Overview
Bainbridge Island is an island city in the Puget Sound of Washington state, just across the Agate Pass Bridge from Kitsap Peninsula. It is a 35-minute ferry ride from downtown Seattle.
7 sights · 11 things to do · 11 places to eat · 7 bars & cafés · 1 places to stay
Updated from Wikivoyage on 1 October 2026 · Something wrong or missing? Improve it on Wikivoyage
Best things about Bainbridge Island
Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial
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…
Bloedel Reserve
An award winning garden so popular that reservations are sometimes required. A 150 acre forest garden made by the vice-chairman of a lumber company, under the influence of the conservation movement and Asian philosophy. …
Fay Bainbridge Park
the park comprises 16.84 acres (68,100 m2) of land, including 1,420 feet (432 m) of saltwater shoreline along Puget Sound.
Bainbridge Island Museum of Art
A free local museum of contemporary art & craft of the Puget Sound Region. It's a short walk from the ferry terminal on the way towards town.
Bainbridge Gardens
Bainbridge History Museum
Delightful local museum in a 1908 Bainbridge Island schoolhouse.
Plan your trip
Best time to visit & weather
Most comfortable: May–Sep. Summer highs reach about 78°F; winter lows dip to about 37°F. Wettest: Nov and Jan. (climate data from nearby Seattle)
Blue bars: average daily high and low (°F). Purple columns: average monthly rain and melted snow (inches).
Getting there
- From you: to see whether to drive or fly, and how long it takes.
- BFI King County International Airport - Boeing Field, Seattle — 14 mi away. Directions
- SEA Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, Seattle — 18 mi away (major hub). Directions
State Route 305 (SR-305) crosses the Agate Pass Bridge from the Kitsap Peninsula near Suquamish to the north end of the island.
Full “Get in” guide ↓Budget & where to stay
No prices are listed for this place yet. See the Sleep guide ↓ for options.
Sample 3-day itinerary
Day 1
- Morning Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Kids Discovery Museum
- Lunch SuBI
- Afternoon Bainbridge History Museum, Bainbridge Performing Arts Center
- Dinner San Carlos
- Evening Isla Bonita
Day 2
- Morning Bainbridge Gardens, Bainbridge Island Pickleball, Gazzam Lake Preserve
- Lunch Nirvana
- Afternoon Meadowmeer Golf and Country Club, Kitsap Peninsula Water Trails
- Dinner Streamliner Diner
- Evening Bainbridge Island Brewing
Day 3
- Morning Bloedel Reserve, Fay Bainbridge Park
- Lunch Madison Diner
- Afternoon Blakely Harbor
- Dinner Blackbird Bakery
- Evening Bainbridge Organic Distillers
Stops are grouped by area so each day needs little backtracking. Check opening hours before you go.
Food for you
There are a variety of excellent restaurants on Bainbridge, with a full-range of cuisines and price-ranges.
Cuisine (tap to filter)
What to ask about, for your diet
Diet labels come from each listing's description and cuisine; “likely” means the cuisine usually has good choices, not a promise. Check with the restaurant. Open the food finder
Photos
Map
Every listing with a location. Tap a pin for its Google Maps link.
Understand
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.
Local information
- City of Bainbridge Island website
Get in
By car
State Route 305 (SR-305) crosses the Agate Pass Bridge from the Kitsap Peninsula near Suquamish to the north end of the island.
By ferry
By boat
By public transit
Place Clallam Transit #123
Bus route #123 provides a direct route between the Bainbridge Ferry Terminal and Port Angeles via Poulsbo, Discovery Bay, US-101 @ Jamestown, and Sequim.
- 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.
Get around
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.
By public transit
Go Kitsap Transit
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.
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. * 95 To Miller Rd & Tolo near Battle Point * 96 To Days Rd & Phelps in Sunrise * 97 To Lynnwood Center in Crystal Springs * 98 To Fort Ward State Park * 99 Bill Point to Eagle Harbor in Barkentine and Blakey Hill. * 106 To Tolo and Battle Point at Fletcher Bay * 390 Serves as the main bus route through Bainbridge Island, between the ferry terminal and North Viking Transit Center in Poulsbo along WA-305. Operates daily.
By taxi
Place A-Ward Taxi Towncar
Place Bainbridge Island Taxi
Locally owned and operated, serving Bainbridge, Poulsbo, Kingston. Silverdale, Bremerton and the Olympic Peninsula
Place Bumblebee Taxi
A full service taxi company serving Kitsap County. Serves all military bases and offers flat rates and military discounts.
Place First Choice Taxi
It serves Bremerton, Kitsap County and Seatac Airport. Bremerton Ferry pickups can be arranged.
Place Redtop Taxi of Kitsap
Place White Blitz Taxi
By charter bus
Place Janssen's Charter & Tours
See
Bainbridge Island has several beautiful gardens and museums open to the public.
See Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial
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.
See Bloedel Reserve
An award winning garden so popular that reservations are sometimes required. A 150 acre 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". Although the Reserve includes a traditional Japanese garden, the Bloedels' approach for the rest of the property stands in contrast to that of "Japanese gardens" which achieve their effects through the use of ornament. The Bloedel Reserve has both natural and highly-landscaped lakes, immaculate lawns, woods, a rock and sand Zen garden (formerly the swimming pool where poet Theodore Roethke drowned in 1963), a moss garden, a rhododendron glen, and a Reflection Garden designed with the assistance of landscape architects Richard Haag and Thomas Church. The Bloedels' French Chateau-style home including many original furnishings, is preserved as a Visitor Center.
Do
Entertainment
Pickleball
Bainbridge Island is the birthplace of pickleball. Play on the Founders' Courts, opened in 2021 while the sport was booming nationwide.
Bicycling
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.
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.
Birdwatching
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.
Sea kayaking
With many small bays and inlets in the area, Bainbridge Island is one of the more popular places to kayak in Puget Sound for beginners and experienced kayakers alike. Thick forests of majestic pine and deciduous trees and dozens of creeks and estuaries dot the coastline. Or just explore Kitsap's many harbor towns that cater to kayakers with shops and restaurants accessible from the water.
Organized trails offer overnight camping options and maps of appropriate and scenic travel destinations.
Kayak rentals
Scuba diving
Scuba diving the cold waters of Puget Sound takes a bit more gear and training than most warm water locations, but the rewards are incredible.
Do Orchard Rocks Conservation Area
The waters and bedlands of Rich Passage within a 400-yard radius of Orchard Rocks day marker are well-known to regional scuba divers. The natural bedrock and boulders provide habitats for rock associated fish and invertebrate species. Copper rockfish and quillback rockfish once were common at this site but now are rare. Brown rockfish are common as are lingcod, red Irish lord, buffalo sculpin, striped seaperch, and pile perch. Kelp greenling, painted greenling, cabezon are consistently present in the reserve. Dominant invertebrates include red rock crab, spider crabs, red sea cucumber, and orange sea cucumber. Harbor seals frequently visit the site and are often seen hauled out on the exposed rocks at low tide. California sea lions are also commonly observed at the site and may be seen hauled out on nearby navigational buoys.
Do Blakely Harbor
Several popular dive sites accessible by boat including wreck diving a 70' long wooden shipwreck simply known as The Boss. To find this site go to Blakely Harbor's southern shoreline that heads out to Restoration Point. At about the midpoint of this shoreline, you will see a yellow buoy in about 50 feet of water. This is a PADI dive buoy marking The Boss which is maintained by local divers. The hull of the boat is in about 50' of water and is easily recognizable as it is covered in a field of white Plumose Anemones.
Hiking
Do The Grand Forest
A large park/preserve with an extensive trail network that has multiple access points and parking lots, ranging from Battle Point Park (far west end of the trail system (47.659836, -122.574855)), a parking lot along Miller Rd NE (47.657004, -122.560544)), a parking lot at the curve in the south half of Mandus Olsen Rd NE (47.650477, -122.547834), a parking lot along the north half of Mandus Olsen Rd NE (47.659562, -122.547742), the end of McRedmond Ln NE (far east end of the trail system (47.654076, -122.537260)), and from other surrounding roads.
Golfing
Buy
Eat
There are a variety of excellent restaurants on Bainbridge, with a full-range of cuisines and price-ranges.
Eat San Carlos
Family-style Tex-Mex.
Eat Nirvana
Indian & Nepali Cuisine.
Eat Streamliner Diner
Traditional diner fare.
Eat Madison Diner
Traditional diner fare.
Eat Seabird
Island-inspired seafood & vegetables.
Eat Carly’s Rolling Bay Cafe
Small neighborhood coffee shop.
Drink
Drink The Harbour Public House (The Pub)
21+. Drinks with freshly-made mixers; seasonal drinks. Consistently voted the best Fish and Chips on the island. Harbor view.
Drink Doc's Marina Grill (Doc's)
Full bar and restaurant. Harbor view.
Drink Isla Bonita
Enormous margaritas.
Drink Bainbridge Island Brewing
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.
Drink Bainbridge Organic Distillers
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).
Drink Bainbridge Island Wineries Group
Drink Pegasus Coffee House
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.
Sleep
Go next
- Seattle is to the east via Washington State Ferry
- Poulsbo and the rest of the Kitsap Peninsula is to the west via the Agate bridge.
- Blake Island State Park — Bainbridge Island is a popular boat launching point for this nearby state park that was the birthplace of Chief Seattle.
Nearby
Brownsville
City / town · 6 listings · 4 mi away
Keyport
City / town · 3 listings · 5 mi away
Suquamish
City / town · 12 listings · 5 mi away
Indianola
City / town · 4 listings · 6 mi away
Silverdale
City / town · 18 listings · 7 mi away
Manchester
City / town · 9 listings · 7 mi away
Poulsbo
City / town · 36 listings · 8 mi away
Bremerton
City / town · 34 listings · 8 mi away
My experience
Write about your trip here. Notes save automatically in this browser as you type; back them up from My journal.