North Mason Chamber of Commerce :: Grapeview, Treasure & Stretch Islands

GRAPEVIEW
Take the Grapeview Loop Road off SR-3 just south of Allyn for a pleasant tour of Grapeview. This peaceful and scenic North Mason waterfront community, minus the presence of significant commercial development, is located along the saltwater shores of Case Inlet in South Puget Sound. Grapeview has a post office and a fire hall that doubles as a community center (grapeviewwa.com) on the loop near the Stretch Island Bridge.

In the early days, farming was the favored occupation and grapes became the number one crop, with the Island Belle strain emerging as the most ideally suited for the area. Local farmers still market their annual harvest to the Hoodsport Winery.

Grapeview is gaining a reputation as an area of up-scale waterfront houses along the shores of a network of scenic marine waterways. Like other popular areas within North Mason, boaters and lovers of saltwater recreation flock to the area each summer and secretly envy those of us who have figured out a way to live here year round.

Fair Harbor Marina (fairharbormarina.us), a beautiful privately-owned marina open to the public on Grapeview Loop Road, offers 350 feet of spacious moorage and can accommodate vessels up to 120 feet. A dockside country store with fuel, supplies and espresso caters to boaters and landlubbers alike through the summer season. The elegant outdoor Pavilion at Fair Harbor caters weddings and special events, while the marina plays host to the Grapeview Art & Water Festival held the last weekend of
July.

Just across the water from Grapeview lies tiny Treasure Island, first accessible by motor vehicle back in 1954 with the building of a one-lane bridge that still serves the community today. The Treasure
Island community is cozy and friendly, celebrating together on the 4th of July with an annual neighborhood parade.

Its rural neighbor to the south, Stretch Island, is home to the historical and famous "Island Belle" grape, still grown and harvested today as a premier red wine grape. Geoduck clams are grown here on private tidelands. Stretch Island State Park, restricted to water-access only, is located on the island's northern shore. The Museum of Puget Sound on Stretch Island houses an eclectic and historical collection of maritime memorabilia, including the history of Mosquito Fleet transportation in the Sound. The museum is housed in the old St. Charles Winery, which began as Washington's first bonded winery in 1933 and ceased production in 1965. Owned and operated by the Somers family, this hands-on treasure trove is open by appointment and often on summer weekends.