All About Key Center, WA
- by Jodie Vinson
Key Center is a little more than an hour away from Seattle by car, extending 25 miles south from the Kitsap Peninsula into South Puget Sound. Its forested coves and pebbly beaches are surrounded by Carr Inlet to the east and Case Inlet to the west. Like much of the South Sound, the typography was created from the deposits of melting glaciers during the last ice age, leaving behind the meandering low-bank shoreline with its unique bays, sandspits and tiny islets.
While connected to the mainland, the peninsula has preserved an almost island-like isolation that protects not only its forest and marine wildlife, but also a rich heritage of closely knit rural communities. The attraction of this sparsely populated area to many who visit is in its ambiguity. Key Center's hidden natural treasures are largely kept secret by local residents as there is no major central attraction to lure bus loads of tourists, but rather a chance to capture the serenity and natural beauty of the region through individual exploration.
The peninsula was first settled in 1858, with the first land claim in Vaughn, by a settler by that name. Today the town's museum displays the lifestyles of the farmers and lumberjacks that first settled the land. Some of their descendants are still living in community of Home, originally founded as a controversial utopian society. The cultural life of the peninsula is celebrated by community events and festivals supported by locally owned businesses that date back several decades. Such celebrations and small town hospitality welcome visitors wishing to escape from urban pressures into a rural landscape of forests, parks, beaches and tranquil coves.
Community Links:
Key Peninsula Business Association
Key Peninsula News Community Newspaper
Key Peninsula Museum
Key Peninsula Parks
Key Peninsula Civic Center
Key Peninsula Online Directory
Key Peninsula Trails
Key Peninsula Fair
Key Peninsula Farmers Market
Visit Kitsap (Key Peninsula Info)
