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Whidbey Island is the largest island in
the 48 states. There are almost
60,000 residents on Whidbey Island and about half of those residents live
in rural areas and the other half live in the cities and villages on the
island.
The north end of Whidbey Island faces the
Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean 60 miles to the west. The south end of Whidbey Island is to the
east of the Olympic Peninsula and the Olympic Mountains. The Island is
about 35 miles from the Olympic Mountains to the west and about 35 miles
from the Cascade mountains to the east.
The island is in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains.
How do I get onto Whidbey Island?
There are three approaches to Whidbey Island. Basically they are from the north, south,
and west. In general, the island
runs north and south about 15 miles west of Interstate-5.
From the Seattle & Everett area
Take a Washington State Ferry from Mukilteo (southwest of
Everett) to Clinton on Whidbey Island.
Take Interstate-5 Exit 189 and head west on State Route
526 (WA-526 on this site) for about 4.5 miles. You will go through Boeings Everett
Plant.
Make a right turn onto Mukilteo Speedway and travel north
on WA-525 for two miles to Mukilteo and the Washington State Ferry Landing.
Or take I-5 Exit 182 and head west WA-525 to
Mukilteo. This approach is only
available to northbound traffic.
From Port Townsend on the Olympic
Peninsula
From Port Townsend’s waterfront, on the Olympic
Peninsula, you can take a Washington State Ferry from Port Townsend to
Keystone at the center of the western shore of the island.
From the North via the Deception
Pass Bridge
You can access the north end of the island using the
Deception Pass bridge. Take
Interstate-5 Exit 230 in Burlington and head west on State Route 20 (called
WA-20 on this website so there is no confusion between states).
Travel west on WA-20 for about 12 miles over a bridge
onto Fadalgo Island and on to the Junction of WA-20 and WA-20A. To go to Whidbey island you will need to
take a left turn at the light. If
you don’t make the turn you will go straight to Anacortes on WA-20A.
In about 6 miles you will come to the Deception Pass
Bridge and Deception Pass State Park.
The bridge crosses Deception Pass from Fidalgo Island into the park
on Whidbey Island. Ten miles further
south you will come the the City of Oak Harbor after passing Naval Air
Station Whidbey.
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