Neah Bay (Makah Tribe Village)

The name comes from a Makah chief — Dee-ah, rendered "Neah" through the Klallam language — and the place has been the subject of competing claims since a Spanish fort failed here in 1792. Today Neah Bay is the main community on the Makah Reservation, home to a museum that houses artifacts from a Makah village buried by a mudslide around 1750, including canoes, basketry, and whaling gear. Visitors must purchase a recreational permit to access Makah land. The halibut fishing, Wikipedia notes plainly, is the best in the lower 48 states.