Across Puget Sound from Seattle, on the eastern shore of the Kitsap Peninsula, the little community of Manchester looks back at the city skyline from a beach of pebbles and driftwood. On a clear evening the view is remarkable: the towers of downtown Seattle across the water, the Space Needle, ferries crossing in the dusk and, on a good day, Mount Rainier floating above it all. It is a quiet, unassuming place, with houses scattered along the shore and in the woods behind.
Manchester State Park, just north of town, occupies the site of an old coastal defence battery built around 1900 to protect the naval yard at Bremerton. Some of the concrete gun emplacements and an old torpedo warehouse are still there, now surrounded by forest and used for picnics and events. There are trails through the woods and along the beach, and it is a pleasant spot for a walk at the end of the day.
A few kilometres south, Southworth is the terminal for the ferry to Vashon Island and Fauntleroy in West Seattle, and many people use it to commute to the city. To the west, Port Orchard is the main town of the area, with fuel, supermarkets and restaurants, and across Sinclair Inlet lies Bremerton, home of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, where you can often see aircraft carriers and other naval ships moored.
The roads on the Kitsap Peninsula are generally quiet two-lane highways and country roads, winding through forests and along the shore, with occasional glimpses of the water. They can be wet and slippery under the trees, and deer are common, especially at dawn and dusk. As a finish point, Manchester is peaceful and pretty. If you are heading back to Seattle, the ferries are a fine way to end the day, with the city slowly growing larger as you cross the sound. Check schedules, as sailings are limited at certain times.