During this pandemic world we’re living in, I’ve started to toy with the idea of buying an electric cargo bike to tote the kids around and make our short neighborhood trips feel more adventurous (and environmentally friendly). However, the bikes are a big investment (even used, if you can find one!) so I didn’t want to buy until I could try it out for more than just a ride around the block. The closest spot to rent a bike was on Vashon Island, so I organized what I thought would be a half day trip, which turned into a full day trip. Here’s our rough itinerary:
9:30 a.m. – Ferry from Fauntleroy (West Seattle)
With the West Seattle bridge closed for the foreseeable future, it took awhile to get to the Fauntleroy Ferry from West Seattle. We could have also driven down to Point Defiance, but this was slightly shorter. This particular ferry schedule is a little wonky, possibly because the ferry also continues on to Southworth, so there were 9:10 and 9:30 a.m. ferries on a weekday, but the next ferry wasn’t until 10:25 a.m. Check the ferry schedule on WSDOT’s website. The ferry crossing is roughly 20 minutes, and it’s about another 20 minutes from the terminal to the Jensen Point Boathouse to pick up the bike.
10:15 a.m. – e-Bike Rental Reservation
I wanted to stop for coffee at the Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie, but the line was too long, so we moved on to our reservation at Vashon Adventures. They require advance reservations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but same day reservations are available. I had called a week or two ahead to check on cargo bikes – we reserved a long-tail rather than the front box style because it’s the type I think I’d be most likely to purchase. Erin had the bike all set up out front with child seats for us and was very thorough in explaining how to operate the bike. I really appreciated her patience since I haven’t ridden a bike in several years (and not regularly since I was a kid). I brought the kids’ helmets since I knew they would wear them, but borrowed a helmet for myself. There are kids’ helmets available and they were in good shape.
After a few practice laps around the boathouse parking lot and a review of the Vashon map, we were off! Getting used to the bike took me awhile, but probably wouldn’t be as challenging for a regular rider. I had to acclimate to the heavy weight at the back of the bike (especially 70 lbs of wiggly children), which meant that stopping at a stop sign was hard at first, as was keeping the bike straight on some of the more uneven road edges. However, the area around the Jensen Point Boathouse and the Point Robinson Lighthouse (our destination) is full of hilly, but relatively smooth, roads with low speed limits (35 mph or less), so it was a perfect spot to practice.
11:15 a.m. – Point Robinson Lighthouse
Point Robinson always comes up when I search for tide pools in the Seattle area (there’s even a low tide festival most summers, pandemic not withstanding). In researching our trip, I noticed that low tide was supposed to be around 11 a.m., so it seemed like a perfect destination. Getting there took a bit longer than I expected, so we didn’t end up seeing the tide pools, per se. However, the kids loved knocking on the lighthouse door, shoveling shells, and eating their snacks in one of the many driftwood forts. Impending naptime and my nervousness about returning the bike on time meant that we only spent about 40 minutes at the lighthouse.
Distance: the lighthouse is a 14.5 mi round trip ride from the Jensen Point boathouse. It took us roughly 35-40 minutes to bike each way, and 17 minutes to drive.
*Note on accessibility and facilities: only the upper parking area is open, so you’ll have to walk a medium sized distance down a steep hill to the lighthouse area (unless you bike!) and possibly park on the road if the small parking lot is full. There are one or two spots by the beach for people with disabilities. Fairly clean porta potties are available by the beach and in the parking area.
12:15 p.m. Return Bike, Back to Point Robinson
On our way back to the boathouse, I could feel my phone vibrating in my pocket and could see it was Vashon Adventures when I stopped to check. We were running a tiny bit late, so I thought they might be calling to make sure we were on our way back. When we got to the boathouse, though, Erin told me she had called because a pod of transient orca whales was on their way to the lighthouse and she wanted us to feel free to stay and watch. So thoughtful! I had never seen orcas in the wild, so we hurried back to the lighthouse to spot them. After 20 minutes, the kids were getting antsy and we hadn’t seen anything, so we were just packing up to leave when I saw a flash of dorsal fin! We were on the far end of the beach, which happened to be in the whales’ direction, so we got a front row view as 6-7 whales (including what looked like a couple of juveniles) swam back and forth. Erin had mentioned that the beach has a steep drop not far offshore, making it easy to see whales because they can come close as they hunt for seals. It really did feel like they were magically close and it was an amazing end to our trip. A lucky little harbor seal also popped their head up after the whales had swam by, so we got a bonus wildlife sighting for the day.
3:20 p.m. – Ferry Home
Pro tip that should have been obvious from our recent Whidbey trips: Google isn’t smart enough yet to review ferry schedules, so it assumes you just hop on a ferry when you arrive at the terminal. Our visit with the whales threw me off and I stupidly believed Google when it suggested the Vashon/Fauntleroy route would be faster than the Point Defiance ferry and didn’t check the schedules. We arrived at the terminal at 2 p.m., but the ferries depart at 1:40 and 3:20 p.m. So I opened all the windows on a hot day, read every book in the car, looked at laminated placements with shapes/instruments/states and sang ridiculous songs for a over an hour before doing it again for the 20 minute ferry ride. Lesson learned – check the ferry schedules!
Summary
We pulled into our driveway at 4:30 p.m. so our trip was about 2-3 hours longer than I had planned, but it was a really beautiful day with some unique adventures and everyone felt it was worthwhile. I joked with a friend that it was like playing Pacific Northwest bingo – we took a ferry, rode a bike, climbed near a lighthouse, played on a rocky beach, saw orcas, and almost had locally roasted coffee. If I were doing the same trip over again, I would:
- Print out the ferry schedules for all nearby ferry routes. It’s not normally necessary because most ferries are at predictable intervals, but would really have helped me when we unexpectedly extended the trip.
- Book the 3 hour or full day rental next time. I was nervous about James’ nap time and thought the kids might hate the bike, so I booked the minimum 2 hours. Julia absolutely loved the ride and James took a short nap in his seat (he’s flexible, but a terrible trip sleeper, so I should have expected that). We could have stayed longer at the lighthouse or stopped for coffee/ice cream with more time. That said, there weren’t too many other renters, so I also could have probably called and asked for an extension.
As for an e-bike purchase? The jury’s still out. I would absolutely rent one again in an easy environment like Vashon Island. However, I’m not sure I’m a confident enough rider to handle Seattle’s streets. The arterials are full of oblivious drivers (I’m guilty of that sometimes, too) and parked cars apt to throw open their doors at any time, and there frequently aren’t bike lanes, or they’re heavily shared by buses and turning cars. Even the side streets are narrow with cars and bikes navigating a small shared space, leaving the potential for a lot of stopping and starting. For now, I think I’ll repeat this day trip instead!
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