Gig Harbor, WA

Gig Harbor's waterfront still works as public infrastructure, not just scenery. Skansie Brothers Park combines a historic fishing-family house and netshed with a pavilion, summer water feature, Fishermen's Memorial, and space for the Maritime Gig Festival, concerts, and holiday lighting. In 2026, its waterfront farmers market brought farmers and makers to the park on Thursday afternoons from May 21 through August 27. Beside it, Jerisich Dock offers first-come transient moorage, seasonal water and pump-out service, shore power, and loaner life jackets. Ancich Waterfront Park provides a separate public float for launching canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards, plus rental storage for actively used hand-launched craft. Away from the bay, the paved Cushman Trail runs about six miles through the city and beyond. Its broad path, gravel shoulders, five restrooms, drinking fountains, parking trailheads, and half-mile emergency locator signs support walking and cycling across mixed grades.

Gig Harbor recorded 12,029 residents in 2020 and an estimated 12,630 in July 2025. Housing estimates for 2020 through 2024 showed 62 percent owner occupancy, a $767,100 median owner-occupied value, $2,844 in monthly owner costs with a mortgage, and $2,301 median gross rent. For the same period, median household income was $118,395, workers averaged about 32 minutes of travel to work, and people age 65 or older made up 31 percent of residents. The city was also reviewing a commercial-fishing homeport proposal at Ancich Waterfront Park in 2026, including dedicated moorage, utilities, a pump-out station, and shoreline restoration for a still-active fishing fleet.