Aberdeen, WA Summary

Aberdeen, with a small population of 16,600 residents, occupies the estuaries of the Chehallis and Wishkah Rivers, at the head of Grays Harbor. It is one of the most important ports of the Pacific Northwest and has long been a lumber town. It is just 49 miles west of Olympia and, with its location along US-101, is on a popular visitors’ route—especially with its proximity to the Olympic National Park and a number of coastal state parks.

The Aberdeen Museum of History preserves the town’s early history, from the days when it was founded around a sawmill in the 1880s. Grays Harbor Historical Seaport and Learning Center is a former shipyard and lumber mill.

When it’s in port, visitors can tour a replica of the Lady Washington, the tall ship of Captain Robert Gray, who discovered the harbor in 1792 while exploring the northwest coast, and claimed the Oregon Territory for the United States.