Ferries in Washington (state)

The U.S. state of Washington is home to a number of public and private ferry systems, most notably the state-run Washington State Ferries.

Ferry routes and terminals, with ownership shown by color.[1]

History

Due to Washington's geography which features large, deep bodies of water with many peninsulas and islands, ferries are a natural means of connecting communities in the region.

Washington State Ferries

Washington State Ferries, owned and operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), serves communities on Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands. It is the largest fleet of passenger and automobile ferries in the United States and the third largest in the world. The Keller Ferry, which runs across the Columbia River in Eastern Washington is also operated by the WSDOT, but not under the same agency.

WSDOT Ferries
Route name Terminals State route designation[2] Annual Ridership[3] Annual Vehicles Carried[3] Notes
Anacortes–Sidney BC Sidney, British Columbia Friday Harbor, San Juan Island Anacortes
SR 20 Spur		 123,001 42,589
  • Reservations Required
  • Only route that operates internationally
  • Route does not operate in Winter (open mid-March to mid-December)
Anacortes–San Juan Islands Friday Harbor, San Juan Island 2,009,438 947,064
  • Reservations recommended
  • Not all trips serve all island terminals.
Lopez Island
Shaw Island
Orcas Island
Interisland Friday Harbor, San Juan Island Orcas Island Shaw Island Lopez Island
  • Walk-on passengers are not charged a fare on this route.
Port Townsend–Coupeville Port Townsend Coupeville, Whidbey Island SR 20 819,285 372,130
  • Reservations recommended
Mukilteo–Clinton Clinton, Whidbey Island Mukilteo SR 525 4,073,761 2,234,650
Edmonds–Kingston Kingston Edmonds SR 104 4,114,181 2,127,315
Seattle–Bainbridge Island Winslow, Bainbridge Island Seattle (Colman Dock) SR 305 6,429,853 1,929,617
Seattle–Bremerton Bremerton Seattle (Colman Dock) SR 304 2,739,926 673,815
Fauntleroy–Vashon Vashon Island West Seattle (Fauntleroy) SR 160 3,059,587 1,738,721
  • All three services operated together as a "triangle route."
Fauntleroy–Southworth Southworth West Seattle (Fauntleroy)
Southworth–Vashon Southworth Vashon Island 200,672 109,548
Point Defiance–Tahlequah Tahlequah, Vashon Island Tacoma (Point Defiance) SR 163 812,786 473,924
Keller Ferry Clark Colville Indian Reservation SR 21       ? ~159,000

Other ferries in Washington

Publicly operated

Private

Many private ferries exist to serve residents of islands throughout Puget Sound and beyond into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. For example:

  • High-speed catamarans, geared to tourists, run from Seattle to Victoria, British Columbia, and are operated by Victoria Clipper.
  • Black Ball Transport operates the M/V Coho auto/passenger ferry between Port Angeles and Victoria.[9]
  • The M/V Charlie Wells crosses Case Inlet from the Key Peninsula (south of Vaughn, Washington) to Herron Island, a privately owned and operated island.
  • Hat Express operates Thursday to Sunday between the Everett Marina and Gedney (Hat) Island Marina.[10]

Passenger-only
King County Water Taxi and Downtown Seattle

Defunct
  • From 2004 to April 2007, a private company, the Kitsap Ferry Co., provided passenger-only ferry service between Bremerton and Seattle, during weekday commute times. The service was canceled due to high costs and lack of support from Kitsap Transit, whose district voters failed to pass a sales tax increase for the foot ferry.
  • The most recent run between Kingston and Seattle, called Aqua Express, shut down after two years of unprofitable service. Port of Kingston's SoundRunner service operated Spirit of Kingston between Kingston and downtown Seattle, but it too has ceased operations and the Spirit of Kingston has been purchased by the King County Ferry District. West Seattle to the Seattle central business district and Bremerton to Seattle have been other passenger-only routes attempted by private enterprise.
  • The M/V El Matador crossed the channel of Grays Harbor, from Ocean Shores to Westport during summer months. It was discontinued in 2008 due to the fact that the Ocean Shores Marina has not been dredged, and the vessel is unable to enter without having problems.[13]
  • Vessels geared to tourists ran from Port Angeles to Victoria, British Columbia, and were operated by Victoria Express until it ended its passenger service in 2010.
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References
  1. WSDOT GIS Data Download: Published by Washington State Department of Transportation. 2017. Accessed November 10, 2018.
  2. 2004-2005 Official State Highway Map, Washington State Department of Transportation, retrieved March 15, 2008
  3. "WSDOT Ferries Division- overview and fact sheet" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. January 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  4. "Guemes Island Ferry". Skagit County, Washington. Archived from the original on 2007-10-06.
  5. "Pierce County's Ferry fleet". Pierce County, Washington. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28.
  6. "McNeil Island Ferry Schedule". Washington State Department of Corrections.
  7. "Kitsap Transit Foot Ferry". Kitsap Transit. Archived from the original on 2019-02-23.
  8. "Kitsap Transit Fast Ferry". Kitsap Transit. Archived from the original on 2019-02-23.
  9. Coho ferry
  10. Hat Island Community (2009). "Ferry Info". Retrieved 20 September 2009.
  11. "King County dives into foot ferries", Seattle Times November 14, 2007 (accessed May 31, 2008)
  12. http://www.ladyofthelake.com/index.php?page_id=1
  13. "Ocean Shores-Westport summer ferry service grounded", The Daily World via The Seattle Times, Aberdeen, Washington, April 16, 2008, archived from the original on 2014-01-09
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