Bainbridge Island, WA Road Trips

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. City of Bainbridge Island website

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".

1 Bainbridge Performing Arts Center, 200 Madison Ave N, ☏ +1 206-842-8569. Has its own improv comedy troupe. (updated May 2025) 2 Lynwood Theatre, 4569 Lynwood Center Rd NE. (updated May 2025) Bainbridge Island is the birthplace of pickleball. Play on the Founders' Courts, opened in 2021 while the sport was booming nationwide. 3 Bainbridge Island Pickleball, 11299 Arrow Point Dr NE. (updated May 2026) 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. 4 Classic Cycle, 617 High School Rd, ☏ +1 206-842-9191. Tu-Sa 10-5PM, Su noon-4PM. (updated May 2025) 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. 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.

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. (updated Jun 2023) San Carlos, 279 Madison Ave N, ☏ +1 206 842 1999. Family-style Tex-Mex. (updated Jun 2023) Nirvana, 403 Madison Ave N, ☏ +1 206 780 3545, [email protected]. Indian & Nepali Cuisine. (updated Jun 2023) Streamliner Diner, 397 Winslow Way E (near the ferry), ☏ +1 206 842 8595, [email protected]. W-Su 7:00AM - 3:00PM. Traditional diner fare. (updated Jun 2023) Madison Diner, 305 Madison Ave N, ☏ +1 206 842 5786. Traditional diner fare. (updated Jun 2023) Blackbird Bakery, 210 Winslow Way E, ☏ +1 206 780 1322, [email protected]. 8am-4pm. (updated Jun 2023) Teriyaki Town, 278 Winslow Way E #102, ☏ +1 206 855 1200. 11 AM–8 PM. (updated Jun 2023) 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. (updated Jun 2023) Carly’s Rolling Bay Cafe, 10355 NE Valley Rd, ☏ +1 206 780 6788, [email protected]. Small neighborhood coffee shop. (updated Jun 2023)

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). (updated Apr 2016) 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. (updated May 2025)

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.

State Route 305 (SR-305) crosses the Agate Pass Bridge from the Kitsap Peninsula near Suquamish to the north end of the island. 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. (updated Sep 2022) 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. 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. (updated Sep 2022) Jefferson Transit (JT) #7 ... 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.

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. 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.