Planning the 2026 Key Peninsula Farm Tour Weekend

We are behind the Key Peninsula Farm Tour all the way, and this page is here to help you make the most of it.

On the tour you drive yourself from stop to stop, or ride a free shuttle that covers some of them. The organizer’s Eventbrite listing says the tour is free and no ticket is required. Registering there is optional; in the organizer’s words, it “helps us share updates and plan for attendance.” The current list of stops is on the organizer’s Map and Farms page.

The tour is run by the Key Peninsula Farm Collective, formerly the Key Peninsula Farm Council. This year is the tour’s 20th anniversary: it began in 2006. The organizer’s Start Here page calls the fall weekend the KP Farm Tour & Harvest Festival. The map lists ten stops for 2026, from Gateway Park in Wauna down to Longbranch. Some are farms, and some are community stops like the library and the fire station in Key Center.

The map page also says the final map, with vendor, music and food locations, is due around September 21. Everything below is how the organizer’s pages, and the other pages linked here, read on September 10, so check the map again before you set out. The organizer also asks visitors to leave pets at home; see Before you go.

Which stops are open Saturday and Sunday

Six of the ten stops are open Saturday only, and one is open Sunday only. Two farms are open both days, and Gateway Park is listed for Saturday with the apple squeeze on Sunday. Listed north to south:

If you can only come one day, Saturday has the most to see: every stop except YMCA Camp Colman. Sunday has four: Gateway Park for the apple squeeze, Moon Mountain Farm, Astrid’s Lavender Farm and YMCA Camp Colman. The organizer’s own advice is to start your day at a stop on either the north or the south end of the peninsula, and it notes that some farms are open only on the first day.

A few things to plan around. On Saturday the fire department closes at 2pm, two hours before everything else, and its hot dogs last only until they sell out, so go early. The fire station, at 8911 Key Peninsula Hwy NW, and the library, at 8905, are a few street numbers apart in Key Center. On Sunday the south end has a single stop, Camp Colman, and its campfire runs until 5pm, an hour after the rest of the tour closes.

The stops and parking, north to south

Each stop gives its address and where to park. The map gives days for most music and some food listings, but none for vendors.

Gateway Park and the apple squeeze, Wauna

10405 State Route 302 NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98329. The map labels it Wauna. This is the tour’s north launch point, where the organizer says you can pick up maps, totes and information, and it is where riders park for the north shuttle loop. Park in the park’s dedicated lot.

The map’s day label for this stop reads “Saturday (Apple Squeeze Sunday),” and the same listing names music and food for both days. On Saturday it lists music by Improvement Club, and food from Mauka Hawaiian Shave Ice and Daves Ice Cream. On Sunday it lists the apple squeeze, music by Keil Scott, and food from Mauka Hawaiian Shave Ice, Daves Ice Cream, Gonzo Panini and Walk’N Waffles. The organizer says its food and music page, with the weekend’s music schedule, goes live once vendors are finalized.

The apple squeeze is on the tour’s second day, Sunday, September 27, from 10am to 4pm. Fresh squeezed cider is sold by the glass for $2, the quart for $5, the half gallon for $8 and the gallon for $12, and apple fritters are $5. Farm Tour water bottles are $5 for the first 60 guests. The organizer says the proceeds keep its events going.

Vendors: Pierce County Sustainability, Peninsula Fruit Club, Butler Farms, Master Gardeners, Rainfall Ranch Rescue, Bunny Trails Mobile Events and Promise Path Farm.

Key Pen Parks, which runs the park, lists restrooms, picnic tables and a playground there, and the trailhead for its 360 Trails is at the tree line across from the parking lot.

Moon Mountain Farm

14224 124th Ave NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98329, the address the tour publishes for the weekend. The mailing city says Gig Harbor, but the farm is on the Key Peninsula. Open both days. Park in the lower field below the garden, with overflow parking on 144th St NW.

Moon Mountain Farm is a flower farm that also grows basketry willow and plants for natural dyeing. For the tour you can walk the garden, the food forest, the dye garden and several willow patches, and look into the studio of an artist who has spent a lifetime working with natural materials.

Music: Stephanie Singer, Saturday 1pm to 3pm, and Barbie’s Beatles Sing Along, Sunday noon to 2pm. No food is listed.

Vendors: Honey Wood Farm, the Pierce and Mason conservation districts, Anna Brones and Adam’s Mushrooms.

Astrid’s Lavender Farm

13617 Thomas Rd NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98329, another Gig Harbor mailing address that is on the Key Peninsula. Open both days. Parking is spread through the property starting near the gift shop, and someone will direct you.

Astrid’s was founded in August 2022 and makes lavender essential oil, hydrosol, dried goods and bouquets. For the tour it will demonstrate both distilling and debudding, and it says it makes most of what is sold in its gift shop on the farm. There are picnic areas, a small playground, wooded trails and a Kids Trail with hidden gnomes.

Music: Chrissy Dikes, Saturday 11am to 1pm, and Kevin Commings & Mary Farr, Sunday 11am to 1pm. Food: Bellas Brew, Sunday only. No food is listed for Saturday.

Vendors: Key Pen Produce Express, Thistledown Farm, Rosemary, The Good Life Farm, Barefoot Blooms, Food 4 All, Rooster Guy, Earthlandish, Key Peninsula Beekeepers and The Fabled Farm.

Key Peninsula Fire Department, Key Center

8911 Key Peninsula Hwy NW, Lakebay, WA 98349, the department’s headquarters station in Key Center. Saturday only, 10am to 2pm.

The department is hosting an open house and “touch a truck,” with a hot dog stand until the hot dogs are gone. Park where you will not block traffic or emergency vehicles.

Pierce County Library, Key Center

8905 Key Peninsula Hwy NW, Lakebay, WA 98349, a few street numbers from the fire station. Saturday only. Park in the library lot.

The Key Center library is offering Nature Art, where you make a piece of art from materials found in nature, and staff will be on hand for library questions and services.

Grand Farms, Vaughn

17616 S Vaughn Rd NW, Vaughn, WA 98394, the address on Grand Farms’ own site. Saturday only. Turn left into the parking lot as you start to come up the hill, and staff will direct you from there.

Grand Farms is an equestrian training facility. It trains horse and rider for competition and gives riding lessons at every age and level.

Music: Thea Wescot and Steve Fearey, Saturday 1pm to 3pm. Food: Belfair Pop Sweets & Treats, El Koreano and Dirtyz Food Truck.

Red Barn Youth Center, Lakebay

15921 84th St NW, Lakebay, WA 98349. Saturday only. Use the parking lot.

Red Barn runs a free after-school program for 6th to 12th graders. For the tour it lists vendors, a small paper craft, coloring pages, tours of the building, a donation table and free cannabis lock bags from the Pierce County Prevention Collaborative for adults 21 and over who fill out a survey.

Vendors: Pierce County Conservation, My Legacy Creations, Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department and The Wandering Ewe Fibers. No music or food is listed.

The Red Barn is also where riders park for the south shuttle loop; see The free shuttle for what that means on Sunday.

YMCA Camp Colman, Longbranch

20016 Bay Rd SW, Longbranch, WA 98351. Sunday only. Camp staff will direct you to open parking.

YMCA Camp Colman, run by the YMCA of Greater Seattle, is celebrating its 60th year on Case Inlet and is rejoining the tour this year. Activities include arts and crafts (paint and plant, and leatherworking), archery, rock climbing and beach combing, and you can walk the quiet forest trail or the beach looking for crabs. A campfire with camp songs and skits runs from 4pm to 5pm, after the rest of the tour has closed.

No music, food or vendors are listed.

LIC Fiber Arts Show, Longbranch

4312 Key Peninsula Hwy SW, Longbranch, WA 98351. Saturday only, and the Longbranch Improvement Club gives its show hours as 10am to 4pm. Follow the parking assistance at the entrance.

The Fiber Arts Show is held at the LIC Clubhouse and the LIC Marina, with more than two dozen artists who demonstrate, exhibit and sell their work. Demonstrations include weaving, spinning and cross stitch, and the vendor displays run from quilts, hats and handwoven baskets to jewelry, rugs, hand tooled leather and embroidery. There is music at the Clubhouse throughout the day, and an antique car show outside on the grounds. The LIC’s Fiber Arts Show page names this year’s featured artist as Maureen Reilly of Knee Walker Fiber Arts.

Food: Da Q Shack, Saturday.

Longbranch Homestead Collective

16518 46th St SW, Longbranch, WA 98351, which is also the address of Longbranch Community Church. Saturday only. Park on site.

The collective is a group of community members who gather to sharpen their homesteading skills, and this is its third year on the tour. It lists a deer fencing workshop for garden protection, a homestead remedies display and discussion, succulent planting for kids and adults, seed sharing, a retro photo booth, a composting display and critters. The deer fencing, remedies and composting demonstrations run on a loop all day.

Music: Ebeneezer’s Geezers Bluegrass Band, Saturday at 11am, 1pm and 3pm. Food: Tin Hut BBQ. No vendors are listed.

The free shuttle

The organizer runs a free shuttle on two continual loops. The first bus on each route starts at 10am, and the last pickup is at 4pm. Its Start Here page lists the stops in this order.

North loop, with rider parking at Gateway Park: Gateway Park, Moon Mountain Farm, Astrid’s Lavender Farm, Civic Center, Key Center, and Red Barn, where you change to the south loop.

South loop, with rider parking at the Red Barn: Red Barn, where you change to the north loop, then Key Peninsula Community Services, Longbranch Improvement Club (Fiber Arts), Longbranch Homestead Collective, and “YMCA Soundview Camp.”

In the organizer’s words, all other stops are self-serve. Grand Farms, the library and the fire department are not named on either list, so plan to drive to them. The library and the fire station are both in Key Center, so if you would rather ride, ask the organizer through its contact page where the north loop’s Key Center stop is.

The south loop list ends with “YMCA Soundview Camp.” The Sunday stop on the map is YMCA Camp Colman, at 20016 Bay Rd SW, and Sound View Camp, at 8515 Key Peninsula Hwy S, is a separate camp that the organizer mentions as a place to stay. The simplest plan for Camp Colman is to drive there, and the same contact page is the place for shuttle questions.

The Red Barn is where riders park for the south loop and where the two loops meet. Its stop is listed for Saturday only, and the organizer’s pages do not say what happens there on Sunday. If you plan to ride the shuttle on Sunday, ask the organizer which days the loops run and how often a bus comes around.

The Civic Center and Key Peninsula Community Services are shuttle stops rather than stops on the map. The Civic Center’s own newsletter says it is serving breakfast on Saturday; see Where to eat.

Getting there

The organizer’s Start Here page gives directions to Gateway Park, the north launch point, from two directions.

From Tacoma, take WA 16 north toward Gig Harbor. Take the exit toward WA-302 W/Purdy Key Center, continue onto Purdy Dr NW, and turn left onto WA-302 W. Gateway Park is 3.1 miles along, on your right.

From Port Orchard, take WA 16 south toward Gig Harbor. Take the same exit toward WA-302 W/Purdy Key Center, continue onto Purdy Dr NW, and turn right onto WA-302 W. Gateway Park is 3.1 miles along, on your right.

If you would rather start with the south loop, the Red Barn, where riders park for it, is at 15921 84th St NW, Lakebay.

Past Gateway Park, SR 302 continues west, and Key Peninsula Highway branches off it to the south and runs through Key Center to Longbranch. The fire station, the library and the Fiber Arts Show all have Key Peninsula Highway addresses. From the other side, SR 302 runs east onto the peninsula from SR 3 near Allyn.

Where to eat

Food is listed at six stops, plus a breakfast in Vaughn on Saturday.

Saturday breakfast. The Key Peninsula Civic Center, at 17010 South Vaughn Rd NW in Vaughn, says in its September 2026 newsletter that on September 26 it will serve breakfast sandwiches with coffee, tea or juice as part of the Farm Tour. It is $8 a person, to go or with limited seating. The newsletter gives no hours.

Saturday. Gateway Park has Mauka Hawaiian Shave Ice and Daves Ice Cream. The fire department runs a hot dog stand until the hot dogs sell out, and it closes at 2pm either way. Grand Farms lists Belfair Pop Sweets & Treats, El Koreano and Dirtyz Food Truck. In Longbranch, the Fiber Arts Show has Da Q Shack and the Longbranch Homestead Collective has Tin Hut BBQ. Nothing is listed for Saturday at Moon Mountain Farm, Astrid’s, the library or the Red Barn.

Sunday. Gateway Park has Mauka Hawaiian Shave Ice, Daves Ice Cream, Gonzo Panini and Walk’N Waffles, plus cider and apple fritters at the squeeze. Astrid’s Lavender Farm has Bellas Brew. Nothing is listed at Moon Mountain Farm or YMCA Camp Colman, so plan ahead if you are spending Sunday at the south end.

Before you go

Leave pets at home. The tour’s pet policy asks the public not to bring pets, because the working farms have animals your pet may not be used to, and some have guard dogs. Service animals are welcome, and the policy asks that you pick up after your animal at every stop. One thing of our own to add: please do not leave a pet waiting in the car either, because it can still be too hot.

What to bring. The FAQ on the organizer’s Eventbrite listing recommends comfortable walking shoes, weather-appropriate clothing, cash or card for purchases, and a reusable bag for anything you buy. The listing also marks parking as free.

With children. The same FAQ calls the tour a family-friendly event with activities for all ages. Astrid’s, open both days, has a small playground and a Kids Trail with hidden gnomes, and Key Pen Parks lists a playground at Gateway Park. The Longbranch Homestead Collective lists succulent planting for kids and adults on Saturday. Other hands-on activities include touch a truck at the fire station and Nature Art at the library on Saturday, and archery, rock climbing and arts and crafts at Camp Colman on Sunday. If you are not sure one suits your child’s age, ask the organizer through its contact page.

Questions before you go. For weather plans, restrooms or accessibility at a particular stop, ask the organizer through its contact page.

Check the map again after September 21. The organizer says vendor, music and food locations are not final until the map comes out, and its food and music page goes live once vendors are finalized. The tour also has a Facebook page.

Where to stay

The organizer’s Start Here page points to two state parks and a list of places to stay. For camping details, Washington State Parks’ own pages are the ones to go by.

Penrose Point State Park, 321 158th Avenue SW, Lakebay, is a forested 237-acre marine park with nearly 2 miles of Puget Sound shoreline and 2.5 miles of trails, open 8am to dusk year round. It has 82 standard campsites, one hiker/biker site and one Cascadia Marine Trail campsite. By the tour weekend part of the campground has closed for the season, but State Parks’ winter schedule says reservations are taken for all open dates. The same schedule says the middle restroom’s showers close September 16 and the upper restroom’s close October 1, so the upper restroom has showers that weekend. The park is closed to shellfishing for the 2026 season.

Joemma Beach State Park, 20001 Bay Road SW, Lakebay, is on the same road as YMCA Camp Colman and is open 8am to dusk year round. Its primitive campsites are reservable May 15 through October 1, so they are still open that weekend. Two hiker/biker sites are first come, first served, and two Cascadia Marine Trail sites are only for campers arriving by wind or human-powered watercraft.

Parking passes. Washington State Parks says a Discover Pass is required to park at state parks: $10 for a day or $45 for a year, and transaction fees may apply. If you are staying overnight, you do not need one to park in the park you are staying in. Saturday, September 26, the tour’s first day, is National Public Lands Day and one of the state’s Discover Pass free days, according to Washington State Parks’ announcement. Sunday, September 27 is not on its list. Free days apply only to day use parking, and all other fees still apply.

Campfires at the parks. On September 10 both park pages carried a statewide Level 3 burn ban: no charcoal or wood fires, with gas and propane stoves and fire pits allowed where permitted. Check the park page before you pack firewood.

Other places to stay. The organizer’s list names Mount Virginia on the Key Peninsula, the Inn at Gig Harbor, The Waterfront Inn, the Wesley Inn (Best Western), The Maritime Inn, Silvercloud Tacoma, McMenamins Elks Temple Tacoma and the Westwynd Motel. Its introduction also mentions Sound View Camp in Longbranch. We have not checked availability or rates at any of them.

Twenty years of the tour

The tour was established in 2006 by Trillium Creek Winery, as part of Pierce County/WSU HarvestFEST. When government funding for that program ran out, local farmers set up a subcommittee of the Key Peninsula Community Council and took the tour on. The Longbranch Improvement Club’s Fiber Arts Show joined in 2007 and Gateway Park in 2012, and a second day, with the apple squeeze, was added in 2019.

In May, Key Peninsula News reported that the group had recently rebranded as the Key Peninsula Farm Collective, and that rather than adding more stops, it is concentrating on places that are already community hubs, which can host farmers who cannot host on their own property. The Collective’s about page says it is “dedicated to the preservation and promotion of working farms, rural heritage, and agricultural enrichment on the Key Peninsula.”

If you would like to help, the organizer’s Get Involved page has a form for volunteers and for farms, vendors and exhibitors.

June Blooms, the spring event

The Collective also runs a spring event. Its about page says it was originally called June Blooms and in 2026 became a single-day event with music, vendor booths and demonstrations, and its Start Here page now calls it June Blooms, Astrid’s Lavender Festival. The organizer says it grew out of requests from people who came to the fall events and wanted to see more: garden starts, spring farm babies, flowers in bloom. This year’s was set for June 27, as a one-day festival at Astrid’s Lavender Farm, according to Key Peninsula News.

Our stand that weekend

Wildwood Hollow is not an official stop this year: life happened, and we missed our window to sign up as a site. We are cheering the tour on all the same. Our stand at 4554 Key Peninsula Hwy NW in Lakebay, south of Key Center, is open that weekend the same as any other day, 9am to dusk. The farms on the tour are the ones who opened their gates for it, and they are the ones to plan the day around.

The farm stand page has what is on the table, and our visit page has directions and parking. For other farms that sell direct on the peninsula, and how each one sells, see farm stands on the Key Peninsula.