***Note the start time has changed*** We are going to go by the normal #118 bus schedule, and not assume that the extra shuttle buses will run outside of its time span.
The Vashon Strawberry Festival is this coming weekend. Let's go on the main festival day (Saturday) so we can watch the parade. Oh, and, yes, there will be a hike.
(Please read the logistics section for more travel and timing information!)
We'll meet at 9:45am at the Pier 50 dock to catch the 10am Vashon Water Taxi -- this is at the end of the covered walkway to the south of the main Coleman Dock terminal building, not in the terminal building itself.
From the ferry dock, we'll catch a bus to downtown Vashon. We hope to get there in time for the parade to be nearing the end of its route -- the parade starts (usually from the south end of downtown) at 10am and finishes at 11am -- we'll arrive at about 10:40am.
We'll pick the spot (likely in Ober Park) where we'll assemble for lunch, and then scatter to "forage" for lunch among the food booths and cafes (or bring your lunch), and meet back at our lunch spot by noon. We'll try to finish lunch by 12:30pm, because what's next is our hike...
We have options for the hike, depending on whether folks want to spend more time at the festival, or head straight back to the ferry after the hike.
For more time at the festival, we can explore Island Center Forest, Agren Park, Fisher Pond, in some detail, including some informal trails not known to Google Maps. We can check on the recovery of the former dump at Island Center Forest. ;-) This would be about 5-6 miles, mostly fairly level, and on well-maintained trails (except for the informal bits).
After this, we'd still have time at the festival. Vendor booths are open til 6pm, music performances run later. But the last bus we can rely on is scheduled to leave at about 6:45pm, getting to the ferry dock nominally at 7pm, and the last return water taxi is at 6:58pm...hmm... But there are regular ferries til much later, so if the water taxi leaves before the bus gets there, we can take that, then catch the C Line back to downtown Seattle.
Our other option would be to dip into Island Center Forest, loop around Fisher Pond, then take back roads (mostly) up to the beach at Fern Cove. From there, we'd go up the Shinglemill Creek trail, which will take us out onto Vashon Hwy about a mile north of downtown. This is about 8 miles, 750 ft elevation gain, mostly well maintained paths or little roads, but the Shinglemill Creek trail is actual trail, with a few steep bits.
For this option, we'd catch the last #118 bus to the ferry dock, without returning to the festival.
Festival info: https://www.thisisvashon.com/strawberry-festival
Logistics:
General information on the water taxi: https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/metro/travel-options/water-taxi/vashon
Festival-specific water taxi info: https://kingcountymetro.blog/2025/07/11/special-weekend-water-taxi-service-to-the-vashon-strawberry-festival-july-18-20/
The King County water taxi terminal walkway starts at the intersection of Yesler and Alaskan Way. See the "terminals" section at the above "general information" link. Make sure you are getting on the Vashon boat, not the West Seattle boat. You can pay using your Orca card purse, or the Transit GO app, with cash, or buy a ticket from one of the vending machines -- see "fares" in the same page for details. The wording implies that one pays the fare both ways, unlike the regular WSDOT ferries, which only charge for travel to the island -- return is free. The "festival-specific" link above says that a transfer to the bus is included in the water taxi fare, so if you get a paper ticket, hang onto it. A bus ride back to the Vashon dock likely does not shave anything off the return water taxi fare. If anyone has better info about either the return fare or transfers, please post in the comments -- I'm used to taking the WSDOT ferry...
If we don't find each other while waiting in line for the water taxi, please try to meet on the Vashon side, in front of the ferry terminal. There is a restroom in the terminal. Once we've assembled, we'll scurry over to line up for the bus -- the bus stop is a bit past the terminal, along the pedestrian path. We can catch either a regular #118 bus or a festival shuttle bus. We'll get off at the same stop as everyone else going to the festival, which is a bit north of downtown Vashon, as the main road is closed for the festival.
The parade route usually starts at the south end of town, and heads north, but we don't yet have the full route -- I'll watch for updated festival information. We can likely guess the route based on where folks are standing to watch. Note this parade is more on the fun / funny side, not the elaborate / fancy type.
There isn't a list of food booths and vendors yet. I am hoping that my favorite shawarma place will again have a booth, and that everyone's favorite strawberry shortcake / sundae booth, presented by the Vashon Rotary, will return.
You can bring lunch, of course, and may also want snacks for the hike. Bring enough water for the entire hike -- there isn't water available along the route.
Current weather forecasts are not settled. Most expect low to mid 70s F, but some say partly sunny, and others have a possibility of sprinkles. If you're thinking of staying late, bring a jacket -- you'll want that at least for the return ferry trip.
I'd suggest hiking shoes with good traction if we're doing the Shinglemill Creek trail, but you can likely do this in regular running shoes. If we omit the Shinglemill Creek trail, running shoes are fine.
The end time for the event assumes that we catch the last returning water taxi run that departs Vashon at 6:30pm, so is not really better than a wild guess. ;-)
Please update your RSVP if your plans change.
Use comments to coordinate.
