More room at the table: Washington State Ferries dishing out more sailings this Thanksgiving

SEATTLE – This Thanksgiving, there’s a lot to be thankful for at Washington State Ferries. After years of work to restore service, WSF is sailing into the holiday weekend with more than 10% additional daily departures than in recent years. 

With the restoration of full domestic service earlier this year, there are now over 420 daily sailings for customers to choose from. That is good news for the roughly 300,000 people expected to board Wednesday, Nov. 26, through Sunday, Nov. 30. But with so many choosing to sail during this time, those boarding a ferry in a vehicle should still prepare for the possibility of long waits at terminals.

“We’re thankful to be able to provide more service and reliability this Thanksgiving,” said WSF Deputy Secretary Steve Nevey. “These improvements come from a lot of hard work across our organization, with support from the governor and Legislature. I’m especially grateful to our employees who will be working over the holiday weekend.”

Plan before you go 

People boarding a vessel in a vehicle should use the WSDOT mobile app or visit the WSF website before heading to the terminal. Both feature sailing schedules, live terminal conditions, rider alerts, a real-time map and vehicle reservations.

Busy travel times

The busiest sailings for vehicles will likely be westbound (or onto an island) Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 26-27, then eastbound (or departing an island) Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 29-30. Both directions are expected to be busy Friday, Nov. 28. To reduce or eliminate waiting, riders should consider taking an early-morning or late-night sailing or using transit to walk or bike onto the ferry if possible.

Holiday schedules

On Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, there will be a few holiday adjustments to daily schedules on the Edmonds/Kingston and Point Defiance/Tahlequah routes. These changes are marked online on each schedule by route. The Seattle/Bainbridge Island and Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth runs will operate on holiday timetables.

People using state highways to get to the ferry terminal should plan for potential holiday travel backups and delays by checking real-time traffic information on the WSDOT mobile app or online using the WSDOT travel map feature.

WSF, a division of the Washington State Department of Transportation, is the largest ferry system in the U.S. and safely and efficiently carries tens of millions of people a year through some of the most majestic scenery in the world.