Port Ludlow is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, Washington, United States.

Following the completion of the nearby Hood Canal Bridge in 1960, Port Ludlow became the site of resorts and planned communities, attracting more affluent residents who were retired, buying vacation homes, or needing a more convenient commute to the business centers on the west side of Puget Sound.

Wilkes bestowed many patriotically American place names; at the time the sovereignty of the Oregon Country was yet to be resolved between Britain and the United States.

John R. Thorndike and W. P. Sayward sailed to Puget Sound in 1852 and found the environs of Port Ludlow promising.

The initial mill housed two sash saws capable of producing 3,000 feet (910 m) of lumber daily.

The U.S. Federal Census of 1860 designated Port Ludlow as one of the three enumeration districts in Jefferson County, Washington Territory.

The census tally portrays the make-up of a young logging and sawmill community: Of the 124 people counted, 117 (94%) were adults between the ages of 20 and 50, and the remaining 7 were children.

Of the 30 (24%) who were foreign-born, 8 were born in England, 8 in Ireland, 6 in Canada, 4 in Germany, 2 in Norway, and one each in Australia and Denmark.

Washington State Route 19 forms the western edge of the CDP, leading north 8 miles (13 km) to Port Hadlock and having its southern terminus at Washington State Route 104 at the southwest corner of the Port Ludlow CDP.

SR 104 forms the southern edge of the CDP and leads east 8 miles (13 km) across Hood Canal to Port Gamble and west the same distance to U.S. Route 101.