Chimacum: Where the Land Still Calls the Shots

Chimacum’s soil remembers. Here, the farmers still kneel in the dirt like monks, coaxing life from the ground without poisoning what gives it. This is where tractors share fields with flocks of pest-eating ducks, where cover crops heal the earth between harvests, and where every apple, every head of lettuce, every grass-fed steer carries the quiet pride of men who work with the land rather than against it. These aren’t farms—they’re ecosystems with history.

Morning: Backroads and Breakfast

Sunrise Patrol Down Egg & I Road
Roll the windows down as you cruise past century-old barns slouching under ivy blankets. The fog hangs low over fallow fields where coyotes trot like they own the deeds. Stop where the road kisses Tarboo Lake—the water’s so still it shows you exactly what you’re running from.

Breakfast at The Chimacum Cafe
Slide into the vinyl booth where farmers still read the day's forecast in their coffee grounds. Order the breakfast steak and eggs - the slab of beef seared with the same no-nonsense approach these men bring to fixing fences. Or go for the chicken-fried version, where the crust could withstand a Wyoming winter. Hash browns come exactly as they should: golden enough to reflect your poor life choices back at you. Biscuits and gravy optional, but only if you're the kind of man who says "optional" to extra gravy.

Midday: Rust and Resurrection

Tractor Archaeology at Chimacum Corner Farmstand
The real show’s out back where pre-1970 John Deeres sit in various states of repair. The old-timers will tell you which ones still run (most) and which ones killed a man (allegedly).

Lunch at The Ajax Cafe (10 min north)
Their “Draggerman’s Plate”—Dungeness crab cakes with smoked paprika aioli—comes with a view of the Port Townsend Ship Canal. Eat it under the mounted marlin that’s been gathering dust since Nixon resigned.

Afternoon: Hard Lessons

Apple Education at Finnriver Farm
Walk the orchard where heirloom varieties grow gnarled and perfect. In the tasting barn, sample the “Old Timey” dry cider—it tastes like the inside of a cooper’s shop.

Evening: Smoke and Song

Sunset at Anderson Lake
The bass hit at twilight. Cast from shore where the reeds whisper and the water reflects the Olympics like a shattered mirror.

Dinner at Finnriver’s Food Truck Roundup
Tonight’s truck serves smoked brisket sandwiches on buns made from spent grain. Pair it with their “Black Currant” cider—tart enough to make your jaw tingle. The firepit crackles with applewood as a local fiddler saws through sea shanties rewritten for farmhands.