Ferries from Edmonds

Edmonds to Kingston is the north Sound crossing that exists to keep you out of Seattle. 26 sailings, thirty minutes, and for anyone travelling between the northern suburbs and the Olympic Peninsula it removes an hour of city traffic in each direction.

The crossing

Edmonds to Kingston takes about 30 minutes, with 26 sailings in our timetable and 52 across the terminal in both directions. Operated by Washington State Ferries.

⚠ The alternative is the Tacoma Narrows, and it is very long

Without this crossing, getting from Edmonds to the Kitsap Peninsula by road means driving south through Seattle and Tacoma, over the Narrows Bridge, and back north — most of the way round Puget Sound.

Thirty minutes of water against roughly two hours of motorway is why this route runs at commuter frequency despite serving two comparatively small towns.

Where the terminal is

At the foot of Main Street in downtown Edmonds, with the Sounder commuter rail station and the Amtrak platform immediately beside it. Very few ferry terminals anywhere sit this close to a mainline railway.

That combination makes walking on genuinely practical from Seattle or Everett without a car.

Vehicle reservations

This route does not use the reservation system that covers the San Juans and Port Townsend. Boarding is by arrival order, which on a summer Friday afternoon means the queue is the schedule.

The town

Edmonds has a small walkable centre, a beach and an underwater park at the old ferry dock site popular with divers. It is about twenty-five minutes north of Seattle by rail.

Timing

Two directional peaks — westbound Friday afternoon and eastbound Sunday evening — sit on top of the ordinary weekday commuter pattern. Midweek midday is the easy window.