Shoreline ties together small towns, two American Indian reservations and an unincorporated area on the north Kitsap Peninsula.

Also distinctive is a lack of big-box stores, the presence of casually moving pedestrians, and a sense of calm you won’t find in the cities across the Sound.

Visitors to the peninsula can find an interesting mix of historic buildings, electric boats, American Indian long houses, lutefisk, antiques, a lighthouse and the end of the Tribal Journeys canoe route.

Norwegian-flavored Poulsbo has a sense of humor (“Parking for Leprechauns Only” sign), three bakeries (Sluy’s, Village, Liberty Bay), a bookstore (Liberty Bay) with a blue steeple, and Marina Market’s amazing collection of licorice and candy from around the world, not to mention frozen lutefisk dinners.

What you might not expect to see is Northwest Boat Rentals’ quiet electric boats. Tugboat captain Bill Archer has a fleet of rental electric boats, canoes, speed boats and sailboats.

Just think: Our recent 21-foot ride did not come with gasoline or diesel exhaust, a balky engine or constant background noise. It wasn’t quite a surrey with the fringe on top, but the boat did have an all-weather enclosure, leather seats, a top speed of 6 mph and only a 26-inch draft.

It can come with a pilot for a floating wine tour or a floating wedding ceremony officiated by Archer.

Other spots to consider on a tour of the Kitsap Peninsula:

SUQUAMISH

Imagine 100 American Indian canoes from British Columbia and Washington being paddled along the Tribal Journeys route that ends in Suquamish.

Add thousands of visitors to the mix and it’s sure to be a colorful cultural celebration marking the 20th anniversary of the 1989 Paddle to Seattle. The 1989 journey was the first traditional intertribal canoe voyage in more than 100 years.

The landing starts a week of activities Aug. 3-8 hosted by the Suquamish Tribe, which recently opened a 526-foot community dock.

PORT GAMBLE

If you haven’t been to this small town for several years, incorporate it into your north Kitsap Peninsula journey. A lot has changed.

The Kitsap Peninsula Visitor Center is now Dauntless Books; the Port Gamble Gallery is in the former Rainier Garage; the Artful Ewe, a yarn store, is in the old market building (1903); and the community center and post office have a spiffy pet area.

Harmony by the Bay, an eclectic shop that features kitty measuring spoon sets, a large wooden horse, garden tools and Tibetan singing bowls, is located in the “blue house” or “New York House,” the latter name because it was built by the first two doctors in town who were from New York.

The Buena Vista Cemetery now has a sign with all the graveyard residents’ locations; the Sunday Market draws residents and tourists; and the Port Gamble Historic Museum is open daily through Oct. 31.

LITTLE BOSTON

The House of Knowledge is the heart of the 1,340-acre Port Gamble S’Klallam Reservation on the northern end of the Kitsap Peninsula, south of Hansville.

Little Boston is on the reservation, and several architecturally interesting buildings comprise the House of Knowledge: the Longhouse, Career and Education Center, Elders Center and the Little Boston Library.

All are open to the public.

Four totem poles were carved for the Longhouse, a 5,700-square-foot ceremonial space: Chief’s Welcome Pole, Sawmill Pole, Fishermen’s Pole and Clamdiggers’ Pole.

On the outside of the Longhouse, artists have designed, carved and painted traditional-style designs.

HANSVILLE

The unincorporated community includes a rural landscape, the Hansville Hill Vineyard, and Hansville Community Church, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.

But the star of the area is the Point No Point lighthouse. Look for a home that started with the top of a tugboat on your approach to the lighthouse.

If you’re looking for interesting lodging, look no further.

We slept in the fully furnished lighthouse keeper’s home, with two spacious bedrooms (pick the beachside one and fall asleep to the waves), an excellent kitchen and several other rooms. It’s tastefully decorated with artifacts and period pieces.

Walk the three-quarter-mile-long beach, check out the U.S. Lighthouse Society and its lighthouse-related collection and library next to your accommodations, walk the dike trail to the bluff, and see the artifacts on the first floor of the lighthouse.

KINGSTON

The town was originally platted in the 1850s by investors for vacation homes. Now it’s the town through which Kingston-Edmonds ferry riders usually pass.

But there are reasons to stop in this small town, including art galleries and quilt, pottery, printmaker and art glass studios, art walks and a farmers market.

Maggie Savage and Sharon Wootton are authors of “Off the Beaten Path: Washington (Globe Pequot).

Author Debbie Macomber hosts Cedar Cove Days

While it’s farther south on the Kitsap Peninsula, Port Orchard has a novel event in August: the five-day Cedar Cove Days, featuring the fictional world of resident romance and contemporary women’s fiction author Debbie Macomber.

The best-selling and award-winning author, who started with a rented typewriter and received many rejections, has now sold more than 60 million copies and has been at the top of the New York Times’ best-seller list with “8 Sandpiper Way.”

Macomber has turned Port Orchard into the fictional Cedar Cove, the waterfront setting for her novels that include a bit of the culture, characters and commerce of her hometown.

The festival could attract a few thousand fans. Activities include knitting with Debbie at her Good Yarn Shop, a Cedar Cove bus tour, high tea with Debbie at her Victorian Rose Tea Room, and a cruise with Debbie to Kiana Lodge.

Cedar Cove Days runs Aug. 26-30. For more information, call 360-801-4311 or go to www.cedarcovedays.com.

North Kitsap Peninsula

General information: The best place to start is the Kitsap Peninsula Visitor and Convention Bureau at 1-800-337-0580 or www.visitkitsap.com.

Port Gamble: If you go today, see a Civil War re-enactment fighting the battle of Port Gamble. On October Saturdays, take a ghost tour; on Sundays, check out the farmers market.

Kingston: Check out the Kitsap Arts & Crafts Festival, July 24-26, www.kitsapartsandcrafts.com; Saturday farmers market.

Poulsbo: Take a water tour courtesy of Northwest Boat Rentals, 360-265-8300; www.northwestboatrentals.com.

Suquamish: For general information from the Suquamish Tribe, 360-598-3311, www.suquamish.nsn.us.

Hansville: Point No Point Lighthouse, 415-362-7255; $195 a night, with the money put toward upkeep of the lighthouse and keepers’ cottages.

Little Boston: Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, 360-297-2646.