This ride begins from the Tacoma Amtrak station. Whether you’re coming from Portland or Seattle, Tacoma is the perfect place to start a ride. In fact, I recommend spending a day here to take in Stadium Highschool, Chihuly Glass Museum, and Point Definace among other things. I’ve stayed at both the Murano Hotel, which has its own glass exhibit on every floor of the hotel and the McMenamins Lodge, which is in the center of Tacoma’s bustling new restaurant district.

If you choose to just bust through to Seattle today, you can still enjoy the waterfront riding along Point Ruston and Old Tacoma before catching the ferry to Vashon Island. As is common with ferry landings on islands, there is a bit of a hill climb once you arrive at Vashon island, but the ride levels out for the rest of the way.

There are two potential stops along the highway that runs up the center of the island. I like the Vashon Island Coffee Roastery, but if you’re riding through closer to lunch time, stop in the uptown area, a little further north. There are several restaurants, and you can get a feel for the local hippie vibe of the island.

Once you get close to the northern ferry terminal, you’ll see a sign directing bikes to the left (103rd Ave SW). Head this way to avoid boarding the ferry with automobiles. From the north terminal, ferries go to different destinations so be sure to choose Fauntleroy. There is also a passenger only ferry directly to Seattle, but bikes are not allowed.

Once you get to Fauntleroy, enjoy the ride around the shoreline of West Seattle through the town of Alki beach. This is a great stop for ice cream or a meal depending on your schedule. Once you come around to the east side of the West Seattle peninsula, you’ll be greeted with spectacular views of Seattle. Just a little further is the water taxi landing.

While you can cycle over the West Seattle Bridge to downtown, it’s not a very attractive ride, so I recommend adding one more ferry to your trip. While waiting for the Water Taxi, you can try some delicious Hawaiian food at Mairnation.

Once in Seattle, you can choose to spend the night (or more) there. I usually stay at the American Hotel hostel in the international district, or you may choose to spend the night on Bainbridge Island. The water taxi shares the same terminal as the Bainbridge ferry so it’s easy to simply continue your trip to Bainbridge.