Can a motorhome get on a ferry in canada to the usa(washington)

We will be coming from chilliwack, canada and heading to washington state. My question is can a motorhome get on one of those ferries. We want to get across to forks/olympic penn. If so, where is the best place to get on the ferry, does anyone know what it costs, how long it takes, can you get out of your vehicle?
Sorry,  ???but i have no idea about ferries, hoping someone might be able to help.
thanks tash

Sure - no problem.  WA State runs the Ferry system, and you can get schedules and information at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Ferries/infodesk/navigator/

They're commuter ferries, and take everything from cars to large trucks.  All of the WA state ferries are double-ended, you drive on at one end and drive straight off at the other.  You can stay in your motorhome or go up to the passenger deck if you want, most boats except the Port Townsend ferry have a snack bar along with seating areas.

The most direct route for you to get to the Olympic Peninsula would be to go south on I-5 to Mt. Vernon, then west on WA 20 onto Whidbey Island to the Keystone-Port Townsend ferry.  However, this route is down to one fairly small 50 car ferry until the new boat is finished later this year.  It will handle your motorhome without any problem, but advance reservations are required for all vehicles over 6,000 lbs and highly recommended for all others due to the limited space.  Large vehicle reservations are made by phone at 206-464-6400 or 888-808-7977.  The crossing takes about 45 minutes.

If that doesn't work for you, continue down I-5 to WA 104 and take the Edmonds-Kingston ferry.  This is the most popular route across the Sound, and they run large 200-vehicle boats on about a 45 minute schedule.  Crossing time is about 30 minutes.  No reservations are taken, but try to avoid peak commute times.

You purchase your ticket at the tollbooth as you enter the holding area and they take cash or credit cards.  Fares are based on overall length and it goes up sharply as the length increases, so you can save some money if you unhitch your towed car before you reach the tollbooth and purchase a separate ticket for it.  Fares range from $15 for a car, $60 for a 40 ft. motorhome or $100 for a 60 ft. combination.  There's also a $6.90 charge westbound for any passengers other than the driver.

There's also the M.V. Coho, a private ferry that makes a 1 1/2 hour crossing from Victoria to Port Angeles - it's a more conventional ship that requires you leave your vehicle and travel on the passenger deck.  You'll have to go through Customs with your vehicle at both ends of the trip. http://cohoferry.com/main/

edit: corrected Edmonds Ferry highway # - LS

Thankyou thank you thankyou!!!
Great info.
Just a quick question, without me having to look at google maps...
the I 5 ....is that in canada or washington. Does the ferry, either one, start in canada or is it starting in washington.
Where would be my border crossing of i am heading for the I -5.
with the Edmonds kingston ferry....so do you boards at edmonds and get off at kingston, is that right? are the names in the ferry, the places you get on and off?
sorry to be so duh, but we dont have too many ferries here in australia.
thanks so much for you previous detailed reply.

here is the link to the WSF system.

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/Schedule/ScheduleDetail.aspx?departingterm=21&arrivingterm=16&roundtrip=true

I know you can board a ferry from Victoria on Vancouver Island to Washington State, but I don't recall that you could board anywhere on mainland Canada to Wash. state.  After all, it is a Washington State Ferry system.  But the above link should help.

Probably the first thing our friends from Australia should do is to get an atlas/roadmap, specifically for the Western part of North America. The road structure will be quite easy to follow. Google is fine but not permanent while traveling.

Carson FL

natasha163 said:

Where would be my border crossing of i am heading for the I -5.

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If you're in Chilliwack the simplest border crossing is at Abbotsford.  Head west to Abbotsford until you see the sign stating Sumas Border Crossing.  Lineups are almost always very, very short compared to the border crossings as you get closer to Vancouver.  From there you go south a few km then west about 20 km until past Linden the straight south to Bellingham.  And there you get on I-5.

I find the intersection to get onto I-5 in Bellingham to be slightly stressful.  You don't want to get into the right hand lane as soon as you possibly can because that turn lane goes north.  You just have to be careful and if you have a navigator that helps.

Natasha,

The USA interstate system includes I-5 from the Canadian border south to the Mexican border.  Odd number interstate highways run north-south, even number interstate highways run east-west.  The interstates are our biggest freeway system.  Second are our U.S. routes with designations such as U.S. 1 or U.S. 30.  These are not always freeways but generally are good roads suitable for RVs.  States and counties within states each have their own numbering system for roads not in the other two systems.

ArdraF

Hi Natasha -

Puget Sound divides Washington State in half, starting at the Canadian border and extending south past Seattle to Olympia.  The ferries are the only way to cross the Sound except for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge near the south end, so they all run east-west.

There are no north-south ferries from Canada into Washington - it's much easier just to use the highways.  You may see ferry routes going up and down the Sound on some maps - these are passenger ferries from Seattle to Victoria and the Alaskan Marine Highway ferries from Bellingham to Skagway, Alaska.

There is a north-south ferry from Victoria, BC to Port Angeles, WA but that's because the Strait of Juan de Fuca runs east-west along the top of the Olympic Peninsula.  But to use this ferry you'd have to go through the city of Vancouver and take another ferry onto Vancouver Island, then drive south to Victoria.

Interstate Highways are our major freeways - similar in design to Sydney's Western Motorway or M7.  Odd numbered Interstates like I-5 run north-south, even numbers run east-west.  Exits are numbered according to the mileage from where it enters the state - from the Southern state border for the north-south routes (numbers get bigger heading north) or the Western state border for East-west routes (numbers get bigger heading east).

Don't forget the US measures speed and distance in Miles, not Km like Australia and Canada.

If you enter the US at the Abbotsford-Sumas crossing, you'll go 24 miles on WA State Hwys 9 and 542 to Bellingham and go onto I-5 at Exit 255.  You'll then go 25 miles South on I-5 to Exit 230, which is WA State Hwy 20 (WA 20), the road to the Keystone-Port Townsend ferry.

Or if you're taking the Edmonds-Kingston ferry, you'll continue south another 52 miles to Exit 178, then take WA 104 west to the Edmonds ferry terminal.  I gave the wrong route number for this road in the earlier message and have since corrected it.

Remember, you must have an advance reservation to take your motorhome on the Port Townsend ferry because of limited space on the small boat they're using until the new ferry goes into service later this year.

There are no reservations for the Edmonds-Kingston ferry but you'll have no trouble getting on as long as you are at the ferry terminal before 3 PM.  Many people live on the west side of Puget Sound and work in Seattle, using the ferry to get back and forth.  If you try to use the ferry during the evening commute you may have to wait in queue for an hour or longer.

Besides Forks, what else are you planning to visit on the Olympic Peninsula?  I ask because I live there and can make some recommendations if you're interested.

carson said:

Probably the first thing our friends from Australia should do is to get an atlas/roadmap, specifically for the Western part of North America. The road structure will be quite easy to follow. Google is fine but not permanent while traveling.

Carson FL

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Do you have one that you can recommend? I have a 1998 one by rand mcnally from when i was in the usa last. Would an updated version of this be good to use as a reference and do you know where i might order one from, or do you suggest downloading one from the internet?

TonyT said:

I find the intersection to get onto I-5 in Bellingham to be slightly stressful.  You don't want to get into the right hand lane as soon as you possibly can because that turn lane goes north.  You just have to be careful and if you have a navigator that helps.

Click to expand...

thanks, would you mind explaining that again, just so i can be sure...

ArdraF said:

Natasha,

The USA interstate system includes I-5 from the Canadian border south to the Mexican border.  Odd number interstate highways run north-south, even number interstate highways run east-west.  The interstates are our biggest freeway system.  Second are our U.S. routes with designations such as U.S. 1 or U.S. 30.  These are not always freeways but generally are good roads suitable for RVs.  States and counties within states each have their own numbering system for roads not in the other two systems.

ArdraF

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extremely helpful, thankyou

We have found the best all around road atlas for RVers is the Motor Carriers Road Atlas, found at any truck stop.  It not only is an excellent atlas, with detailed maps of the larger cities, but the truck routes are marked in yellow.  When traveling on the truck routes you don't have to worry about low clearances or bridge weight limits.  We have the spiral bound, plastic laminated version but it's also available in paper for less cost.

Lou Schneider said:

Besides Forks, what else are you planning to visit on the Olympic Peninsula?  I ask because I live there and can make some recommendations if you're interested.

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hi lou, thanks for your very informative posts.
I would love some advice on seattle, olyp penn, etc.

We have to travel to seattle to drop off our rv in federal way, and then fly out of seattle. It thought i would take this opportunity to explore "twilight" country, since i am a huge fan.
I am extremely interested in photographing la push and rialto beach. Any advice here is appreciated. I cant wait to see the rugged coastline.
Also, olmp penn in general, i dont really know much about it ecept that i will be in the general area, and that it is beautiful. Are there any spots in specifc you can suggest, or family friendly hikes for kids 3 and a 1/2 thru to 8 yearsold (eg short w/ stuff to see). I'd like to travel into forks, really just to go there for twilight reasons. I am also interested in any places around this area of photographic significance, or indian significance for the kids to experience a different culture, like visiting the reservation.

We will be driving from chilliwack and taking the ferry (probably the edmonds-kingston ferry) . Where should we base ourselves...based on the above places we want to visit, and if you can recommend a spot, (and an rv park if possible) how far in driving time is it to travel to the above places. Can you recommend a route from the ferry exploring the above, and then back to federal way?

So at the moment, we are planning ...
am: leave chilliwack drive and take the edmonds - kingston ferry. Set up at our base (wherevever that is) Hopefully have time to see something that evening.
next day...full day to explore from sunris to sunset
am:hopefully get out to photograph sunrise somewhere, then leave for federal way to drop off rv between 8 am and 11 am.
Do you think we need another day to explore, it is really only a side trip since we are so close to twilight country anyway, but if there is something much recommended and unmissable that we cant fit into 1 day, i am prepared t look at another day.

Also, do you know much about seattle....we will travel to seattle after dropping of the rv at federal way. (is there a shuutle or do we just take a taxi) and spendthe rest of that day and one full day the following day in seattle, before flying out the next day. We hope to visit the childrens museum, pike market, the space needle and the museum of flight. Is this doable in a day and a half and if not, what would you omit.

Thankyou for all your help. any suggestions on places to stay, itenieries and time schedules are much appreciated.

Hi Natasha,

I was born and raised in Seattle and except for the 5 years I lived on the Olympic Peninsula have been here all my life!  You've chosen some excellent tourist sites to visit.  They're all wonderful.  If you get to Tacoma - just south of Federal Way - the Chihuly glass museum is a wonder to visit and see.  There is a new light rail system for transportation from Tukwila to Seattle and the bus system is outstanding from Federal Way (the south part of King County) to Seattle.  So those would be my best advice for transportation as taxis can get expensive.  Or just rent a car for the day. You're talking 20 miles to Seattle from Federal Way.

For the Peninsula: there is a wonderful state park you could stay in just before you enter the city of Sequim.  Do drive through Sequim as the annual Lavender Festival is the 3rd weekend of July and the fields are incredible. The area where the movie was filmed is mostly Indian reservation but the areas you want to take pics of are quite nice.  (Movies do glamorize a locale.) Lake Crescent is beautiful too.  And of course, you MUST go to the top of Hurricane Ridge - the views are amazing up there.