Cities
[edit]
Cities in Snohomish County:
- 1 Arlington
- 2 Edmonds — with a charming main street and seaside parks that frame the busy ferry terminal
- 3 Everett — home to Boeing's largest assembly factory, where many of its wide-bodied aircraft are assembled in the world's largest building.
- 4 Granite Falls
— a logging town at the head of the Mountain Loop Highway - 5 Gold Bar — where the Stevens Pass Highway enters the mountains
- 6 Lake Stevens
- 7 Lynnwood — the largest retail center north of Seattle
- 8 Marysville
- 9 Mill Creek
- 10 Monroe — home of the Evergreen State Fair
- 11 Mountlake Terrace
- 12 Mukilteo
- 13 Smokey Point
- 14 Snohomish — the Antique Capital of the Northwest
- 15 Stanwood
Island County consists of Whidbey Island and Camano Island:
- 16 Camano Island
- 17 Clinton
- 18 Coupeville - county seat of Island County
- 19 Freeland
- 20 Greenbank
- 21 Langley
- 22 Oak Harbor - largest city in Island County
Other destinations
[edit]- 1 Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve — historical features of the reserve appear to today's visitors much as they did a century ago, when New England sea captains were drawn to Penn Cove
- 2 Skykomish Valley — home to several small towns and big mountains on the way to Stevens Pass.
Mountain Loop Highway — a 52-mile scenic drive through some of the best camping and outdoors recreation in the region. This road runs between Granite Falls and Darrington on Forest Road 20.
Understand
[edit]Get in
[edit]By car
[edit]
Interstate 5 (I-5) runs north-south through Everett to Mount Vernon in Skagit County and to Seattle in King County.
Interstate 405 (I-405) splits off east from I-5 in Lynnwood and heads through the Eastside (of Lake Washington), serving Kirkland and Bellevue until rejoining I-5 at Tukwila in the south.
US Highway 2 (US-2) begins from Everett and goes east through Lake Stevens, Monroe, Sultan and Gold Bar as it crosses the Cascades towards Leavenworth and Wenatchee.
By plane
[edit]- 1 Paine Field, (PAE IATA) serves as an airport for Boeing's manufacturing and test flight activities as Boeing Field Everett. It also serves a commercial airport for Alaska Airlines from major west coast cities.
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, (SEA IATA), is still the largest airport in the area with connecting flights to all regions of the U.S. and the world, especially with frequent transpacific routes but, also to Europe, Mexico and the Middle East as well.
By boat
[edit]- Washington State Ferries (WSF) operates the following between Island and Snohomish Counties in the North Sound and to the Kitsap Peninsula in the other side of the Sound:
Coupeville (Ft Casey State Park) and Port Townsend
Edmonds and Kingston
Mukilteo and Clinton
- All Washington State ferries are for both vehicles and passengers.
Get around
[edit]By public transit
[edit] Community Transit, ☏ +1 425-353-7433, toll-free: +1-800-562-1375. Operates local and regional public transit bus routes in Snohomish County, except only local routes in Everett. Communities within the county served by this operator's routes include Arlington, Edmonds, Everett, Lynnwood, Marysville, Mill Creek, Monroe, Mountlake Terrace, Mukilteo, Snohomish, and Stanwood 
The number of the route also tells you which area of the county it serves:
- Below 100 - Everett only. Buses within the City of Everett are operated by Everett Transit
- 100s - South Snohomish County: Lynnwood, Aurora Village, Bothell, Edmonds, Mukilteo, Mountlake Terrace, Mill Creek/Silver Firs
- 200s - North Snohomish County: Arlington, Marysville, Monroe, Stanwood, Tulalip, Lake Stevens, Gold Bar, Snohomish
- 300s - Reserved for King County Metro routes serving near the King-Snohomish County line in Aurora Village, Bothell, Mountlake Terrace, Shoreline and Woodinville
- 400s - Reserved for Community Transit commuter routes to Downtown Seattle and Island Transit intercounty service to Snohomish County: Route 424 between Snohomish, Monroe, Woodinville and Seattle and Island Transit #412 from Camano Island to Everett are the only routes in this category
- 500s - Sound Transit routes operated by Community Transit are 510, 512, 513, 515, 532, 535.
- 900s - Commuter routes from the Link Light Rail 1 Line train in Lynnwood to different places in Snohomish County. They replace the 400s and 800s bus routes to/from Seattle.
- Swift - operates as bus rapid in the area to serve fewer stops (spaced further apart), along the route on frequent schedules. Routes are identified by a color then by numbers.
Sound Transit, toll-free: +1-888-889-6368. Has regional public transit routes including Sounder trains, Link light rail, and express bus in King County (e.g. Bellevue, Federal Way, Kent, Renton, Seattle), Snohomish County (e.g. Everett, Lynnwood) and Pierce County (e.g. Puyallup, Tacoma).
- Link light rail operates in Seattle, traveling north to Lynnwood and south to Angle Lake via Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on the 1 Line Train. Plans are underway to continue this route from Lynnwood to Everett.
- Sounder commuter rail service, operating weekday rush hours only, connects Seattle to Everett via Edmonds and Mukilteo on the 'N' Line train.
- Sound Transit has many convenient express bus routes that travel South (to Tacoma), East (Redmond, Bellevue), and North (Bothell, Lynnwood). Outside of the immediate Seattle-Bellevue area, many routes operate only during weekday rush hours. Check your schedules in advance, and beware of holiday service cutbacks. All Sound Transit routes have route numbers that are in the 500s.
Island Transit, ☏ +1 360-678-7771. Scheduled bus services on Whidbey Island and Camano Island. Service on Whidbey Island includes to Clinton, Coupeville, Freeland, Greenbank, Langley, Oak Harbor with off island connections to Anacortes. There are intercounty connections to Everett (412) and Mount Vernon (411C, 411W) from Island County (Whidbey Island and Camano Island). Free.
By car
[edit]All but essential for reaching the outermost suburbs and mountains. In addition to the interstates, major routes include:
US Highway 2 (US-2) begins in Everett and continues east through Lake Stevens, Snohomish, Sultan and Gold Bar in Snohomish County
State Route 99 (WA-99) parallels the west side of I-5, inking Aurora Village in Shoreline to Lynnwood and Everett
State Route 9 (WA-9) parallels the east side of I-5 from Woodinville through Snohomish and Arlington- State Route 525 (WA-525) connects the I-5/I-405 junction (exit 182 of I-5) to Keystone on Whidbey Island via Mukilteo-Clinton Ferry. From Keystone WA-20 continues back towards I-5 in Burlington via Deception Pass and Anacortes. In the other direction WA-20 goes from Keystone towards Port Townsend via Coupeville-Pt Townsend Ferry
Stanwood-Bryant Rd (WA-532) connects Camano Island and Stanwood to the I-5 corridor at exit 212.
Traffic congestion is a major problem in the Puget Sound area on all freeways and major roads. Avoid traveling during rush hour if you can, particularly along I-5 and I-405. US-2 also backs up on weekends, as people drive back home from outdoor recreation.
See
[edit]The region is a major player in the aerospace industry. Everett and Mukilteo feature aviation museums and factory tours.
Do
[edit]Hiking trails cover the mountains, particularly along US-2 in the Skykomish Valley and the Mountain Loop Highway. Whidbey Island contains the region's premier coastal parks, rich in both history and natural beauty.
The Tulalip Indian Reservation near Marysville features native gambling establishments.
Eat
[edit]Drink
[edit]Go next
[edit]- The Northwest Washington region:
- Mt Vernon and La Conner in the Skagit Valley — home of the Tulip Festival
- Bellingham — the northernmost city in the contiguous US
- North Cascades National Park — jagged peaks, deep valleys, cascading waterfalls and over 300 glaciers
- Mount Baker — a ski resort with world-record snowfall in the shadow of a volcano
- Across Stevens Pass:
- Leavenworth — a "Bavarian" village in the heart of the Cascades
- Wenatchee — "The Apple Capital of the World"
- King County — Seattle, Bellevue, Bothell, Kirkland, Shoreline, Woodinville and Redmond
- Take a ferry to the Kitsap Peninsula
- The San Juan Islands — a scattering of forested islands in the serene waters north of Puget Sound. Ferries, yachts, kayaks, and orca whales criss-cross the waters, while float planes and bald eagles soar overhead