Port Townsend-Chimacum-Fort Flagler Road Route

Description

Port Townsend-Chimacum-Fort Flagler is a moderately strenuous road bike tour of the valleys and shorelines of the Quimper Peninsula–basically three loops centered around the Chimacum parking area at Finn River Cidery where you start your ride. Refreshments and restrooms are available in Chimacum, Port Hadlock, Nordland, Port Townsend, and Forts Worden and Flagler. The route starts off gently, proceeding south on Center Road and doubles back north on the more hilly West Valley Road. It then heads east to Indian and Marrowstone Islands over rolling terrain before terminating in Fort Flagler with its outstanding water views and historic fortifications. The route doubles back, passing by Mystery Bay State Park and going through the quaint town of Nordland and returning to Chimacum and Port Hadlock before heading north towards Port Townsend via Hwy 20 and the Larry Scott Trail segment of the Olympic Discovery Trail (ODT).  Part of the Larry Scott Trail is on hard-packed gravel, making this, technically, a mixed-surface route; but we call it a road bike route because this segment is about a mile long and poses no problems for skinny tire bikes at all.

The route can easily be extended into downtown Port Townsend by using Water Street to go further northward for a mile before heading to Fort Worden. Fort Worden and Port Townsend offer both numerous architectural delights and waterfront vistas. Leaving Fort Worden the route heads south over rolling terrain on Discovery Road, ultimately linking up with Rhody Drive southward on a thankfully flat route to Chimacum and the start point.

The 2017 Tour de Forts metric century ride basically followed this route.