5 Best Sights in The Olympic Peninsula and Washington Coast, Washington

Set high along the bay-side bluffs, the tower is recognizable by its pyramid shape and red paint job. Built in 1890 to hold a 1,500-pound brass alarm bell, the 75-foot wooden structure was once the key alert center for local volunteer firemen. A century later it's considered one of the state's most valuable historic structures. Reach the tower by climbing the steep set of stairs behind Haller Fountain at the end of Taylor Street. The tenth-of-an-acre plot also holds a park bench and five parking spots.

The enormous, sandstone courthouse seems exceptionally grand for such a small town, but it was entirely appropriate at the time it was built, between 1909 and 1912, when Montesano was a prosperous railroad boomtown. Its clock tower soars above the classical, pillared entrance. The lobby has a marble staircase flanked by murals depicting Robert Gray in 1792, discovering the harbor that bears his name, and Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens negotiating with Native Americans at Cosmopolis in 1855. The murals inaccurately depict native people wearing feather headdresses and standing in front of tepees (neither was used by the local Chehalis). Information packets for self-guided tours around town are available in the room to the right of the Commissioner's Office.

At this facility with a picturesque setting on the Tsoo-Yess River, near Shi Shi Beach, visitors can view chinook salmon as they make their way over fish ladders to the hatchery's spawning area. Spawning months are October through November, and the salmon are released in late April. Smaller numbers of coho and chum salmon as well as steelhead trout also populate the hatchery.

Walk through the kitchen door off the garden—which contains old varieties of roses, peonies, and lilacs—and step into a different era. One of Washington's smallest state parks, operated by the Jefferson County Historical Society, offers a look into what life was like on the bluff overlooking the bay during the late 1800s. Built for a mercantile store owner and his family, the Greek Revival–style home remains largely unchanged since it was completed in 1868.

Built in 1887, this hotel houses Adelaide's Coffee and Books, and is the only structure from the early days that's open to the public. The cheerful establishment offers an array of pastries and ice cream, espresso, and tea.