Pierce County · Pop. 3,900

Fox Island Real Estate — Island quiet, one bridge from town.

About Fox Island

Fox Island was named in 1841 when the Wilkes Expedition honored assistant surgeon J.L. Fox, though the Steilacoom people knew its beaches first — and in 1856 the island briefly held hundreds of Puyallup and Nisqually people interned after the Puget Sound War. Homesteaders, a brickyard, and berry farms followed, all served by ferry until August 1954, when the Hale Passage bridge opened and the population climbed from about 120 to nearly 4,000. Still unincorporated Pierce County, the island never grew a downtown — a general store, a museum, and Zog's beer garden are about it — which is exactly the point. Buyers today find custom homes on wooded acreage and some of the South Sound's best waterfront, with medians around

.1M — well above Gig Harbor across the bridge — and Peninsula District schools a short drive over Hale Passage.

Living in Fox Island

  • Fox Island Fishing Pier — salmon and squid jigging off the old ferry landing
  • DeMolay Sandspit Nature Preserve — five-acre spit with seal, sea lion, and orca sightings
  • Fox Island Historical Society Museum — 3,000-artifact archive of island life
  • Fox Island Bridge — 1,950-foot Hale Passage span, the island's only road link
  • Tanglewood Island Lighthouse — 1946 landmark islet off the north shore

Where the locals eat

  • Zog's Beer Garden — Burgers & beer garden · Fox Island
  • Tides Tavern — Seafood & pub · Gig Harbor
  • NetShed No. 9 — Brunch · Gig Harbor waterfront
  • Table 47 — Pacific Northwest · Gig Harbor

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