Five miles northwest of Tacoma via the Narrows Bridge, Gig Harbor is a picturesque city with a bayfront that manages to retain the flavor of a small fishing village. Washington's “Maritime City” centers on its namesake body of water, a long, narrow inlet of Puget Sound. Seeking refuge from a storm in 1841, members of the Charles Wilkes expedition discovered the bay by chance and named it for their gig, a type of sailing longboat. After the turn of the 20th century many immigrants from islands off the Croatian coast formed the nucleus of the town's fishing industry. Learn More...