Mason County is a favorite vacation destination for visitors from all over the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Easily accessible off the I-5 corridor, we're just a short drive from the greater Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia area - -two hours from almost anywhere on Puget Sound.

Surrounded by the majestic Olympic Mountains to the west and situated along the shores of southern Puget Sound on the Kitsap Peninsula, Mason County has blue skies above and forest greenery almost everywhere you look.

Mason County, rank by size: 29 of 39

961 square miles

Population: 53,100 (2006)

Highest Point: 6,255 feet (Mt. Washington)

Lowest Point: Sea Level

Largest Employer: Squaxin Indian Tribe (700)

2006 Home Sales Total Units: 1,251

Highest Price of Homes Sold
1) $2,200,000 (Grapeview) 2) $1,750,000 (Agate) 3) $1,065,000 (S.Shore)

2006 Price of Homes Sold, County-wide
Minimum: $ 13,500
Maximum: $2,200,000
Average: $226,275
Median: $190,000

Interesting Facts
Olympic National Park is the fourth most popular national park in the United States, following Great Smokey Mountains, Grand Canyon, and Yosemite.

The year 2006 was a near-record year for annual precipitation, with nearly 81 inches falling on Shelton. A normal year for Shelton is 50 to 60 inches.

Average monthly temperatures for Mason County rarely exceed 80 degrees in the summer, though occasional spikes have been recorded at or near 100 degrees. Typically, winter weather temperatures hover around the 40s, with some cold spells and nights dipping below freezing.

Average snow pack in the Olympics will normally begin to accumulate in October, and may often linger into late July. May is an excellent month for photography, as the spring leaves are blooming while the county's highest peaks still retain their snowy crowns.

Wild game in Mason County includes a variety of fish, deer, elk, bear and waterfowl.

Shellfish producer Taylor Shellfish Farms is the world's leader in commercial clam harvesting, and a top restaurant favorite, world-wide, for their fresh-shipped and chilled individual oysters in the shell.

From The County Info page on our Blog:

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