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Washington State Ferries

Washington State Ferries runs 38 crossings listed here, 3,697 sailings a week, busiest at Shaw Island, Orcas Island and Friday Harbor (San Juan Island). The most frequent is Mukilteo to Clinton (Whidbey Island).

Book on their site
38
routes
3,697
sailings a week
21
vessels
Seattle, Washington
based in

What to know

  • Under-19s ride free, but a teenager driving a vehicle pays the adult vehicle-and-driver fare.
  • Seniors aged 65 and over and riders with disabilities get reduced fares, bought in person with proof of eligibility.
  • Drivers should be in line at the tollbooth at least 20 minutes before sailing on most routes; walk-ons should be aboard 5 minutes before.
  • Since 1 March 2026 card payments carry a 3% surcharge, which cash or an ORCA card loaded elsewhere avoids.
  • From 1 May to 30 September a peak-season surcharge applies to full-fare vehicle and driver tickets.

Checked on against wsdot.wa.gov.

About Washington State Ferries

Run by Washington's transport department as part of the state highway network, this system doubles as commuter transit: its own fact sheet ranks it among the largest transit systems in the state. Mukilteo to Clinton on Whidbey Island heads the list in our data, with 263 sailings each way every week, each taking 20 minutes; the Fauntleroy–Vashon run and Edmonds to Kingston, 164 each way at 30 minutes, come next. Seattle has two routes, to Bainbridge Island at 35 minutes and to Bremerton at 60.

The San Juan Islands work differently. Sailings from Anacortes call at Lopez, Shaw, Orcas and Friday Harbor in varying order, so a given pair of terminals can take from 10 minutes to over two hours depending on the stops. Only two routes take vehicle reservations, Port Townsend–Coupeville and the San Juan Islands service from Anacortes; everywhere else, cars load first come, first served.

On most routes a walk-on ticket covers the round trip, so passengers pay in one direction only; Port Townsend–Coupeville is the exception, and the international service to Sidney, British Columbia, is suspended.

38 crossings

Routes they sail

Ordered by how often each crossing runs.

MukilteoClinton (Whidbey Island)
00:0501:0505:0505:35+36 more, last 23:30
263 a week

Timetable published to 19 Sep

fromUS$7.10
Clinton (Whidbey Island)Mukilteo
00:3504:4005:0505:30+36 more, last 23:30
263 a week

Timetable published to 19 Sep

See times
Fauntleroy (West Seattle)Vashon Island
01:0505:0505:1005:45+81 more, last 23:50
209 a week

Timetable published to 19 Sep

fromUS$7.60
Vashon IslandFauntleroy (West Seattle)
00:1504:0504:3004:40+76 more, last 23:00
191 a week

Timetable published to 19 Sep

No farein this direction
EdmondsKingston
00:4505:3506:1507:10+22 more, last 23:45
164 a week

Timetable published to 19 Sep

fromUS$11.35
KingstonEdmonds
00:1504:4505:3006:25+22 more, last 23:10
164 a week

Timetable published to 19 Sep

See times

32 more crossings

Before you sail

Sailing with a US ferry line

Boarding, baggage and vehicle rules apply across the network, not just to one operator.

All guides