County Loop: Kitsap Runabout

For those of us living in the Seattle area, the winter months seem like the appropriate time to put some stabilizer in the tank, slide some cardboard under the tires, and store the bike until the weather gets better. And sometimes that may come as early as late February, which is a good reason to run the Optimate charger once a month, so you're ready to go when the time is right.

Kitsap County is as good as any to get your yayas out when the moment is right. The route I've planned here is 160 miles in length and involves 5.5 hours of saddle time. Then there's coffee and bathroom breaks, lunch and so on. So yea - it's an all day ride by any standards. Ride it in any direction you want, but know if you choose the counter-clockwise option, you'll have more water views since you'll be about 14 feet closer to the shoreline most of the time.

As I live in North Seattle, I take the Edmonds/Kingston ferry to and from the route.

Upon disembarking the ferry, I head west toward Poulsbo on 104, but soon drift off the main highway onto Stottlemeyer, then Sawdust Hill for a typically lonely jaunt up Big Valley Road. It terminates at Highway 3 and I turn left winding my way down Pioneer Hill and onto Clear Creek paralleling the east side of Bangor Sub Base, then drift into Silverdale on the less conspicuous Ridgetop Road. Need a break? There are plenty of facilities in town.

Making my way up Andersen Hill, I head to Seabeck, a small town with roots in logging. Things are always changing here, but a walk out onto the dock is something I often enjoy. A short observation along Misery Point and Miami Beach roads leads me southwest to Stavis Bay Road to Dewato, then eastward across Bear Creek Road and along Belfair Valley Road.

A short backtrack along SR 3, then I drop down and enjoy the twisties on Sunnyslope Road. Zigzagging my way down Glenwood, then Sidney, and crossing over the Carr Inlet and continuing east 144^th St NW, I turn north and head up Crescent Valley for another water crossing, breezing by Long Lake, hugging the coast up to Manchester, then following the waterline through Port Orchard into Bremerton. Plenty of places to stop for lunch in this area.

Working my way across a series of backroads through Bremerton, since I prefer to skip the ferry and shipyard traffic, I cross over the Manette Bridge and work my way north, often popping into Illahee State Park for a look at things, before following the coastal mainlines into Poulsbo, then make my final run back to the Kingston/Edmonds Ferry along Lincoln Road, through Suquamish, sailing up Kingston Road back into port.

Patrick Thomas/February 2022

If you’d like a GPX track for this route, email your request to sreditor@soundrider.com