Lee and Karen Duquette,
The Two RV Gypsies: Full-Time RVers
at Fort Worden State Park and Point Wilson Lighthouse
200 Battery Way
Port Townsend, WA 98368
June 26, 2015

Fort Worden State Park is located in Port Townsend, along Admiralty Inlet in Washington state. It is situated on 433 acres originally built as a United States Army installation for the protection of Puget Sound. Fort Worden was named after U.S. Navy Rear Admiral John Lorimer Worden, commander of the USS Monitor during the American Civil War. Fort Worden was an active US Army base from 1902 to 1953. It was purchased by the State of Washington in 1957 to house a juvenile detention facility. In 1971, use was transferred to the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission and Fort Worden State Park was opened in 1973.

The Point Wilson Light is an active aid to navigation located in Fort Worden State Park. It is one of the most important navigational aids in the state, overlooking the entrance to Admiralty Inlet, the waterway connecting the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound. The lighthouse was listed on the Washington State Heritage Register and the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

Point Wilson's first lighthouse was built in 1879 by the United States Lighthouse Service as a companion to the Admiralty Head Light built some 18 years earlier on the eastern side of Admiralty Inlet. A square wooden tower projecting from the roof of a two-story, Cape Cod style keeper’s quarters held a fixed fourth-order Fresnel lens. The station also included a fog signal building with 12-inch, steam-powered fog whistle.

In 1904, landfill was added to the site in an effort to protect the station, but time and tide worked their destructive effects, so a new lighthouse was commissioned. Completed in 1914, it was built of reinforced concrete with a 46-foot octagonal tower designed to withstand the wind. It received the station's original fourth-order Fresnel lens which it continues to display. The beacon's height of 51 feet made it the tallest light on Puget Sound. The tower on the original lighthouse was removed and the building continued in use as residence for the keepers. The station was automated in 1976.

Point Wilson Light remains in the hands of the U.S. Coast Guard, while the grounds are managed by Washington State Parks. Its site on the exposed point at Fort Worden State Park is under serious threat from shoreline erosion and rising sea levels.

Below: Since the lighthouse is closed to the public, Karen Duquette could only photograph it from the fence line.

Lee and Karen Duquette came to this park looking for a nice lunch spot. There were a few picnic tables along the waters' edge, but they were all taken. Again, there is a charge for day use in this area. Military jets flew over this area constantly, so it was not a quiet place.

Please use the main menu shown below for the state of Washington to view other areas the two RV Gypsies visited in Washington in 2015. There is also a link to Canada and other travel options below.

Travel to Washington	Segway tour of Seattle
Seattle, Pike Place, Waterfront, Sculptures	Art at the Seattle Center
Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle	Space Needle in Seattle
Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Seattle - July 1
Anacortes and Cap Sante Marina
Cape Flattery / Tootish Island / Neah Bay / Sea Otters / Sea Caves
Deception Pass State Park	Deception Pass Boat Tour
Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge	Forks (as in the Twilight movie)
Mount Baker	Mount Erie and Lake Campbell
Mount Rainier National Park	Mount Vernon and the Skagit Riverwalk
North Cascades National Park
Ladder Creek/Powerhouse Gorge-day	Ladder Creek/Powerhouse Gorge-night
Olympic National Park	Hoh Rain Forest
Marymere Falls near Olympic National Park	Pillar Point County Park - Clallam County
Port Angeles	Port Angeles Whale tour
Port Townsend, bay and some deer	Chetzemoka Park in Port Townsend
Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend (this page)	Point Defiance Park and Garden in Tacoma
Rainbow Falls State Park	Sandy Cove Park - a great picnic spot
Spirits of Iron Sculpture Park	Sekiu Overlook /Whale Trail and Rosie
Snoqualmie Falls	Strawberry Festival in Marysville
Totem Poles and Jamestown S'Klallam Indian Reservation in Blyn
funky hamburger joints	Restaurants
Chehalis campground	Thunderbird Resort TT in Monroe
KOA-Port Angeles-Sequim
Seattle / Tacoma KOA in Kent	Concrete / Grandy KOA and TT

There are more navigational choices below

AFTER you have seen all of the above sections, please continue on to British Columbia, Canada: Cultus Lake, Bridal Falls, Harrison Hot Springs, City of Hope, the tunnels, Whistler, Brandywine Falls, Sea to Sky Gondola in Squamish, Shannon Falls, a bear tour, Lac La Hache Provincial Park, Prince George, Glaciers and waterfalls in Smithers, salmon jumping , Indians net fishing and more.

OR Continue Navigation in the order of your choice via the alphabetical or category buttons below
OR Click here to see travels by the year (not the best way)