Puget Sound in
Washington State
Jump to ferry systems in the Greater Puget Sound
Jump to Ferry loop tours of the Greater Puget Sound
Puget
Sound is one of the most unique bodies of water in the world.
Water and tidal flows from the Pacific Ocean enter Puget Sound from two
sources, the 80 mile long by 15 mile wide Strait of Juan de Fuca which runs
between the Olympic Peninsula and southern end of Vancouver Island. The other source is through the narrow
channels around the north end of Vancouver Island over 250 miles to the north.
Technically Puget Sound is the
portion of the inland waters south of the Strait of Juan de Fuca in central
Washington State. The waters to the
north of the strait are called the San Juan Islands in Washington State and in
British Columbia, Canada the area is called the Gulf Islands. Farther north is the Straight of
Georgia. For simplicity we are going to
call all of these inland waters the “Greater Puget Sound”. We hope you don’t mind our lack of technical
correctness to opt for simplicity.
Access to the Greater Puget Sound for visitors to the area
There are hundreds of ways to
access Puget Sound from taking a ride on a ferry to renting your own yacht and
cruising the sound. Along the shore
there are hundreds of parks, resorts, charter boats, and whale watching tours
on the Greater Puget Sound. With few
exceptions, the main one being the 20 mile wide by 150 mile long Strait of
Georgia, most of Puget Sound is made up of channels and straits that are only
around five miles wide. There are
thousands of islands in the Greater Puget Sound. This means that there are thousands of miles of coastline on the
mainland and on islands.
Driving
along the Greater Puget Sound
There are only two highways in
Washington State that actually follow the shore. The first is Chuckanut Drive (WA highway 11) which runs along the
shore between Burlington and Bellingham.
The other is US Highway 101 along Hoods Canal from Olympia to Port
Townsend. Most other highways that
follow the Sound only give you a peak at the Sound now and then.
The
ferries on the Greater Puget Sound
By far the simplest and most
available way to get a feel of the sound is to take a ferry ride. You can park and walk on for a round trip
for the best price, you can include a ferry ride in your route, or you can take
one of the ferry circle routes explained below. There are three major ferry systems or routes serving the Greater
Puget Sound plus several counties run ferries to specific islands.
Washington
State Ferries.
The largest ferry fleet in the
world is run by Washington State on Puget Sound. The easiest way to get a real feel is to pick one of the many
routes across the sound, into the San Juan Islands, or to Vancouver
island. There are ferry runs out of
Seattle and Edmonds to the Olympic Peninsula.
There is a ferry from Mukilteo to Whidbey Island and from Anacortes to
the San Juan Islands and Vancouver Island in Canada. All of these ferries allow you to walk on as a passenger and ride
round trip. Their web site is: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/index.cfm
The
M. V. Coho
On the north end of the Olympic
Peninsula, Black Ball Transport runs the car and passenger ferry Coho between
Port Angeles and Victoria, BC, Canada across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. In the summer there are four sailings a day
and in the winter there are two sailings. Their web site is: http://www/northolympic.com/coho/
The
BC Ferries
The British Columbia (Canada) government runs a fleet of ferries in the Canadian Waters. Most routes are from the mainland to Vancouver Island. Most of their ferries are large vessels but they also have some specialty ferries and smaller inter-island ferries. Their web site is: http://www.bcferries.bc.ca/
Puget
Sound using ferry routes
Whidbey Island, deception
pass bridge, and the Clinton / Mukilteo Ferry (this trip can be made in one
day): This trip
begins in Seattle on Interstate-5. You
head north 60 mi. on I-5 to Burlington
(just north of Mount Vernon). From
Burlington you had west on WA-20 to Whidbey Island and the City of Oak
Harbor. You will cross over the famous
Deception Pass Bridge when you go onto Whidbey Island. You travel 54 miles down the island to
Clinton where you catch a Washington State ferry to Mukilteo. From Mukilteo it is about 5 mi. east to I-5
and 30 mi. south to Seattle where you started from.
Links to more information about this loop:
Washington State Ferries: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/index.cfm
Whidbey
Island, the Keystone / Port Townsend ferry, Hood Canal Bridge, Kitsap
Peninsula, and the Seattle Ferries loop (a two day trip): This loop starts in Seattle on
Interstate-5. You head north 60 mi. on
I-5 to Burlington (just north of Mount Vernon). From Burlington you had west on WA-20 to Whidbey Island. You will cross over the famous Deception
Pass Bridge when you go onto Whidbey Island.
You will drive about 20 mi. south on Highway 20 to Coupeville. Coupeville is easy to find because there is
a pedestrian overpass over highway 20 and a stop light just past the
overpass. Turn right at the light and
go about 10 miles to the Keystone ferry landing of Washington State
Ferries. Take the ferry to Port Townsend. Port Townsend is a historic port city that
has restored many of its 1850’s buildings and you may want to spend the night
here. From Port Townsend you head south on WA-19 to the Hoods Canal Bridge.
From the Hood Canal Bridge you have three Washington State Ferry options
to get back to Seattle:
1. You can head to Kingston and
take the Kingston / Edmonds ferry and then drive south about 15 miles to
Seattle.
2. You can head to Bainbridge
Island on WA highway 3 then WA-303 and take the Bainbridge / Seattle ferry
3. You can head to Bremerton on
WA-3 and take the Bremerton / Seattle ferry.
4. The forth option is to drive
south through Bremerton to Gig Harbor and take the Tacoma Narrows bridge back
to I-5 and drive a little over 30 mi. north to Seattle.
Links that will assist you on this loop:
Washington State Ferries: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/index.cfm
The Seattle / Bainbridge ferry – Hood Canal
Bridge – The Port Angeles / Victoria ferry – The Victoria / San Juan Islands /
Anacortes ferry – Burlington – Seattle
loop (a 3 day plus trip): This loop starts in Seattle taking the Bainbridge Island
ferry. Once on Bainbridge island you
take WA-305 north to WA-3 and take WA-3 to US-101 north to Port Angeles. You
will probably want to spend your first night in Port Angeles. On your second day you will take the ferry
MV Coho to Victoria. You will probably
want to spend your second night or more in Victoria. On your third day you will drive to Sidney where you will board a
Washington State Ferry, which goes through the San Juan Islands to
Anacortes. It is then about 90 miles
back to Seattle.
Links for more information on this loop:
Washington State Ferries: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/index.cfm
Black Ball Transportation – MV Coho:
http://www/northolympic.com/coho/
Victoria BC Chamber of Commerce:
http://www.gvcc.org/index.html
Seattle to Anacortes – The Anacortes /
Victoria ferry – Victoria, BC, Canada – The Swartz Bay / Tsawwassen via BC
Ferries, to Blaine border crossing, Seattle via I-5 (this is a two day
trip): This
loop starts with a drive of about 90 miles north on Interstate-5 from Seattle
to Anacortes. From Anacortes you take
the Washington State Ferry to Victoria.
You will want to spend at the very least one night in the Victoria
area. The following day you will want
to proceed to Swartz Bay and take a BC Ferry to Tsawwassen. From Tsawwassen
you will drive east to Canada Highway 99, then south to the Blaine Border
Crossing into the US and then proceed 110 miles south to Seattle on Interstate-5
(Canadian-99 and Interstate-5 are the same road).
Links for more information on this loop:
Washington State Ferries: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/index.cfm
Victoria BC Chamber of Commerce:
http://www.gvcc.org/index.html
BC Ferries: http://www.bcferries.bc.ca/
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