ANACORTES, WASHINGTON
The fact that the location of the wedding is inconvenient for the vast majority of those invited is not lost on us, and we understand that most people are wondering what and where Anacortes is. This page seeks to answer those questions. The truth is that Anacortes means a lot to us and our relationship, and we view this wedding as one of the only (probably the only) opportunity to get all the people we love to be together in this special place with us. We think that once you get there, you'll think it's special too and maybe even be happy we picked it. So, to answer your question:
Anacortes is a small town located on the northern edge of Puget Sound (kind of; technically part of "Puget Sound and adjacent waters region"), about 80 miles northwest of Seattle. Anacortes is an ideal launching point for a number of potential vacations and adventures if your party would like to extend their trip. It is almost exactly halfway between Seattle and Vancouver; it hosts the ferry terminal servicing the San Juan Islands (frequently featured on "Most Beautiful Places in the U.S." lists); it is also within driving distance of Whidbey Island, which is nice in its own right but can also be used to access the insanely gorgeous Olympic Peninsula.
PHOTOS OF ANACORTES
ADVENTURE + VACATION OPTIONS
All of the locations below are accessible from Anacortes should you choice to extend your stay. If you're having trouble deciding between these or if you're curious how we would rank them, feel free to contact us. Our recommendation will depend heavily on what you're looking for, but we certainly have our opinions on which are the best. We will also gladly help you with planning a logical route for any of these trips.
San Juan Islands
The San Juan Islands are an archipelago of over 400 islands and rocks between Washington state's mainland and Vancouver Island. The Anacortes ferry terminal serves many of the major islands, including Orcas Island, San Juan Island (Friday Harbor), and Lopez Island.
Visitor Information: https://www.visitsanjuans.com/
The San Juan Islands with Mount Baker in the background (Orcas sightings possible but not guaranteed).
Olympic Peninsula/Olympic National Park
Washington state's Olympic Peninsula is accessible from Anacortes via the Coupeville ferry terminal (a short drive away on Whidbey Island). The ferry takes you to the historic, Victorian boating town of Port Townsend. From there, you can drive to the world famous Olympic National Park, featuring the Hoh Rain Forest, the Olympic mountain range (we recommend Hurricane Ridge), and beautiful Northwest beaches (e.g. Ruby Beach). The Olympic Peninsula holds a special place in our relationship--our first camping trip together was at Olympic National Park's Rialto Beach (shown below), and we frequently returned over subsequent years.
VISITOR INFORMATION: https://www.nps.gov/olym/index.htm
Rialto Beach in Olympic National Park--photo taken on our first camping trip together.
North Cascades National Park
Taking Highway 20 West from I-5 North takes you to Anacortes. If you instead take Highway 20 East, you'll end up in the North Cascades National Park beneath Mount Baker (shown below). This was another spot we often hiked and camped in. The park is frequently considered one of the most underrated national parks due to the relatively low foot-traffic despite its natural beauty. The park is home to more than half of all glaciers in the contiguous United States and has the highest number of plant species of any U.S. national park (if you're into that kind of thing). Key sites: Mount Baker, Mount Shuksan, Copper Mountain Fire Lookout, Ross Lake, Diablo Lake, etc.
Visitor information: https://www.nps.gov/noca/index.htm
A photo of sunset with Mount Baker in the distance--photo taken on our last camping trip in Washington before moving to Vermont.
Vancouver
Vancouver is just a 2-hour drive north of Anacortes, so consider bringing your passports. It's like Seattle but Canadian.
Visitor information: https://www.tourismvancouver.com/
An aerial view of downtown Vancouver, B.C.
Deception Pass State Park
This is perhaps the most accessible location on this list, as it's just a 15-20 minute drive from Anacortes. This was almost a weekly day-trip for us (particularly Rosario Beach) when we lived in Washington, and we recommend that everyone, even if you're not planning to have an elaborate side trip, find some time to go here, walk across the bridge, and explore the beaches.
Visitor Information: https://parks.state.wa.us/497/Deception-Pass
Deception Pass Bridge at sunset--facing west/southwest.
BOW + EDISON
You have probably heard of this place because we never shut up about it. This is your chance to check out our old stomping grounds. Go play trivia at the Longhorn Saloon on Wednesday, have the best meal of your life at Tweets (only open Friday through Sundays), find a new treasure at Midway Antiques, eat some fried oysters at the Edison Inn, buy a life-changing loaf of sourdough from Breadfarm, go explore the beaches on Samish Island, enjoy a nice drive along Chuckanut Drive--whatever you do, we think you might end up loving it as much as we do.
Lummi Island in the distance as seen from Bow Hill Road on the way to downtown Edison.
