You drive out of Bellingham toward Gooseberry Point (map to 2557 Lummi View Drive, Bellingham for directions), and the road ends at the water. A ramp, a small boat, and five minutes later you are on Lummi Island. No bridge, no airport shuttle, no alternative option. If you are staying here, you plan the trip around the crossing.
This is how to get to Lummi Island, and how the crossing works, so the first trip feels like the hundredth.
The crossing
The Whatcom County ferry crosses between Gooseberry Point on the mainland and the island landing across Hale Passage. The crossing takes about five minutes in routine weather. There is no reservation system. Cars board in the order they line up, and when a sailing fills, the captain can add an extra run.
Weekday service starts at 5:40 AM from the island and 5:50 AM from Gooseberry Point. The last departures are at midnight from the island and 12:10 AM from Gooseberry Point. Weekends and holidays start at 7:00 AM from the island. Departures come every 20 to 40 minutes through the busy hours and spread out in the off-peak stretches. Look at the posted schedule before you plan a late dinner on the mainland.
The ferry does not take cash. Bring a card.
Before you cross
Buy groceries in Bellingham for the week. The Islander is the only grocery store on the island and carries the basics, along with pastries and a good selection of wine and beer. Farm stands, open most of the year, sell eggs, vegetables, flowers and more. That covers a forgotten onion and does not cover a week of meals for six, so bring anything particular you cook with. Everything you forget is usually a ferry ride away.
Park only in the designated areas at Gooseberry Point if you are leaving a car on the mainland. The county tows vehicles parked anywhere else, with no exceptions. There are no taxis or rideshare on the island, so a car is recommended.
Lining up at Gooseberry Point
Two lanes head toward the ferry on the road. The lane on your right is for ferry traffic only, and the other lane is the road and continues. The ferry lane turns right and becomes two lanes, and signs at that split say to line up in the shortest lane. The two lanes continue to the zipper merge line, and past that line the dock has two lanes: one for cars leaving the ferry and one for cars waiting to drive on. The waiting lane has room for five or six vehicles, and those spaces fill first, so drive all the way onto the dock if there is room. Many first-timers stop at the zipper merge line and leave the dock empty. It annoys the locals. If the dock is full, stop at the merge line in the shortest of the two lanes.
Once the traffic on the dock begins to move, loading works as a zipper merge. The first car in the right-hand lane drives forward first, onto the dock and then onto the ferry. Then the first car in the left-hand lane goes, and the two lanes alternate from there. On the ferry, the crew tells you which lane to load into and may pull you very close to the car in front. Pay attention and follow their instructions. The county also publishes a graphic called “How to Get a Car on the Lummi Island Ferry” on its ferry page.
If the vehicle ferry is out of service
The annual dry dock is scheduled, and during it the county usually confirms the return date a day or two ahead. A passenger-only boat replaces the ferry, so nothing crosses with wheels, but walk-on passengers can still make the trip: pack light enough to carry, with one bag per person and groceries in a rolling cooler or a backpack. With no taxis or rideshare on the island, think through how you will get from the landing to the house.
Emergency repairs to the boat or the dock are different. Those outages are rare and usually last only a few hours, and the county posts them on Twitter. While the ferry is down for an emergency repair, there is no alternative way across.
If your plans depend on a car on the island, wait for the county to confirm the vehicle ferry is back. Do not drive to the ramp and hope.
Once you are on the island
Lummi Island is small, quiet and low-key. Bring most of what you need.
For a walk, the Lummi Island Heritage Trust keeps public preserves with trails open in daylight hours. The Baker Preserve trail is a vigorous hike up a steep, winding trail: 3.4 miles out and back, with a 1,060-foot elevation gain to an overlook with views of Rosario Strait and the San Juan Islands. Wear boots and bring water.”
Our two homes on the island face different directions. Heron’s Nest Cabin is a two-bedroom on a wooded hillside above Hale Passage, with a cedar hot tub, a wood stove and a fire pit. It sleeps four, or six with the Treehouse added. Sunset Escape faces west over the Salish Sea toward Orcas Island and the Canadian Gulf Islands, with a hot tub and a covered deck. It sleeps four.
Fitting the ferry into your arrival
Check-in is 4:00 PM, and the home is usually not available earlier. Count backward from there. Leave the mainland with enough time to reach Gooseberry Point, wait your turn in line and cross, then drive to the house. Because the ferry takes no reservations, nobody can hold you a spot, and a sailing that fills sends you to the next one. Most guests who ask us how to get to Lummi Island worry about the crossing itself. The wait is the part to plan for, and it is a pleasant one: the landing has a view and a beach, and across the road is a store and gas station.
Your check-in message includes the details for your specific home. If a sailing is late or the ferry is out of service, get in touch. We would rather rework your arrival than have you sitting at the ramp wondering.
Leaving the island
Check-out is 11:00 AM, and a morning sailing leaves room for the drive home. If you have a flight or a ferry connection on the mainland, build in a cushion. The ferry is usually reliable, but a five-minute crossing is only five minutes when the schedule holds, and the captain’s extra runs are a courtesy, not a promise.
Planning your visit? Explore our curated vacation rentals across Whatcom and Skagit Counties, including our homes on Lummi Island.