Winslow, Bainbridge Island – on a rainy or cold day

There isn’t an easier way to have a quintessential northwest experience than hopping on the ferry for a daytrip to Bainbridge Island. Even if the weather isn’t ideal, there is still plenty to do with young kids. There are so many different ways to explore the Island, but one of the easiest things is to walk on the ferry for a half day to Winslow. This charming town is within easy walking distance from the ferry dock, so this entire trip can be done on foot. Read on to see one way our family enjoys Bainbridge.

General Itinerary:

9:20 – Arrive at Seattle Ferry Terminal – Coleman Dock

9:35 – Walk on the Bainbridge Ferry

10:10 – Arrive on Bainbridge, walk to Eagle Harbor Book Company

10:25 – Explore Eagle Harbor Book’s cute children’s section

11:00 – Early lunch at Proper Fish

11:30 – Mora Iced Creamery

11:45 – Pick-up a to-go treat from Blackbird Bakery for the ferry ride home

12:00 – Walk to Kids Discovery Museum (check website: opens at 1:00 on Monday-Thursday)

1:45 – Walk to Ferry Terminal for 2:05 crossing back to Seattle

Bring:

Stroller or Baby carrier – you’ll be walking about 1 mile, not so bad for grownups, but can be long for little legs
Your “kids restaurant supply-kit” to keep the little ones busy while you wait for lunch
A deck of cards or puzzle for play on the ferry
Kid’s binoculars for ferry ride
Raincoats if it’s a misty Seattle day

Don’t Bring:

Lunch or Snacks (at least not too many…) there is so much good food in Winslow
Extra clothes after water room at the Children’s Museum – they don’t have one! Which I secretly love…

Weather:

This is the itinerary we use for Bainbridge on a colder/off-season day. You’re still going to be walking a bit outside, so I wouldn’t venture out in a torrential down-pour… but on a typical Seattle winter day this is a great way to explore Winslow!

Details:

Popping over to Winslow for a few hours is a regular day trip for our family – one that we fallback to often. We’ve done this on beautiful summer weekend days, or cold rainy days. There are some great features of this little town that support either scenario. This particular itinerary is one I did on a late December day with my 3-year-old; just me and him on special mommy-son day. It was really fun and great one-on-one time for the two of us.

Now the 9:35 crossing time I’m recommending here is from the 2022 spring schedule. If you’re in a different season, be sure to check the times to see if you need to adjust at all. If you can manage an earlier crossing, definitely go for it! Especially if you need to get home for an afternoon nap. I don’t have any specific instructions on parking. With the state of the waterfront these days, who knows what will be going on down there 2 days from now! We’ve parked in the 4-hour parking right along the piers – it’s a bit of a time squeeze, but those spots are just so dang convenient. We also like the lot at Spring and Western, but I recently read that Gonzaga owns that property and is going to be building something there… so like I said, who knows!!! If you haven’t been down to the waterfront in a while, maybe give yourself a few extra minutes for parking.

But definitely park and walk on the ferry. This is so much fun and very “Seattle”. The kids love walking across the “gang-plank” onto the boat and watching the cars load from the upper outside decks. Tickets are a round-trip fare, so you only need to buy once on your way to Bainbridge. Be sure to say “Bainbridge” at the ferry terminal’s ticket counter, as there are ferries that go to Bremerton from Coleman Dock. There’s a little waiting area where people stand and gather while you wait for boarding to begin. If you’re traveling with a stroller be sure to line up on the side of the ticket gates that has the stroller opening.

Once you’re on the ferry, quickly grab yourself a section of booths along a window. Some sections have tables, some do not – pick what works for your family. Once we’ve secured a good window seat, we leave some non-valuables there to hold our spot and head over to the café for hot chocolates and a treat.

The crossing is fairly quick – just 35 minutes. Last time we spotted Orca Man zipping around on his jet ski – don’t be alarmed (as I was… felt like a reason to call homeland security…), he’s a local guy who cleans up trash in Elliott Bay. Apparently we were lucky to see him! Otherwise, we spent the crossing playing cards, games of eye spy, and taking cute pictures.

You’ll walk off the ferry on the opposite side of the boat from where you entered. It’s fun to watch the ferry pull into the dock, so if the weather supports it, head out just before arrival to see docking. Then follow the sea of people as they head through the ferry terminal and up the hill towards Winslow.

Now you may want to adjust your itinerary slightly – the key here is the day of your visit. On Friday-Sunday the Kids Discovery Museum opens at 9:00am. On Monday-Thursday, it opens at 1:00pm. If you’re visiting on a weekday, be sure to head into Winslow first. But if it’s a Friday-Sunday you could choose to rearrange things and do the museum first. They do seem to change their hours somewhat frequently – see link at bottom of the post to check their current hours.

The walk all the way into Winslow from the ferry terminal is ½ a mile or just 10 minutes. Last time, we went straight to Eagle Harbor Book Co., grabbed a few picture books off the shelf, found a comfy chair, and spent 30 minutes reading together. It was so low-key and fun. The children’s section is way in the back of the store – it’s small, but very well done and the staff was helpful with suggestions. We of course bought a couple books – got to support the independent book stores!

You also could pop into Calico Toy Shoppe or any of the other cute little stores and galleries along Winslow Way. But my 3-year-old son and “cute little shops” don’t go well together… and I certainly don’t need more toys in my life!

Our favorite little spot in Winslow is the pedestrian street right next to Blackbird Bakery called Madrone Lane. On a warm day we’ll get lunch-to-go from Cafe Hitchcock and eat at one of Madrone Lane’s outside tables. But if outdoor dining is not in the cards, we like Proper Fish just down the street. One side note on dining in Winslow – Streamliner Diner is a place you’ll pass on your way into town. In the past I had been tempted by this very popular and cute place. We finally ventured in on one visit and it really wasn’t kid friendly. Save that for a kid-free trip (when you’ll also enjoy the “cute little shops” and the Ameila Wynn Winery tasting room across the street!).

After lunch, head back to Madrone Lane and head right into Mora Iced Creamery.

This ice cream shop is a bit different from what you probably normally bring your kids to. You can’t actually see the ice cream, as they’re all stored in lidded canisters along the counter. I secretly love this, because my favorite gelato place in Rome (where I studied abroad in college) does the same thing… so I feel like this must be legit! But feel free to ask for a taste of anything that sparks your fancy, and as in Rome, mixing flavors with a scoop of one and a scoop of another is the way to do it!

After, we like to pop into Blackbird Bakery to pick something yummy up for the ferry ride home. It’ll seem like over-kill after the ice cream… but you’ll be glad in a couple hours, I promise.

Next, head back down Winslow Way towards the ferry terminal, but before going home, stop at the Kids Discovery Museum. We LOVE this little children’s museum. It’s small, but really well done. Downstairs, there’s a tree house with slide, and a “town” exhibit with a shop, doctors office, bank, etc. It’s a typical kid’s museum set-up but has some neat additional features – like a “working” atm machine (that I can’t get my kids away from). Upstairs there are some great hands-on exhibits: train tables, light wall, and these neat tracks for golf balls that my kids could play with for hours. The museum claims their exhibits are good for up to 8-year-olds. I think some of the exhibits upstairs would entertain a bit older kids.

If you’re not rushing home for naps (or to get your car from a 4-hour parking spot…) feel free to stay for longer. Otherwise, by 1:45 start walking down to the ferry terminal to catch the 2:05 crossing. If you’re walking into the terminal at 1:55 you’ll be in good shape to catch the boat.

On the way home enjoy your treat from Blackbird and re-read your books from Eagle Harbor!

To see how we enjoy a sunny day pop over to my post: winslow, bainbridge island – on a sunny day

Links:

Ferry Schedule: https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/schedule/scheduledetail.aspx?departingterm=7&arrivingterm=3&roundtrip=true

Eagle Harbor Book Co.: https://www.eagleharborbooks.com/

Calico Toy Shoppe: https://www.calicotoyshoppe.com/

Proper Fish: https://properfish.com

Cafe Hitchcock: https://www.cafehitchcock.com/bainbridgeisland

Mora Iced Creamery: http://moraicecream.com/

Blackbird Bakery: https://blackbirdbakery.com/

Kids Discovery Museum: https://www.kidimu.org/

Destination Address: