Sequim Lavender Farms

The Olympic Mountains block most Pacific rainfall before it reaches the Sequim-Dungeness Valley, leaving the land with less than 16 inches of rain per year — closer to Los Angeles than to the temperate rainforest an hour's drive west. Local farmers recognized that anomaly in the mid-1990s and planted lavender. What started as an experiment has grown into more than two dozen farms lining the valley, drawing visitors every summer. The annual Lavender Weekend, held each July since 1997, anchors the season.