Looking Back at Seattle
We’re always hunting for fun car-free day trips. Since our kids aren’t riding too far on their own yet, (they ride on the Xtracycle Snapdeck) we’re limited to one-way distances under 10 miles or so.
That’s why the Elliot Bay Water Taxi, which runs from downtown Seattle to Seacrest Park, is a great day trip. The ferry leaves from Pier 55 – roughly a seven mile ride from our house. Once the ferry docks, Alki is a quick 2.5 mile spin along the waterfront to all the sand, sun, cruising, and beach volleyball you can handle.
The bike friendliness of the Water Taxi is a bonus. There’s plenty of room for bikes inside toward the bow (that’s the front for you landlubbers). Just roll your bike on the boat, pay your $3 (or $1 with a Metro transfer), bungee it to the railing and enjoy the 12 minute crossing.
We have taken our road bikes on the taxi before but we weren’t sure if the crew was going to balk at the longbikes— transit workers can be cranky about bikes (especially really big bikes) sometimes. It turns out the Argosy (the tourist boat company contracted to run the water taxi) employees were great and loading the bikes was no problem—even on a busy weekend day.
The beach, bikes, and a big boat. All easy and hassle free.
Anne & Tim
Tim King
Anne
cfdgirl
Tim K
Car Free Days 
How cool! I’d like to give that a try one of these days 🙂