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ATTRACTIONS
The Minter Creek Hatchery is open year-round for self-guided tours. Seafood lovers should visit the Minterbrook Oyster Company at their retail sales room. Opening in 2006 is the Peninsula's first winery, Trillium Creek, in Home.
The Key Peninsula was first settled in 1858. Learn about the area's rich heritage of lumberjacks, farmers and "mosquito fleet" transportation at the Key Peninsula Historic Museum in Vaughn.
EVENTS
There are lot of fun events throughout the year. You'll find home-made pies, carnival rides and hometown fun at the peninsula's annual Community Fair and Carnival. Relive the peninsula's colorful past during Old Timer's Day, or really go back in time during the Washington Renaissance Faire, which draws over 50,000 people each August. Visit the Key Peninsula Community Calendar, for more information on upcoming events and activities. Click Here for a schedule of upcoming events.
RECREATION
Camp, hike, launch your boat or paddle about in your kayak as you experience up close the forests and many coves of the Key Peninsula.
Penrose Point State Park is one of the most beautiful marine and road access parks in the state. Penrose features campsites and a day use beach area, and is home to wildlife, birds, clam digging, crabbing and secluded forest trails.
Joemma Beach State Park is a great marine park with lots of saltwater frontage. In addition to natural beauty, the park is also an excellent place for fishing, boating and crabbing.
Key Peninsula Sport Center is only 2 1/2 miles south of Key Center and offers family fun with two baseball fields, tennis courts and food concessions.
Purdy Sandspit County Park is a half mile long stretch of beach bordering SR 302 between Purdy and Wauna. It's a popular location for clamming, waterskiing and windsurfing. A boat ramp at Wauna offers easy access.
Horseshoe Lake County Park is a favorite swimming and recreation spot at the north end of the peninsula. It's a stone's throw from the beautiful and challenging Horseshoe Lake Golf Course and Restaurant.
HISTORY
The first visitors to Key Peninsula were various Indian tribes who came for fishing, clamming and hunting.
The first settler to the Key Peninsula was W.D. Vaughn, who arrived in 1851. Shortly thereafter he filed a homestead claim and founded the town of Vaughn. Lakebay was named such by the Creviston family in 1871. Logging, sawmills and farming were the principal industries of the area. As there were no roads, early Key Peninsula residents traveled via "the Mosquito Fleet", numerous privately-run ferries.
The community of Home, incorporated as the Mutual Home Association in 1889, was characterized as a "socialist commune", a "communist colony", and an "anarchist's utopia". Home residents according to one author, "enjoyed radical lectures, nude sunbathing and religious freedom, with a conspicuous lack of churches", much to the ire of folks in neighboring communities.
Though times have changed, you can still experience the Key Peninsula's colorful charm and natural beauty from the comfort of your car, or by visiting the Key Peninsula Historical Society Museum in Vaughn.
DINING & ACCOMMODATIONS
There are plenty of specialty places to eat and relax on the Key Peninsula, including dining at New Brookside Restaurant on Hwy 302, Blondie's Bar and Grill in Key Center or Lulu's Homeport in Home. Spend an evening in Purdy, gateway to the peninsula, at the comfortable Westwynd Motel just a block from Henderson Bay.
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