Itinerary
A Day in Suquamish
The Suquamish Tribe tells its own story, in its own museum, on its own land — fifteen minutes from the Kingston dock.
- 9:00 AM
Come on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday
The Suquamish Museum's posted hours are currently temporary and narrow: Wednesday through Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM, closed Saturday through Tuesday. That is unusual enough — and important enough to the day — that you should check suquamishmuseum.org before you drive over. Everything else on this list is open whenever you arrive.
Map ↗ - 10:00 AM
Drive south to Suquamish
About fifteen minutes from the ferry: west on Highway 104, then south on Miller Bay Road NE. (Not Bond Road — that is SR 307, and it runs to Poulsbo, not Suquamish.) No car? Kitsap Transit's route 391 runs from the Kingston terminal through Suquamish and Poulsbo to the Bainbridge ferry. Times change, so scan the schedule on your phone rather than trusting a printed one.
Map ↗ - 10:20 AM
The Suquamish Museum
Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for elders 55 and over and for youth 5 to 17, free under 5, and $18 for a family of four to six. The permanent exhibit, Ancient Shores – Changing Tides, is built around a carved canoe roughly three centuries old that was last paddled in the 1989 Paddle to Seattle. Photography without flash is fine in the exhibit hall; leave outside food and drink in the car.
Map ↗ - 12:00 PM
The Leota Anthony Museum Store
Native-made jewellery, art and books, with a consignment programme that puts money directly back to the makers. If you buy one thing on this trip, buy it here rather than at an airport.
Map ↗ - 12:40 PM
Chief Seattle's grave
In the Suquamish Memorial Cemetery beside St. Peter's, about a five-minute walk from the museum, with free parking at the church. The memorial carries interpretive signage and was rededicated in 2011. It is a working cemetery and Suquamish families still bury their dead here — walk quietly, stay on the paths, and treat it as you would any family's burial ground.
Map ↗ - 1:30 PM
Old Man House Park
An acre of waterfront where the great longhouse of D'Suq'Wub stood — the village Chief Seattle lived in. Washington State Parks returned the site to the Tribe in 2004. There's a grass terrace running down to a sandy beach and a vault toilet, dogs on leash. It is an active cultural site the Tribe still uses for ceremony, not an exhibit.
Map ↗ - 2:30 PM
The House of Awakened Culture, from outside
The big cedar longhouse on the water is a working community building — ceremonies, funerals, weddings, naming events — and not somewhere you can wander into on a Tuesday afternoon. Look from the grounds. If you want to see it alive, come for Chief Seattle Days, which the Tribe holds every August.
Map ↗ - 3:15 PM
Coffee or an early dinner at Clearwater
The Suquamish Tribe's resort sits on Agate Passage a couple of minutes away and has six places to eat, from a deli and a coffee bar to a seafood restaurant. The restaurants are open to everyone; the gaming floor has its own age policy, which the resort posts.
Map ↗ - 4:45 PM
North again for the boat
Fifteen minutes back to Kingston. Check the terminal on the Ferry page before you leave Suquamish — if the eastbound line has grown, you would rather learn that now and have dinner in Kingston than learn it in the holding lanes.
Map ↗
Before you head back
Want a different kind of day? Browse all itineraries.