camping

View of Deception Pass bridge in the far distance, looking across the water from near Deception Pass Marina

3-day Car-free Vacations Around Washington state

I’m away this week so I’m scheduling a few quick posts sharing some of the car-free content I’ve found around the web in my research for The Transit Trekker Manual.

Here’s an old post from The Sightline Institute asking for car-free vacation ideas, with a bunch of comments offering up suggestions and experiences. Not surprisingly, the San Juan Islands and Port Townsend make a lot of appearances.

All of my vacations are car-free because I don’t have a driver’s license (fun, random fact: for some reason the WADOL styles this “driver license.”). But it’s interesting to see the interest even 15 years ago for car-free recreation options….

The photo above is from my March 2021 transit trek to Deception Pass on Whidbey Island.

Quick Guide to Island County Transit Treks

Close up of stained glass window, looking out from a camping cabin at Camano Island State Park, into the trees around the park.

When I posted the quick guide to Whatcom County transit treks recently, I noted how smaller transit agencies seem to be ahead of the game when it comes to featuring transit-accessible recreation info on their websites compared to larger transit systems here in Washington state. Island Transit is no exception. Their guides also include separate links highlighting some accessible (to wheeled mobility devices) trails reachable by transit on the Northern part of Whidbey Island and Southern Whidbey.

I like how the guides are organized, breaking the county down by region, which makes it a little less overwhelming. Whidbey in particular is a looooooong island and is better acclimated to in parts if you aren’t already familiar with it.

Pro-tip: The Camano guide doesn’t note that there is a volunteer-run shuttle service based at Cama Beach State Park that you may be able to ride to Camano Island State Park, just a short distance away. Camano Island SP is also an easy bike ride (a tad hilly, but not for long) or a mostly-pleasant hike from Cama Beach, with a segment that runs alongside the road connecting the parks, sometimes closer and sometimes farther from the road.

Heads up that Island Transit does not currently have any Sunday service. Good news: sometime in spring of 2023 the agency will begin expanding service, including adding Sunday schedules on some routes. The expansion is likely going to make Whidbey and Camano two of the easiest weekend transit trek destinations from the Puget Sound region.

Two small buses (think van-sized) pulled up at a small transit station on Camano Island. There is a fire department building in the background and the sky is bright, bright blue with just a few puffs of clouds low in the sky. A few tall leafless trees are scattered in the background.

Top image: Looking out the window of a cabin at Camano Island State Park. Copyright Transit Trekker 2022.

Bottom image: Island Transit buses at Terry’s Corner, the main transit hub on Camano Island. Copyright Transit Trekker 2022.