Bainbridge Island Day Trip: Fun Things To Do (From a Local)
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If you’re planning a road trip anywhere in Washington, adding a Bainbridge Island day trip to your plans is an absolute must! It has everything you might want in a Washington destination: beautiful Pacific Northwest gardens and trails, breathtaking views, sea life, amazing food, art, shopping, and history.
Bainbridge Island is both the name of the island and the city, which is technically a suburb of Seattle, connected by a ferry route. Before that, the land belonged to the Suquamish tribe until 1855, when they had to relinquish their claim to the island in exchange for a reservation at Port Madison and fishing rights to the Puget Sound. Today, you can visit the Suquamish Museum on the Port Madison Reservation to learn more about the tribe’s history and visit Chief Seattle’s gravesite (true name is Chief siʔał or “Sealth”), which I definitely recommend as your first stop when you get to the island.
How to Take a Day Trip to Bainbridge Island (and Fun Things to Do)
There are a few ways to take a day trip to Bainbridge Island, depending on where you’re coming from in Washington state. Since we live in the state, we go there often and know the best ways to get there. If you’re coming from Seattle, you’ll take the Washington Ferry from downtown to Bainbridge Island, which leaves every 40 to 60 minutes and takes an hour. Be sure to arrive at the ferry loading dock 30 minutes before your scheduled departure time.
If you’re coming from Tacoma, head up Highway 16, which takes about an hour and 20 minutes, or shorter or longer than that, depending on where you’re coming from in Tacoma. This route is my favorite because of all of the cute towns, trails, views, and restaurants you can stop at. The ferry from Seattle has beautiful views of the sound and the off chance that you’ll see a whale (which actually happens a lot), so I can’t say which one is necessarily better.
If you have time in a day or can work both into your road trip, I recommend driving up to Bainbridge Island from Tacoma and then taking the ferry over to Seattle when you plan on leaving. You could also try to squeeze in some time in Olympic National Park before heading over to Seattle via the Bainbridge Island ferry, or drive to Port Angeles, WA to take the ferry to Victoria in Vancouver Island, BC to segue into a Vancouver Island road trip. Your choice!
Walk Around Bloedel Reserve
Bloedel Reserve is my favorite part of Bainbridge Island. It’s a breathtaking public garden and forest reserve with a whopping 140 acres and a total of about 2 miles of trails that take you to different parts of the reserve and up to the former home of Prentice and Virginia Bloedel (which also has stunning views of the Puget Sound right in its backyard).
The environmentalist couple bought the property in 1951, and Pentice spent his retirement focused on sculpting the land into what it is today. The history of it is pretty interesting, and I won’t spoil it all for you. The Residence has an exhibit that walks you through the detailed history where you can learn more.
Some of the things you’ll see as you wander through the reserve include:
- Meadow Trail & Sheep Sheds
- Buxton Bird Marsh & Pollinator Meadow
- Trestle Bridge & Boardwalk
- Mid Pond
- Jurassic Garden
- Birch Garden
- Rhododendron Glen
- Swan Pond & Orchid Trail
- Japanese Garden
- Moss Garden
- Reflection Pool
The entrance fee to the reserve is $26 for adults, with cheaper price options for seniors, military members, students, and children. Anyone under 4 years old gets in for free. It’s best to purchase your tickets in advance on their website because they do timed entries to make sure everyone has a peaceful experience.
Visit The Bainbridge Island Museum of Art
If you’re an art nerd or just love looking at pretty things, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art is a must-see. It’s free, but some events might require tickets. Check the website or call the museum to find out more information about certain events and exhibits before you visit.
The museum isn’t exactly a large museum, but the exhibits are all from artists in the Puget Sound region and has collections you won’t find anywhere else. The artwork below was one of my favorites that I found at the museum, called “Shahrazad”, by artist Nikki Jabbora-Barber.
Eat a Giant Pizza at Bruciato
Bruciato is located on Winslow’s Way, the main street in Bainbridge, and has the BEST pizza I’ve had anywhere north of Tacoma. It’s actually the closest I’ve had to true Italian pizza in Washington. It was very similar to the pizza we’ve had in Sicily.
We got the Salsiccia pizza, which I think is the best one they have. But I’m biased toward Italian sausage. The funny thing about this restaurant is that they give you giant scissors with every pizza. Because why use knives when scissors are so much more fun? It’s also very family-friendly, while also being chic at the same time.
Shop at Winslow’s Way and Take a Load Off at Eagle Harbor Book Company
There are tons of cute shops on Winslow’s Way and in the nooks around it. We took a stroll up and down the street after lunch to help burn off the pizza we had eaten. Eagle Harbor Book Company was perfect to take a minute to chill, find a vintage book, and look around at the cool stuff they had before we walked our cute butts back to the parking lot to continue on with our day trip.
Have a Drink at Fletcher Bay Winery Tasting Room
Fletcher Bay Winery Tasting Room is the best during the holidays because they have delicious mulled wine and various art fairs going on in the same building. I bought a super cute crow portrait from an artist who made all of her artworks with sticker tape, but cut them into different shapes to put her finished product together. They also have some fun events in the summertime too.
This one isn’t only for the winos either! They have some good non-alcoholic drinks on their menu too.
Stop in Poulsbo
If you’re driving up from Tacoma, Poulsbo will come before Bainbridge Island. Poulsbo is known as “Little Norway” due to its Norwegian past. Norwegian immigrants settled in Poulsbo in the 1880s after they were drawn there by the area’s resources and a landscape that reminded them of their native home. The downtown area maintains a Scandinavian theme to this day in honor of that history, making it absolutely picturesque.
Stop in Poulsbo and grab a pastry at the infamous Sluys Bakery and rent a kayak in the Liberty Bay Marina behind the parking lot to catch a glimpse of seals, otters, and maybe an octopus. Even if you don’t see an octopus there, you can definitely see one at SEA Discovery Center, located at the far end of the marina, on the other side of The Loft. If you end up in Poulsbo around lunch or dinner, eat at either Dalla Baia (get the claim linguine) or The Loft (get the halibut *shown below*).
Wrapping Up An Unforgettable Trip
Decide before the end of the day if you’re going to return to Seattle via Ferry, or drive elsewhere on the peninsula (or down toward Tacoma). This is important to do before it’s too late because ferry times can quickly fill up, and traffic can be finicky in certain spots.
If you end up wanting to stay the night in either Bainbridge, Poulsbo, or anywhere along the Kitsap Peninsula, there are tons of cute accommodations to find and post up at for the night (or few nights). So, there’s no need to rush to get back to the mainland.
Do you have any more Bainbridge recommendations we missed? Drop them in the comments! Also, tell us if you’ve made this trip using any of our recs and how it went!
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Dani is an entrepreneur and one of the creators of hikingandroadtrips.com. She is obsessed with everything outdoors, especially hiking, traveling and will take any opportunity to #getoutside for adventure or to just vibe with the earth.