Things to Do in Union, WA

Twanoh State Park

A few miles from downtown Union, Twanoh State Park is the area's anchor public-recreation destination: a roughly 180-acre marine camping park with more than 3,000 feet of Hood Canal shoreline, built in the classic Civilian Conservation Corps architectural style during the Great Depression and dedicated on June 9, 1923 -- notably the first Washington state park purchased rather than donated. Its remarkably preserved 1930s CCC-era architecture earned the park National Register of Historic Places status in 2014. Beyond its historic buildings, the park offers warm saltwater swimming (among the warmer water temperatures in Puget Sound per the state parks system's own description), a two-lane boat launch with mooring buoys, and popular annual oyster-bed shellfish harvesting.

The park also maintains overnight camping facilities, making it a realistic option for hosting out-of-town visitors who want to experience Hood Canal without staying at Alderbrook or a private rental -- a genuinely useful, budget-friendly option for a Union homeowner's own visiting family and friends.

Union's Own Historic Sites

Downtown Union carries real 19th- and early-20th-century history worth a walk on its own: the McReavy House, John McReavy's 1890 Victorian mansion widely described as the oldest standing structure on Hood Canal (and a local subject of ghost-story lore), and the Dalby Waterwheel, a piece of Seattle cable-car equipment repurposed in 1924 to generate Hood Canal's first hydroelectric power. Both are confirmed, documented historic sites tied directly to the town's founding-era story as a lumber-and-development boomtown renamed in 1889 to mark Washington statehood.

Both sites sit within easy walking distance of the historic Union Marina and Union City Market, making a short self-guided walking tour of downtown Union's history a realistic half-day activity for a visitor or a new resident getting oriented to the town's founding-era layout.

Alderbrook Resort's Amenities

Alderbrook Resort & Spa, open to the public and not just overnight guests for many of its amenities, includes a full-service spa, a golf course, an indoor pool, hot tub and sauna, a game room, yoga classes, and miles of nature trails, alongside its restaurant and marina covered on the Dining and Boating & Water Access pages. This gives a Union visitor or resident genuine resort-grade recreation access without leaving town -- a real, distinctive asset for a community this small, and one that few Hood Canal communities of Union's size can match.

Hunter Farms' Pumpkin Patch and General Store

Hunter Farms, a seven-generation family farm on SR 106, runs a genuine, large-scale fall pumpkin patch -- 50 acres of pumpkins across a real working farm, not a small staged plot -- along with a hay maze, corn maze, and hayrides, operating since 1983. Its general store, selling home-grown produce and local specialty foods, is a year-round draw beyond the seasonal pumpkin-patch operation, covered in more detail on the Dining page.

The Northwest Art Alliance and Union's Artist-Colony Heritage

Union has carried a real artist-colony identity since the 1920s, when artists began gathering in the community roughly a century ago -- a heritage the Northwest Art Alliance's own materials on Union confirm continues into the present. This gives Union a genuine cultural dimension beyond its resort-and-recreation identity, worth exploring for any visitor specifically interested in the Pacific Northwest's regional art history, covered in more community-focused depth on the Community & Lifestyle page.

Robin Hood Village Resort

Robin Hood Village Resort, founded in 1934 by artist Don Beckman -- who had designed the Hollywood set for the original Adventures of Robin Hood film starring Errol Flynn -- remains a working cottage resort today, with two of its original 1930s cottages still standing among its current 13 total. Its complimentary kayak rentals and documented wildlife-viewing (seals, bald eagles, and occasional orcas) make it a real destination even for a non-overnight visitor curious about the property's unusual Hollywood-adjacent origin story.

A Genuinely Full Day in Union

A visitor with a single day in Union could realistically combine a morning walk through the historic downtown past the McReavy House and Dalby Waterwheel, an early-afternoon swim or shellfish-harvesting stop at Twanoh State Park, and an evening dinner at Alderbrook's restaurant -- three genuinely different, historically grounded experiences within a few miles of each other, a real density of things to do that few towns Union's size can offer. Adding Hunter Farms' general store or, in season, its pumpkin patch, rounds out a visit with a working-farm stop distinct from the historic and resort experiences on either side of it.

Planning a Visit

Current admission prices, hours, and seasonal operating schedules for the attractions above weren't compiled into a single confirmed source in this research pass -- check each directly (Washington State Parks for Twanoh, Alderbrook Resort's own website, Hunter Farms' own website, and Robin Hood Village Resort's own website) before planning a specific visit, since hours and seasonal availability can shift, particularly for Hunter Farms' pumpkin patch, which is explicitly a fall-only operation.