendly parents. You're sold, right? But seriously it's pretty cool for a small town playground, plus it has a lot of different activities for kids of all ages.
There is a big sandbox (where locals have donated their truck toys for play - always warms my heart) for the littles. Plus the main playground is shaped like a giant ship to play and pretend on - with slides and monkey bars and such coming off the ship.
And there are your standard swings and a fun seesaw... this was a hit with our four!
Within the park area, there is also a mini trail running between some SUPER tall pines - with a giant set of rocks for climbing. If you're with older kids, there are also a set of courts and a little path along the creek nearby too.
Stop 3: Sunrise Beach Park.
If you only have time for one thing, I'd suggest this beach. It's just the perfect little Washington beach - a shore of pebbles, driftwood for stacking, trees for climbing, plenty of shells, and tiny crabs for catch and release. Is there really anything else you need?
Like a few of the beaches around the Olympic Peninsula, you must walk downhill to get from the parking lot to the beach. This hill is a huge and grassy, so it was part of the fun to run down. It's surrounded by pines and you can see the bridge and Mount Rainier, so the views are on point!
Once you're down the hill, it's a very short and easy trail to the actual waterfront. When we went on a Friday morning, we only saw two other people and it's easy to see much of the beach from the entrance, so I just let the kids run wild exploring everything.
I just walked around taking pictures of the bay and looking at their treasures. It was just me with all four kids, and it was still easy - so I'd highly recommend this area for exploring if you have young kids!
Stop 4: Lunch.
By this point in the itinerary, you're hungry. There are a bunch of small restaurants in downtown Gig, and we've tried a couple (but apparently just didn't take any pictures). There is a Mexican restaurant (El Pueblito) that had great food in a festive setting. I think it's all indoor seating though, so if you want to sit outside, you have a few other options. Millville Pizza has good pizza and some outdoor seating. There are also some restaurants in the 'Boat Yard', and we haven't tried the food, but there are great views with lots of outdoor seating!
Where to Stay
On a few different trips, we've stayed a night here as a jumping off point. And we've always stayed at the Best Western Wesley Inn and Suites. It's a pretty basic hotel, but it's always had a great rate in a good location (a 20 minute walk or 3 minute drive) to the little downtown harbor area. Also they have coffee and a hot breakfast if you're slow to get everyone going immediately and need some good sustenance. Side note - honestly we tried to stay at an AirBnB this time around to be right on the water (with access to a private neighborhood beach), but we arrived around 2am and our keypad code wasn't working, so we had to ask Best Western to squeeze us in. :) Nobody was too sad about this.
Enjoy your time in Gig Harbor, and let us know if there is anything you'd add to the list!
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