Bainbridge Island is an island city located west of Seattle and merely 35 minutes ferry ride away. It is a popular day-trip destination for Seattleites because of its proximity, stunning landscapes and an abundance of activities to keep you engaged
Abhishek and I visited Bainbridge Islands in December 2021 from Seattle. It was a rainy day that is not ideal for a place like Bainbridge. However, we didn’t let the rain dampen our explorer spirit and tried to make the most of our time here.
As I mentioned earlier, the island has many options to keep you engaged. Therefore, plan your activities before your visit. We wanted to explore a few nature trails, followed by spending our evening exploring downtown. Here’s how our day went at Bainbridge island. You can either follow our itinerary or make your own from our bucket list at the end of the article. If you need help building your itinerary, drop me a message here.
If reading is not your thing, here’s a detailed video of our day to help you plan your trip.
How to travel to and within Bainbridge Island?
Reaching Bainbridge Island
The best way to reach the island is via Washington State Ferries. The ferry starts from Pier 52 and is easily reachable via car or public transit. The ferries run the entire day at an interval of 1 hour. You can check the ferry timings here to plan your departure accordingly. Moreover, you cannot book tickets online. Therefore, try to reach 30 minutes before your ferry time to avoid last-minute availability issues.
Travelling within the island
Travelling far distances can be a bit tricky without a personal vehicle. However, if you like to traverse in public transit like us, we’ve found the right app for you. The Ride Pingo is a shuttle service app that helps you book your transit from anywhere on the island. We used this app throughout our trip, and it was so convenient. For downtown, we preferred walking as things were pretty close. Alternatively, you can bring your cars to the island and drive around.
Our itinerary
Stop 1: Fay Bainbridge Park
Our first destination was a little off-the-beat, a 17-acre camping park boarding the saltwater shoreline. The trail to the park passes through a small but dense forest with seasonal streams here and there. The park is a mix of a sand beach, grass patches and a giant wrecked ship for kids, with a great view of the Puget Sound region and the mountains. We walked by the beach for a while, searching for shells and crabs. However, we didn’t get to see the mountains as it was raining cats and dogs!
Stop 2: Eleven Winery
The Island is home to many award-winning wineries run by passionate individuals serving great wine. There are seven wineries in total. You can go on a wine tasting trail, trying out wines from each winery. A few of them also offer Vineyard tours like the Bainbridge Vineyards.
We visited the Eleven Winery, located on Day Road. A beautiful winery run by the founder Matt Albee and his wife, Sarah. It is the first carbon-neutral winery in Washington State. We went with the tasting flight ($15 per person), which lets you sample 5 wines of your choosing from an extensive list of their best wines.
Wines we tasted:
2020 Pinot Grigio
2020 White Mourvedre – Washington
2020 La Primavera
2020 Mourvedre – The Prodigy
2019 Angelica – Dessert Wine
All of the above except the first were Wine Award Winners, so we had high hopes and weren’t disappointed one bit. We both liked the dessert wine the best.
Stop 3: Downtown
The downtown is a hub of eateries and quirky shops ready to be explored. But there’s a catch! Most shops and eateries close by 6 pm. Therefore, we rushed downtown as soon as we got out of the winery.
We first visited the famous Blackbird bakery to try their coffee and other baked goods. It felt nice sipping piping hot coffee while watching people strolling around the walkway. However, I didn’t like the savoury dishes much! But Abhishek did, so I would recommend trying them once maybe you’ll find a few favourites. Next, we went to Shrivan Rug & Jewellery Gallery and bought a pair of Turkish slip-on. From here, we headed to the Winslow Mall and explored a few boutique studios selling precious stones, jewellery, home decor and clothing.
After all that walk, we headed to Bruciato to grab dinner. We ordered Funghi, a thin crust pizza topped with mushrooms, mozzarella, seasonal greens and garlic. The pizza turned out to be delicious, and we were proud of our choice! We called off the day and walked to the Ferry station to board the ferry back to Seattle.
Here’s what we have on our bucket list for our next visit:
Sights – Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, Museum of Art, Historical Museum, Battle Point Park and Fort Ward Park
Eateries – Mora Iced Creamery, Bainbridge Brewing and Pegasus Coffee house
Shops – Eagle Harbor Book Co., Zutto (Vintage and Antique store), and On tap Kombucha.
You can also make a short visit to the hidden gem Poulsbo that is 30 minutes drive from Bainbridge Island. Moreover, don’t forget to checkout my video visiting a pumpkin patch in Bainbridge island.
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