Crossing Whidbey Island

June 15, 2025

Anacortes to Port Townsend; deserted Deception Pass, our last ferry, road closures, the best fritter ever

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Today is one of our longer days, with a fair amount of climbing. Amber, Jim and I left Anacortes about 10:00 am. We planned to take the 4:15 Port Townsend ferry so we knew we had plenty of time to get there, including a lunch stop.

Jim routed us out of Anacortes on rural, winding roads that ran by a couple of small lakes and several trailheads. In all of these places, cars were parked alongside the road and people were out and about recreating.

Gorgeous small lakes just outside Anacortes

Eventually we climbed over a hill and descended to Deception Pass and the bridge. My recollection of the Deception Pass bridge from a previous tour roughly 12 years ago was that it was overrun with tourists and cars. At that time we jumped into traffic and rode across. What a difference from today! The bridge was practically deserted and there was no traffic at all. In fact, we rode across the bridge slowly, savoring the sights. Hopefully Amber’s video records the view, since we did not stop in the middle of the road to take photos.

Someone’s little slice of heaven between Anacortes and Deception Pass

My pathetic attempt to photograph the Deception Pass bridge

We continued on and arrived in Oak Harbor. Our impression was that there is not much in the way of bike infrastructure there, at least where we rode. We resorted to using the sidewalk in order to stay out of traffic.

We were not hungry so we decided to ride on in to Coupeville for lunch, before catching the ferry. At one point, RWGPS erroneously directed us through a farm, on private roads. Fortunately we found a detour. At another point, RWGPS directed us to ride on a road that was closed. But a local cyclist happened to pass us just then and he rode right through the closed barrier without hesitation. So we did as well.

Our route took us around Penn Cove right on the water’s edge. It was a stunning ride up and down the coastline with beautiful views of the bay from many different perspectives. Then a short climb over another portion of the island took us down to the ferry terminal at the edge of Coupeville.

Just before climbing over the last hill and descending to the ferry, we stopped to look at these floats in the bay which we thought were related to oyster farming? We shared an apple fritter from the Donut House in Anacortes. It was the best fritter any of us have ever tasted!

Rich is still quite ill and unable to ride, so he drove over and was waiting outside Callen’s Restaurant, just a couple hundred yards from the ferry terminal. The place was hopping, with a 30 minute wait. A sign in the window warned that they didn’t do fast food and to plan to spend a full hour dining. A fair warning to folks squeezing in a meal while waiting for their ferry.

After our terrible experience with ferry food two days ago, I was apprehensive about eating here but I was surprised and impressed by the tasty, high quality food we were served. I would highly recommend this restaurant, whether or not you are taking the ferry.

The ferry ride was short and sweet. Once disembarking we rode to the wrong motel, where, of course, we did not have reservations. Once we figured it out, we found the right place, the Harborview Inn. True to its name, it is right on one of the harbors and our 3rd story rooms look out on it. It isn’t fancy but the rooms are clean and spacious and, of course, have that great view.

Amber, Jim and I went into town to a bar/ gastropub called Anchor for dinner. The food was good, pretty reasonably priced, and the place had a friendly vibe to it. Afterwards we drove around a bit to better see the town.

Tomorrow is a short 20 mile ride to Port Ludlow, where we stayed on our first night on the road. The following day we ride back to Mary and Sandy’s house and this tour will officially be over.

Today's ride: 38 miles (61 km)
Total: 368 miles (592 km)

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