Anticipating long waits for ferries
over the 4th of July weekend.

Anyone have a guess as to when would be the 'smartest' time over such a weekend?

Is all of Saturday going to be a 'nightmare'
do you think? (Unfortunately, we may have no alternative but to travel on that day.)

What in the world can one do w/3-5 hrs or more to kill at the Anacortes ferry landing??

I guess there's supposed to be some restaurants there, but we'll probably just have eaten at our fave (nostalgic) stopover in La Conner. (Calico Cupboard)

But if you have a fave, please do share.

Any other things to do? Maybe there's a shuttle to town where we could do something? Or hiking?
Or...?

There's a long gap esp btwn 2 of the ferries...more than 3 hrs, so if going anywhere that's when would make the most sense. Like I said, I'm just bracing myself for the worst.

I guess we could skip eating in Le Conner, or grab early breakfast there...and then, grab lunch in Anacortes later if having to wait a long time.

Any experience/wisdom most welcome!
We've been spoiled always travelling in May on the ferries & not having long waits.
So...just trying to be 'prepared'. Thanks!

I suspect that there is no 'smart' time to board the San Juan ferry on the July 4th weekend - no matter what, it will be a long wait. The Anacortes ferry landing is a few miles out of town, and there is basically nothing there. Washington Park is in walking distance, and it has some nice trails and coastal views. You could take a taxi back into town to look around, or go over to Deception Pass park. We have been stuck at the Anacortes ferry dock before, but we had bicycles, so we biked back to town or into Washington Park.

I feel/have felt your pain.

Book. DVD player. Ambien. Walk.

You can't really leave (not all of you, anyway)-you might have to move your car up when other ferries, that you don't get on, leave.

The smartest time would be the first ferry. Going early is the key.

You might consider taking a plane there. It's more expensive, but it could be worth it depending on how much you value your time. You know that waits are especially bad this summer, since one of the ferries is out of service, right?

Oh no! I didn't know there was an extra ferry out of service. :-{

I'll try calling WSF to make sure I have the correct schedule. I just was noticing that if we miss one it will definitely be a 5-hr wait based on how infrequent the ferries go! (despite it being summer) Maybe that's why so infrequent..due to ferry 'outage.'

One more big question:
we can't both leave?? I thought once in line for Friday Harbor...and you miss the boat that if it's 5 hrs to the next (if we get there 1 hr prior...are told we aren't getting on it...and the next is 4 hrs between)...
well, I always thought you just leave your car as is, 'til YOUR next ferry comes?

Isn't that the case?
Anyone else know? Or, have I just been too unobservant over the years?

We only travel up there about once a year...so admittedly, are not ferry veterans.

Thanks again, everyone!

Do a crossword puzzle.
Read a book.
Listen to the radio.
Play cards.
Write letters.
Picnic.
Drink beer.
Daydream.
Sunbathe.
Trim your fingernails.
Give somebody a backrub.
Knit.
Darn stockings.
Talk on your cell phone.
Pace back and forth.
Conduct a sing-a-long.
Collect money for charity.
Bring candy bars and sell them.

There are a couple of restaurants near the ferry, but none as good as Calico, did you know there was one in Anacortes as well? Holidays weekends can be brutal, so get there early and bring a good book.

Well, if it's five hours until the next ferry I'm sure you could leave. I've never had to wait that long between ferries so I didn't factor that in. You're not supposed to leave in general since they never know exactly how many vehicles they're going to fit on each ferry, and even if you don't get on a certain one, your line might have to move up.

A few years ago we scheduled the first ferry out. We stayed at a motel near the ferry landing. My husband got up at 5:00 am parked the car line at the ferry landing, walked back to the motel and slept until it was time to leave. Don't know if this would still work.

Herself...
do you recall the lodging & whether it was comfortable?

I found one close but it's sooo expensive for what I think is just a motel. ($160-180 as their regular rooms are sold out & only suites are left)

So if you have any reviews of the place you stayed at, that would be great.

Well, shoot, it looks like I'm too late to respond for the original poster (who is probably sitting in the ferry line right now ;-)), but I'm surprised no one mentioned the Washington Park hike. It's less than a mile walk to the park, and there's a really nice loop trail around the park (about 2.5 miles).

And I've never had to move my car once parked in line, even in overload situations...they usually just start loading from whichever lane they left off. But of course you should always ask before you just take off and leave your car for a couple hours ;-).

And because I was curious, I just looked at the current waiting time for Anacortes on the WA State Ferries website and they are recommending that you arrive 2 hours ahead for Friday Harbor and Orcas and 4 hours ahead (yikes!) for Lopez and Shaw.

NWWanderer,

re, Washington Park, I did just that in the first response to this post!

Sorry, ALF, so you did...I don't know how I missed that!