Gig Harbor (Lushootseed: txʷaalqəɬ) is the name of both a bay on Puget Sound and a city on its shore in Pierce County, Washington.

Due to its close access to several state and city parks, and historic waterfront that includes boutiques and fine dining, it has become a popular tourist destination.

Gig Harbor is located along State Route 16, about 6 mi (9.7 km) from its origin at Interstate 5, over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

Later, with the publication of Wilkes' 1841 map of the Oregon Territory, the sheltered bay was named in English as Gig Harbor by George Sinclair for his boat.

In 1867, fisherman Samuel Jerisich came to the Gig Harbor area, along with many other immigrants from Sweden, Norway, and Croatia.

The town was platted in 1888 by Alfred M. Burnham, the owner of a local general store and native of Albert Lea, Minnesota, where he advertised opportunities in Gig Harbor.

[6] Transportation between Gig Harbor and Tacoma was primarily handled by the "Mosquito fleet", a network of mostly-passenger steamships that traversed various points on Puget Sound.

Automobiles were required to drive 107 miles (172 km) through Olympia to reach Tacoma; the Washington Navigation Company later launched a Point Defiance–Gig Harbor ferry service in 1927 that could carry 80 vehicles.

[6] Gig Harbor was officially incorporated as a town on July 12, 1946, after a previous attempt in September 1945 was rejected by 13 votes.

The town had 803 residents in 1950, but soon grew due to the ease of access afforded by the replacement bridge that turned Gig Harbor into a bedroom community for Tacoma workers.

[6] By the 1980s and 1990s, substantial residential and retail development had pushed the city's boundaries west to State Route 16, which had been upgraded to a partial freeway.

[6] A fleet of commercial fishing boats is based in Gig Harbor and make annual trips to Alaska for the summer season to harvest salmon.

[13] Gig Harbor has a marine west coast climate: Warm and dry summers, transitional springs and autumns, and cool and wet winters, with occasional snow.