Day Trip Discoveries: It’s summer! How ’bout a one-day road trip to Anacortes?

About 90 minutes north of the King-Snohomish County border is Anacortes, known as the Gateway to the San Juan Islands. As inviting as island-hopping sounds, there’s really no need to venture to the ferry terminal and a trip up into the San Juans if you’re short on time. There’s plenty to do right in Anacortes.

After making the drive north on I-5 and then west on State Highway 20, take a little time to stretch your legs. The 220-acre Washington Park west of downtown Anacortes and the ferry terminal has plenty of hiking options, but you don’t need to drive that far. Opt instead for the Tommy Thompson trail. This 3.3-mile paved path starts near downtown Anacortes and heads south along the west edge of Fidalgo Bay.

The Fidalgo Bay Aquatic Reserve portion of the Tommy Thompson trail in Anacortes has close views of the scenic, rugged shoreline of Fidalgo Bay. (Photos by Doug Petrowski)

If a 6.5-mile roundtrip walk sounds too much for one morning, stop at the south end of the Tommy Thompson trail at the Fidalgo Bay RV Resort on your way into town. Take advantage of the free visitor parking and venture out onto the 2,000-foot long portion of the trail that crosses the Fidalgo Bay Aquatic Reserve.

Locals and visitors can be seen walking, running, biking and rollerblading this stretch of the trail at a former train trestle while enjoying the views north toward the San Juans.

After working up an appetite, it’s time for lunch. While smaller in population than Mountlake Terrace, Anacortes has all the dining options of a larger suburban city, from fast food to fine dining. But you can’t go wrong with a local favorite: Gere-a-Deli.

Gere-a-Deli, in addition to sandwiches, salads and soups, features a variety of made-from-scratch desserts for anyone’s sweet tooth.
The family-owned Gere-a-Deli is a favorite gathering spot for Anacortes locals … and anyone else with a hungry appetite and interest in old, ginchy commercial signage.

This family-owned deli, located in Anacortes’ historic old downtown along Commercial Avenue and inside a former bank building, has been serving up sandwiches, salads, soups and made-from-scratch desserts for more than 40 years. You just may run into a local dignitary there, too. In fact, deli co-owner Laurie Gere served as the mayor of Anacortes from 2014 to 2021.

After lunch, walk off the calories by going across the street to the city’s historic post office where you can view a mural that dates back 75 years. It still elicits debates among many commercial fishermen in Anacortes.

This 75-year-old, 18-foot by 4.5-foot canvas mural called “Fishing” hangs in the historic Anacortes post office and beckons to the earlier days of the city’s still-thriving fishing industry.

An 18-foot by 4.5-foot canvas mural “Fishing” by Kenneth Callahan hangs in the post office’s lobby. Originally named “Halibut Fishermen,” locals quickly recognized that the fish being caught were salmon, not halibut–thus the name change. 

For pickier viewers, the other errors brought up are:

– The boat on the right (a dory) includes a pair of fishermen where some locals say they often work alone. 

– The depiction of two boats working side-by-side never happened.

Commercial Avenue boasts numerous eateries, various shops and a few art galleries, but book lovers won’t want to pass on a visit inside Pelican Bay Books & Coffeehouse, directly across the street from the post office. 

The Pelican Bay Books & Coffeeshop is a long-time fixture on Commercial Avenue in the historic downtown district of Anacortes.

The locally-owned, 30-plus-year business buys and sells about 50,000 books annually (specializing in rare books), in addition to hosting poetry readings and offering snacks for purchase (try the $2 chocolate chip cookies).

A nice walk, tasty lunch and finding a new favorite read–and even after a full day in Anacortes–it’s close enough that you can still be home for dinner. Then just think: you can spend the evening planning your next visit to this history and treasure-rich town.

Just 90 minutes from south Snohomish County, the ride home after a full day in Anacortes will be easy.
  1. Pelican Bay Books is wonderful! Pick a book and sit and read and have coffee….and /or browse rows of books, or buy one to take home!

  2. Driving up to Anacortes beaching, shopping and dining has been my “happy place” to get away for many years! So much to see and do! If you drive over to the San Juan Passage development and go down to the beach below, there are wonderful walking paths along the waterfront to enjoy with ferries going in and out and bird watching.

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