Vashon Island, Washington
November 8, 2020
On a beautiful Sunday in November I visited Vashon Island for the entirety of five hours. On this trip, I was joined by one of my adventure buddies, Karol. While we were not there long, we were able to drive around the majority of the 36 square mile island and stop at several of the key attractions. I had Vashon Island flagged for a visit on my map for quite awhile. Mainly because visiting Puget Sound islands, and taking ferries to those islands, has become a hobby. But also because a Seattle acquaintance of mine grew up on Vashon Island and I was intrigued to see what it was like. And, maybe most importantly, because I heard the island offers a great view of Mount Rainier on a clear day.
Vashon Island is located about 15 miles southwest of Seattle in the Puget Sound. The catch is that the island is only accessible by boat. Washington State Ferries serves as the primary transportation to and from the island and mainland Washington. From Seattle, the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal provides you with a quick, 30 minute ferry ride to the island. In total it took us about 90 minutes to travel from home to island life. On this day, the sky was clear blue and the ferry ride gave us great views of the Olympic Range and Mount Rainier on the horizon.
Vashon Island is located about 15 miles southwest of Seattle in the Puget Sound. The catch is that the island is only accessible by boat. Washington State Ferries serves as the primary transportation to and from the island and mainland Washington. From Seattle, the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal provides you with a quick, 30 minute ferry ride to the island. In total it took us about 90 minutes to travel from home to island life. On this day, the sky was clear blue and the ferry ride gave us great views of the Olympic Range and Mount Rainier on the horizon.
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The ferry disembarks on the northern tip of the island. After driving off the ferry onto the main road, you run right into the downtown area within a few short miles. The area is a small, old-fashioned downtown with several blocks of shops and restaurants. We parked and walked around for a bit to get a feel of the island before settling on lunch at Snapdragon Bakery and Café.
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One of the best aspects of my adventures is when something unexpectedly awesome happens. On this day it was stumbling into the Snapdragon Bakery and Café and an unreal art exhibit inside. The café devotes one room to a rotating art exhibit and the current one was something that, well, I just can't explain. It was so strange, yet so cool and unexpected. Eating lunch in the middle of this experience was absolutely surreal and Karol and I had a blast (plus the food and hot toddy were great). Highly recommend a stop when visiting Vashon Island!
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After finishing lunch we headed out driving around the island. Our main destination was Point Robinson Park on Maury Island (which is actually attached to Vashon Island as a peninsula). Taking a short wooded path down the beach we were rewarded with the Mount Rainier views I was hoping for. Although it was sunny, the beach was cold and extremely windy. No lingering this time. As we drove back toward the ferry we stopped again in downtown at Camp Colvos Brewing Company. A beer always hits the spot at the end of a good day's adventure!
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Although my time on Vashon Island was short, I enjoyed the artsy feeling to the community. I was left with the impression that "this is a cool spot". Ultimately, there is not a lot to do on Vashon Island - so a day trip from Seattle is the perfect length in my opinion. You can see just enough to get a feel for the community, do some exploring, and enjoy yourself in the process. To read about other Washington ferry routes, check out my Have a Ferry Good Time blog post.