Bainbridge Island is an island city in the Puget Sound of Washington state, just across the Agate Pass Bridge from Kitsap Peninsula. It is a 35-minute ferry ride from downtown Seattle.
Understand
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Bainbridge Island is a predominantly white, highly educated, and — as a by-product of isolated island life — culturally and socially sheltered community. The island was a poets' commune in the 1970s and 1980s, when many West Coast artists, poets, and musicians converged to bask in the island's serene environment. Artistic and cultural events and organizations still abound, at venues like the Lynwood Theatre and The Bainbridge Performing Arts Center, which has its own improv comedy troupe, and at perennial favorite spots like Pegasus Coffee and The Harbour Pub. There is a refreshing alternative scene for people over 40 involving yoga, martial arts, and social activism.
The island is becoming increasingly gentrified, with many retirees settling down.
Local information
[edit]- City of Bainbridge Island website
Get in
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By car
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State Route 305 (SR-305) crosses the Agate Pass Bridge from the Kitsap Peninsula near Suquamish to the north end of the island.
By ferry
[edit]- 1 Washington State Ferries, 270 Olympic Dr SE (Winslow Way E & Olympic Dr SE (WA-Hwy 305)), ☏ +1 206-464-6400, toll-free: +1-800-843-3779. Offers direct service from the downtown Seattle Ferry Terminal (Pier 52) for both pedestrians and autos. 35 minutes one way; departures every 40-65 minutes.
By boat
[edit]- 2 The Harbor Marina, 233 Parfitt Way SW, ☏ +1 206-550-5340. Guest moorage is available with free showers, laundry facilities, water, electrical (30 amp), phone and cable TV and pump-out station. $30-45 per night depending on length includes electrical.
By public transit
[edit]- Clallam Transit #123, ☏ +1 360-452-4511, toll-free: +1-800-858-3747. Bus route #123 provides a direct route between the Bainbridge Ferry Terminal and Port Angeles via Poulsbo, Discovery Bay, US-101 @ Jamestown, and Sequim. $10 o.w.
- Jefferson Transit (JT) #7[dead link] ... connects Poulsbo North Viking Transit Center to Port Townsend via Port Ludlow. From the Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal take Kitsap Transit #390 to North Viking Transit Center in Poulsbo and transfer to JT #7
- Sound Transit Link Light Rail 1 Line goes to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport from the Pioneer Square Station (nearest to the ferry terminal) in downtown Seattle.
Get around
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The ferry terminal is the transportation hub. There are usually cabs and buses that meet each ferry. It is a short walk into Winslow, the primary shopping district on the island.
By public transit
[edit]- Kitsap Transit, ☏ +1 360 479-6962, toll-free: +1-800-501-7433, [email protected]. Kitsap Transit offers public transit services to Silverdale via Poulsbo Junction P&R (333, weekdays only); and North Viking Transit Center in Poulsbo (390) from the Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal. During weekday afternoons passengers can transfer from the 333 bus to the 301 bus to continue towards Bremerton from Silverdale. At other times passengers transfer from the 390 bus to the 301 bus in North Viking Transit Center. Check schedules. full fare $2 and is part of the regional ORCA network system.
- BI Ride, ☏ +1-844-4BI-RIDE (24-7433). M-F 9:30AM-3:20PM, Sa 10:30AM-4PM. A visitor-oriented bus that stops at the ferry, Lynnwood Center, and the Bloedel Reserve; additional stops can be requested by phone. Full fare $2 and is part of the regional ORCA network system.
The following Kitsap Transit routes serve as local commuter runs from the Bainbridge Ferry Terminal to other parts of Bainbridge Island during weekday afternoons and to the Ferry Terminal during the mornings for local commuters and travelers staying in B&Bs, local campgrounds, or with a local and going into Seattle for a day trip:
- 93 To Hidden Cove Rd & Hwy 305 along Manzanita Rd
- 94 To Blodel Reserve in Agate Point.
- 95 To Miller Rd & Tolo near Battle Point
- 96 To Days Rd & Phelps in Sunrise
- 97 To Lynnwood Center in Crystal Springs
- 98 To Fort Ward State Park
- 99 Bill Point to Eagle Harbor in Barkentine and Blakey Hill.
- 106 To Tolo and Battle Point at Fletcher Bay
By taxi
[edit]- A-Ward Taxi Towncar, Port Orchard based, ☏ +1 360-440-1517, +1 360-801-1235.
- Bainbridge Island Taxi, Bainbridge Island based, ☏ +1 206 842-1021. Locally owned and operated, serving Bainbridge, Poulsbo, Kingston. Silverdale, Bremerton and the Olympic Peninsula
- Best Darn Taxi, Bremerton based, ☏ +1 360-782-2378. Serving Kitsap County.
- Bumblebee Taxi, Silverdale based, ☏ +1 360 782-1966. A full service taxi company serving Kitsap County. Serves all military bases and offers flat rates and military discounts.
- First Choice Taxi, Bremerton based, ☏ +1 360 373-7903. It serves Bremerton, Kitsap County and Seatac Airport. Bremerton Ferry pickups can be arranged.
- KnM Transport, Bremerton based, ☏ +1 360 479-2273. Transporting mobility challenged clients in specially equipped vans.
- Pleades Transportation, Bainbridge Island based, ☏ +1 206 618-9630. 9AM–11:30PM. Limousine service on Bainbridge Island.
- Redtop Taxi of Kitsap, Port Orchard based, ☏ +1 360 876-4949. 24 hr.
- Taxi and Tours. Bainbridge Island: +1 206 842-7660, Kingston - Silverdale - Poulsbo: +1 360 698-7660, Bremerton: +1 360 377-9393, Port Orchard: +1 360 876-9393; 24 hour serving Bainbridge Island, Kingston, Silverdale, Poulsbo, Bremerton, Suquamish, and Port Orchard.
- White Blitz Taxi, Bremerton based, ☏ +1 360 516-0271.
By charter bus
[edit]- Janssen's Charter & Tours, 1623 Woods Rd E, Port Orchard, ☏ +1 360-871-2446.
See
[edit]Bainbridge Island has several beautiful gardens and museums open to the public.
- 1 Bainbridge Gardens, 9415 Miller Rd NE, ☏ +1 206-842-5888, fax: +1 206 842-7645. A retail garden with a long history, large selection and a small cafe for lunch.
- 2 Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, 4192 Eagle Harbor Dr (at Pritchard Park), ☏ +1 206 855-9038. Daily dawn-dusk; tours available daily 10AM-4PM (3-4 weeks advance notice required). The Memorial is on the site of the former Eagledale ferry dock where, on March 30, 1942, US Army soldiers armed with rifles fixed with bayonets forcibly removed 227 Japanese Americans men, women and children — two–thirds of them American citizens — from their homes, sent by ferry to Seattle and then to internment camps in California and Idaho. Free.
- 3 Bloedel Reserve, 7571 NE Dolphin Dr, ☏ +1 206 842-7631. Summer (Memorial Day–Labor Day): Tu-W 10AM-4PM, Th-Su 10AM-6PM. Winter: Tu-Su 10AM-4PM. An award winning garden so popular that reservations are sometimes required. A 150-acre (0.61 km2) forest garden made by the vice-chairman of a lumber company, under the influence of the conservation movement and Asian philosophy. Prentice and Virginia Bloedel wished to "capture the essence of the Japanese garden — the qualities of naturalness, subtlety, reverence, tranquility — and construct a Western expression of it". Although the Reserve includes a traditional Japanese garden, the Bloedels' approach for the rest of the property stands in contrast to that of "Japanese gardens" which achieve their effects through the use of ornament. The Bloedel Reserve has both natural and highly-landscaped lakes, immaculate lawns, woods, a rock and sand Zen garden (formerly the swimming pool where poet Theodore Roethke drowned in 1963), a moss garden, a rhododendron glen, and a Reflection Garden designed with the assistance of landscape architects Richard Haag and Thomas Church. The Bloedels' French Chateau-style home including many original furnishings, is preserved as a Visitor Center. Adults $17, seniors (65+) and military $12, students 13-college $10, children 5-12 $6, 4 and under free.
- 4 Bainbridge History Museum, 215 Ericksen Ave NE, ☏ +1 206 842-2773, [email protected]. 10AM-4PM. Delightful local museum in a 1908 Bainbridge Island schoolhouse. $4 adult, $3 concession, $10 family.
- 5 Kids Discovery Museum, 301 Ravine Lane NE, ☏ +1 206 855-4650.
- 6 Fay Bainbridge Park, 15446 Sunrise Dr NE, ☏ +1 206 842-3931. the park comprises 16.84 acres (68,100 m2) of land, including 1,420 feet (432 m) of saltwater shoreline along Puget Sound.
- 7 Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, 550 Winslow Way E, ☏ +1 206 842-4451, [email protected]. 10AM-5PM. A free local museum of contemporary art & craft of the Puget Sound Region. It's a short from the ferry terminal on the way towards town. free.
Do
[edit]Entertainment
[edit]- 1 Bainbridge Performing Arts Center, 200 Madison Ave N, ☏ +1 206-842-8569. Has its own improv comedy troupe.
- 2 Lynwood Theatre, 4569 Lynwood Center Rd NE.
Bicycling
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Bainbridge Island is a great destination for bicycles - rolling hills and spectacular scenery. During the summer you'll find bike rentals near the ferry dock.
- 3 Classic Cycle, 617 High School Rd, ☏ +1 206-842-9191. Tu-Sa 10-5PM, Su noon-4PM.
Each February the Chilly Hilly kicks off the bicycle season with a ride around the island. You can get information on this ride from Cascade Bicycle Club.
Birdwatching
[edit]The Kitsap Audubon Society has been meeting since 1972 and has a broad coalition of birders tracking and sharing sightings since then. They maintain an active website with updates of the latest sightings, suggestions on areas for birders and even a regular newsletter. They also developed a checklist of birds likely to be seen birds in the area.
The state Audubon Society developed The Great Audubon Birding Trail which includes key migration flyways. Flyways are major north-south routes of travel for migratory birds and likely areas to see birds along the route extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Fort Ward Park on Bainbridge Island is one of only a handful of areas in the region to be named to the list.
Sea kayaking
[edit]With many small bays and inlets in the area, Bainbridge Island is one of the more popular places to kayak in Puget Sound for beginners and experienced kayakers alike. Thick forests of majestic pine and deciduous trees and dozens of creeks and estuaries dot the coastline. Or just explore Kitsap's many harbor towns that cater to kayakers with shops and restaurants accessible from the water.
Organized trails offer overnight camping options and maps of appropriate and scenic travel destinations.
- Kitsap Peninsula Water Trails. The National Parks Service Named the this 'Trail of the Month' in the entire USA for the month of December 2012, PDF copies of the water trails map are available and the trail is accessible from Bainbridge Island.
Kayak rentals
[edit]- 4 Exotic Aquatics Scuba & Kayaking, 328 Madison Ave N, ☏ +1 206 842-1980. Kayak and scuba rentals.
Scuba diving
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Scuba diving the cold waters of Puget Sound takes a bit more gear and training than most warm water locations, but the rewards are incredible.
- Orchard Rocks Conservation Area (off of Fort Ward Park). The waters and bedlands of Rich Passage within a 400-yard radius of Orchard Rocks day marker are well-known to regional scuba divers. The natural bedrock and boulders provide habitats for rock associated fish and invertebrate species. Copper rockfish and quillback rockfish once were common at this site but now are rare. Brown rockfish are common as are lingcod, red Irish lord, buffalo sculpin, striped seaperch, and pile perch. Kelp greenling, painted greenling, cabezon are consistently present in the reserve. Dominant invertebrates include red rock crab, spider crabs, red sea cucumber, and orange sea cucumber. Harbor seals frequently visit the site and are often seen hauled out on the exposed rocks at low tide. California sea lions are also commonly observed at the site and may be seen hauled out on nearby navigational buoys.
- Blakely Harbor. Several popular dive sites accessible by boat including wreck diving a 70' long wooden shipwreck simply known as The Boss. To find this site go to Blakely Harbor's southern shoreline that heads out to Restoration Point. At about the midpoint of this shoreline, you will see a yellow buoy in about 50 feet of water. This is a PADI dive buoy marking The Boss which is maintained by local divers. The hull of the boat is in about 50' of water and is easily recognizable as it is covered in a field of white Plumose Anemones.
Hiking
[edit]- 5 Gazzam Lake Preserve (entrances with parking lots at end of NE Marshall Rd and end of Deerpath Ln NE). The network of trails provides views of Gazzam Lake and across Port Orchard Channel to Illahee.
- The Grand Forest. A large park/preserve with an extensive trail network that has multiple access points and parking lots, ranging from Battle Point Park (far west end of the trail system (47.659836, -122.574855)), a parking lot along Miller Rd NE (47.657004, -122.560544)), a parking lot at the curve in the south half of Mandus Olsen Rd NE (47.650477, -122.547834), a parking lot along the north half of Mandus Olsen Rd NE (47.659562, -122.547742), the end of McRedmond Ln NE (far east end of the trail system (47.654076, -122.537260)), and from other surrounding roads.
Golfing
[edit]- 6 Meadowmeer Golf and Country Club, 8530 Renny Ln NE, ☏ +1 206 842-2218. Public golf course with covered driving range.
Buy
[edit]- Bainbridge Island Farmers Market (Town Square at City Hall). Mid-Apr — mid-Sep: Sat 9AM-1PM. shop, eat, listen to great music, and enjoy one of Bainbridge Island's best traditions.
Eat
[edit]There are a variety of excellent restaurants on Bainbridge, with a full-range of cuisines and price-ranges.
- SuBI, 403 Madison Ave N, Suite #150, ☏ +1 206 855 7882. Japanese.
- San Carlos, 279 Madison Ave N, ☏ +1 206 842 1999. Family-style Tex-Mex.
- Nirvana, 403 Madison Ave N, ☏ +1 206 780 3545, [email protected]. Indian & Nepali Cuisine.
- Streamliner Diner, 397 Winslow Way E (near the ferry), ☏ +1 206 842 8595, [email protected]. W-Su 7:00AM - 3:00PM. Traditional diner fare.
- Madison Diner, 305 Madison Ave N, ☏ +1 206 842 5786. Traditional diner fare.
- Blackbird Bakery, 210 Winslow Way E, ☏ +1 206 780 1322, [email protected]. 8am-4pm.
- Teriyaki Town, 278 Winslow Way E #102, ☏ +1 206 855 1200. 11 AM–8 PM.
- Café Hitchcock, 129 Winslow Way E, ☏ +1 206 201 3369, [email protected]. 8am-4pm.
- Seabird, 133 Winslow Way East #100, ☏ +1 206 201 3789, [email protected]. Island-inspired seafood & vegetables.
- Via Rosa 11, 10320 NE Valley Rd, ☏ +1 206 451 4640. Italian.
- Carly’s Rolling Bay Cafe, 10355 NE Valley Rd, ☏ +1 206 780 6788, [email protected]. Small neighborhood coffee shop.
Drink
[edit]- 1 The Harbour Public House (The Pub), 231 Parfitt Way SW, ☏ +1 206 842-0969. 11AM to midnight. 21+. Drinks with freshly-made mixers; seasonal drinks. Consistently voted the best Fish and Chips on the island. Harbor view.
- 2 Doc's Marina Grill (Doc's), 403 Madison Avenue S, ☏ +1 206 842-8339. 8AM-midnight. Full bar and restaurant. Harbor view.
- 3 Isla Bonita, 316 Winslow Way E, ☏ +1 206 780-9644. Enormous margaritas.
- 4 Bainbridge Island Brewing, 9415 Coppertop Loop (Taxi from Winslow, just ask for The Brewery or The Coppertops.), ☏ +1 206 451-4646. M-F 2-9PM, Sa noon-9PM, Su noon-7PM. Child-friendly. Wide selection of beers brewed there as well as beers from other breweries in Kitsap County. Local music venue. Tourists are rarely encountered here due to the distance from the ferry terminal.
- 5 Bainbridge Organic Distillers, 9727 Coppertop Loop NE (same as the brewery), ☏ +1 206 842-3184, [email protected]. M-Sa 11AM-5PM. Gin, vodka, and whiskey distilled in small batches from local organic grains. Contact them to see if you can assist on a bottling day (usually Saturdays).
- Bainbridge Island Wineries Group, 12976 Roe Road, ☏ +1 206 780 0905.
- 6 Pegasus Coffee House, 131 Parfitt Way, ☏ +1 206-317-6914. Pegasus has been roasting small batches of high-quality coffee since 1979, the first coffee roaster to serve espresso over the counter in the Seattle area. Live music every Friday.
Sleep
[edit]- 1 Best Western Bainbridge Island Suites, 350 NE High School Rd (West on High School Rd from Hwy 305 (left turn if going north from the ferry terminal).), ☏ +1 206 855-9666, toll-free: +1-866 396-9666, fax: +1 206 855-9790. Check-in: 4PM, check-out: noon.
Connect
[edit]- Kitsap Regional Library Bainbridge Island, 1270 Madison Ave. N, ☏ +1 206-842-4162. This branch offers many events for children and adults alike including story time, writers club, kids movies etc.
Go next
[edit]- Seattle is to the east via Washington State Ferry
- Poulsbo and the rest of the Kitsap Peninsula is to the west via the Agate bridge.
- Blake Island State Park — Bainbridge Island is a popular boat launching point for this nearby state park that was the birthplace of Chief Seattle.
| Routes through Bainbridge Island |
| Poulsbo ← Suquamish ← | NW  SE
|
→ Ends at ferry terminal |