Explore without state ferries: Access Washington islands on lesser-known ferries

When standing on the deck of a ferry as the telltale rumble of the engine kicks into gear and the water below begins to churn, I always feel a sense of escapism kick in. The expansive views unencumbered by tiny windows, the chance to gulp fresh saltwater air and the simple freedom to walk around something far more spacious than an airplane, train or car all contribute to the thrill.

Unfortunately, Washington State Ferries have seen better days. Chronic delays, short staffing, underfunding, deferred maintenance and broken-down vessels have all made ferry trips become less the stuff of romance and more the stuff of annoyance. While there are signs that the agency’s leadership is working to right the ship, WSF is still years away from resuming normal service.

Even when state ferries were running more smoothly, summertime gets extremely busy. Routes that take reservations like the San Juan Islands and Port Townsend-Coupeville require planning well in advance to secure your preferred time slot. Crossings from Kingston to Edmonds or Bainbridge Island to Seattle can see multihour waits at the dock during peak times.

Check out our primer on Western Washington’s lesser-known and less-of-a-hassle ferries. They are run by county governments — and so less prone to the systemwide issues plaguing WSF. While the crossings are shorter and the destinations are smaller, the end result is the same: whether for a few hours or a few days, an island getaway.

Anderson Island: South Sound island life

Make your way to Steilacoom, where Pierce County operates a model ferry route in miniature: a two-boat service boasting a 100 percent on-time percentage and no canceled sailings, according to county data. (Some residents, however, dispute Pierce County’s on-time performance claims.) Both the MV Steilacoom II and MV Christine Anderson hold 54 cars for the 20-minute crossing. When the mountain is out, she looms large in all her glory — this ferry ride is the closest one in Washington to Mount Rainier.

You can drive Anderson Island from end to end in about 10 minutes, but there are several worthy stops along the way. The Johnson Farm, established in 1896, is a preserved slice of frontier-era Puget Sound currently operated by the Anderson Island Historical Society (free, open Saturdays 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sundays 12-4 p.m.).

Make your way to Jacob’s Point Park for a 2.5-mile forested loop hike that includes several viewpoints and beach access. Don’t miss the spur trail to see the remnants of a brickyard that once helped Seattle rebuild after the Great Fire of 1889, and the interpretive signs about Peter Puget’s landfall here in 1792. Afterward, change into your bathing suit and dive into Florence Lake at the Old Swimming Hole in Lowell Johnson Park (free but limited to 15 cars, no groups over 10 permitted).

Adjacent to the general store in case you forget any essentials, the Anderson Island Café serves up passable comfort food as well as coffee and ice cream (salads, burgers, entrees $13-18). For more elevated fare, try the Riviera Lakeside Restaurant (lunch and dinner items $14-$27).

Getting there: Peak-season car and driver round-trip fares start at $30.75 depending on vehicle length (from $25.75 for ages 65 and older or with disability permit). Additional or walk-on/bicycle passengers $7.50 for ages 19 and up, $4 for ages 65 and up. There are 13 sailings Saturdays, 14 sailings Tuesday-Thursday, 17 sailings Sundays, 18 sailings Fridays and Mondays. See schedule and buy tickets at piercecountywa.gov/1793/ferry.

Guemes Island: The other Anacortes ferry

Driving to Anacortes can be a borderline stressful experience when a WSF trip to the San Juans is on the line. Didn’t make it through the toll booth 30 minutes before your scheduled sailing? Tough luck, you’ve lost that reservation booked sometimes months in advance. There is, however, another ferry terminal in Anacortes that will not send your blood pressure spiking on a hot summer day: the Skagit County-run Guemes Island Ferry, smack dab in the heart of the small city.

The five-minute crossing on the M/V Guemes transports up to 21 vehicles and 99 passengers to Fidalgo Island’s quieter cousin. While the topography is a bit less rugged than the island you left behind, spare an hour for the 2.5 mile round-trip hike to the Guemes Mountain. The summit rewards with panoramic views across to the San Juan Islands, Mount Baker and the North Cascades. Bring a bike for a casual 10-plus mile jaunt around the sleepy island, where cars are likely to number in the dozens, at most.

At the northern tip, beachcomb at Young’s Park and contemplate staying the night at neighboring Guemes Island Resort, which offers more than a dozen cabins, cottages, tiny houses and yurts (from $166 per night, two-night minimum). The resort has a sauna, kayaks, paddleboards, aluminum rowboats, and clamming and crabbing gear for guest use.

When you get peckish, the Guemes Island General Store — next to the ferry terminal — embraces its Skagit Valley terroir by sourcing local and organic cheese, meat and produce to bake in-house bread and serve up farm-fresh salads, sandwiches, burgers, soup and fish (9 a.m.-7 p.m. daily for groceries, full menu noon-3 p.m. Wednesdays and noon-8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday). On weekends, the store hosts live music from piano to rock ‘n’ roll, country to reggae.

Getting there: Peak-season car and driver round-trip fares start at $16.75 depending on vehicle length (from $13.50 for ages 65 and older or with disability permit). Additional or walk-on passengers $5.50 for ages 19 and older, $3.25 for ages 65 and older. Bicycle and rider $6.75 for ages 19 and up, $4.50 for ages 65 and older or disabled. There are 20 sailings Monday to Thursday, 19 sailings on Saturdays, 17 sailings on Sundays. See schedule at guemesislandferry.com.

Lummi Island: a five-minute trip to the San Juans

Tell your friends you traveled to the San Juans in five minutes from the mainland and they might wonder if you somehow found a supersonic seaplane. But Lummi Island is both very much part of the San Juan Island chain and very much only a five-minute sailing from the Lummi Reservation north of Bellingham.

The M/V Whatcom Chief zips back and forth ferrying 20 vehicles and 100 passengers, though a new electric ferry is on the horizon thanks to $25 million from the federal Department of Transportation. There are also plans to electrify the Guemes route, although the state’s $14 million allocation for a new boat will be in jeopardy if voters choose to repeal the Climate Commitment Act this November.

As my colleague Bethany Jean Clement ably chronicled on a summer visit nine years ago, Lummi Island has about five fun things to do — but that doesn’t make it any less charming. Her list included seafood at the Beach Store Cafe (chowder $13), biking the quiet roads or hiking the Lummi Island Heritage Trust preserves, hunting down an ancient petroglyph on Sunset Beach, taking a contemplative stroll in the Lummi Island Congregational Church labyrinth or at Windy Hill Sculpture Park, and touring Nettles Farm. All of these attractions persist even after the demise of the globally lauded Willows Inn, one of the destination dining establishments that inspired the dark restaurant satire “The Menu.”

To Bethany’s list I would add one more for aspiring Robinson Crusoes: Paddle five miles from the ferry terminal to the southern end of the island where the Department of Natural Resources manages 661 acres of conservation land. Clinging to the steep headlands are five boat-only campsites maintained by the Whatcom Association of Kayak Enthusiasts. At night, Bellingham’s lights twinkle in the distance, but nestled in a cove surrounded by ferns and forest, the campsites feel like you’re a castaway by choice.

Getting there: Car and driver round-trip $15 for vehicles under 11,000 pounds. Additional or walk-on and bicycle passengers $8 for ages 19 and older. There are 36 sailings Monday to Friday, 19 sailings on Saturdays, 18 sailings on Sundays. See schedule at lummi-island.com/ferry.