Does anyone know Edmonds, WA?

I might be going there for a conference this fall. For a few days, is it workable to use public transport (esp. since I'd be in the conference most of the time) or should I plan to rent a car? Is there anything of note to see in town or on that side of Seattle? TIA.

9 years ago

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7 replies

Latest reply was from Laura (rhubarbgirl)

fern

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Lucky you - Edmonds is lovely. My parents live in the next town north, so I've never stayed in Edmonds but have been there for restaurants & to visit the waterfront dog park :). It has a small downtown and nice waterfront/boardwalk. Edmonds is very walkable (depending on how they set up the conference), and there is a commuter train to Seattle (the Sounder), but the schedule is very much commuter-based.
If I had free time in Edmonds, I might take the ferry to Kingston & back. It doubles as a whale-watching boat (orcas) if you are lucky and the Sound is just beautiful.
I don't know about public transportation for these, but my parents would guide you to visit the little historic Mukilteo Lighthouse (heavily biased - they volunteer there): the lighthouse is fun and has a little museum & popular waterfront park. They also encourage all visitors to do the Boeing tour, which is incredible.

9 years ago

Aida

Veteran

Laura, Edmonds is small though the waterfront area is quite lovely. If you're in town for a couple of days I getting a car might be better IF you plan to head into Seattle; crossing the county lines can a bit of a pain via public transport, though it can certainly be done. The commuter train is a good option, but as Fern said it's work-schedule based and doesn't run nearly as often as it should. If you're planning to stay in the North Sound area I don't think a car would be necessary.

This side of Seattle is very nature-y, so if you're into that sort of thing there's lots of good options. I live two towns north of Edmonds, and can second the ferry (pretty much all of the ferry trips around here are beautiful!) as well as the Mukilteo Lighthouse (super cute, and lots of kites on the beach there plus some yummy local seafood and brewhouse); the ferry at Mukilteo will take you to a little island (Whidbey), which I think has bus transport as well and there are some cute towns over there along with Deception Pass (a couple hikes around here) and Fort Casey which are both interesting.

If you want shopping your best bet is to go into Seattle OR to hit the large outlet mall further north of Edmonds in Tulalip. Plenty of good food all around the area

9 years ago

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

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Thanks fern and Aida, for all the good info! Ooh, outlet mall *plots*

Unfortunately I'm prone to motion sickness so the ferry trips might not be a good idea, even though I'm sure they're beautiful. I've heard lovely things about Whidbey Island. I'm not yet sure whether I'll be going on my own and whether I'm going to stay any additional days, or just for the conference.

9 years ago

Aida

Veteran

Laura I have pretty strong boat motion sickness and do just fine on the ferries (they are HUGE). You can also stand right up front (or in back) and get loads of wind in your face to help with it. The ferry ride to Whidbey is short, only about 10-15 minutes. Do you know what days you're here? I might be able to come get you and take you to Whidbey, the ferry is down the street from me

9 years ago

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

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Aida, thanks for the offer, that's super-sweet! In any case I'd love to meet you if the timing works out. The conference is the first weekend in October, I believe.

9 years ago

Kari

Veteran

Laura, I am not too far away from where you'll be staying either (though at the opposite end from Aida. Edmonds isn't hard for me to get to, and like Aida said, the waterfront area is quite nice. Let me know if you would like to meet while you're here.
Commuting is possible through Community Transit from Edmonds, though I'm not sure the frequency of buses through the area you'd be staying at.
Here's the link if you want to try it. http://www.commtrans.org
Google Maps does provide some bus trip planning help through Community Transit, as well as King County and greater sound public transit (Metro, Sound Transit, etc. which are other agencies.)
The ferries are pretty large boats (holding hundreds of cars) and the crossing from Mukilteo to Whidbey Island is usually very smooth, as it's not out in open ocean. Whidbey is nice, and if you do rent a car, you could always drive farther up on the very, very long island (Coupeville is nice, which is where Fort Casey that Aida mentioned is.)
From Edmonds, you can also take a quick (30 min.) ferry, again on a smooth crossing and a large boat, directly to Kingston to reach the Olympic Peninsula if you want to explore some less suburban scenery. Port Townsend is about an hour's drive once you reach Kingston, and it's quite fun - Fort Worden State Park is very similar to Fort Casey on Whidbey Island, and downtown Port Townsend has a lot of cute local shops to explore.

9 years ago

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

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Kari, I'd love to meet you too! Thanks for all the details about touristy things and transit options. I will do some research and let you guys know when I make my plans.

9 years ago

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