The Ferry to Bainbridge Island

The 35-minute ferry with the skyline view, a walkable harbor town, and one of America’s great gardens at the island’s quiet end.

The short version

• Washington State Ferries crosses from Colman Dock to Bainbridge in 35 minutes, sailings roughly hourly — schedules at wsdot.com/ferries. Walk-on fares are collected in the Seattle direction only, so the ride home is a formality: just walk aboard.
• The crossing is the cheapest skyline cruise in America — stand on the stern deck leaving Seattle and the city composes itself behind the wake, Rainier photobombing on clear days.
• Winslow, the harbor town at the dock, runs on one walkable street: bookstore, bakeries, tasting rooms pouring island wine, and the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art at the head of the hill with free admission.
• Bloedel Reserve fills 150 acres of the island’s north end with woodland walks, a moss garden, a Japanese garden, and a reflection pool of absurd serenity — open Tuesday through Sunday with timed entry booked at bloedelreserve.org; it is a short cab or island-bus ride from the dock.
• The Japanese American Exclusion Memorial near Eagle Harbor marks where, in March 1942, Bainbridge residents became the first community in the country removed under Executive Order 9066 — a quiet cedar wall of names, a short walk from town, worth your unhurried attention.

Serious Day Tour Man saysStand outside on the deck for the first five minutes of the crossing or you have wasted the best free view in Seattle — the skyline assembles itself off the stern and waits for your camera. Book Bloedel’s timed entry before you sail, not from the dock, and remember it closes Mondays. The fare gate only exists on the Seattle side; don’t panic at the free ride home.

Getting there

Walk to Colman Dock at Pier 52, buy a walk-on ticket, and board — 35 minutes later you are on the island, no car required. Boats run roughly hourly through the day and evening. Winslow’s main street begins a five-minute walk uphill from the terminal. For Bloedel Reserve at the island’s north end, grab a cab or the local bus from the dock — it is about 15 minutes away, and the timed ticket should already be on your phone.

The day

Catch a mid-morning boat from the stern rail, then walk up into Winslow for coffee and the bookstore’s opinionated tables. If gardens are the day’s anchor — and they should be — head to Bloedel for your timed slot: two hours of moss, meadow, and the Japanese garden’s raked calm, paced by trail markers that discourage hurrying, which is the point. Back in Winslow, a late lunch and the art museum’s free galleries, then the Exclusion Memorial’s cedar wall along Eagle Harbor — ten minutes of history that reframes the pretty town around it. Ferry home at golden hour, when the skyline crossing runs its lights up for you.

When to go

April through October for deck weather and Bloedel in bloom — the moss garden peaks in spring, the meadows in high summer, the maples in late October. Winter crossings are moody and the gardens go skeletal-beautiful, with far fewer people and the same closed Mondays. Summer weekend boats fill with bikes and strollers; weekdays sail easy.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you get to Bainbridge Island from Seattle?
Washington State Ferries from Colman Dock at Pier 52 — 35 minutes, roughly hourly, walk-on friendly. Fares are collected only westbound from Seattle; the return boards free.

Do you need a car on Bainbridge?
Not for Winslow, which starts at the ferry ramp. Bloedel Reserve needs a short cab or local bus ride north; bringing a car means queueing at Colman Dock and misses the walk-on ease.

Is Bloedel Reserve worth the trip?
It’s the best garden within reach of Seattle — 150 acres of woodland, meadow, moss, and the famous reflection pool. Timed entry, closed Mondays; book before you board the ferry.

What is the Japanese American Exclusion Memorial?
A memorial wall at Eagle Harbor marking March 30, 1942, when Bainbridge’s Japanese American community became the first in the US forcibly removed under Executive Order 9066. It is free, close to town, and worth a respectful half hour.

Is the ferry ride worth it just for the views?
Entirely — 35 minutes each way with the skyline, the Sound, and on clear days Rainier. Many Seattleites ride it as an outing in itself; the island lunch is the alibi.