My husband I were lucky enough to be able to get away a few weekends ago for a date weekend and we decided to break from the norm and headed up to Vashon Island for the weekend. I hadn’t been there since I was a kid and my husband had never been, so we weren’t sure what to expect, but we ended up loving it!
There aren’t any hotels on the island, which is only a short 3 miles from Seattle and Tacoma, so we hit up Airbnb to find a place to stay. I had never used airbnb before, and was a little nervous about it, but it was a magical experience. The cabin we stayed in was just as advertised (a very tiny house) and totally private, perfect for a romantic weekend away!
We headed up on Friday when my husband got off work, which allowed us ample time to get there and set up our weekend base camp. There is a short 10 minute ferry ride from Tacoma, barely even long enough to get out and snap some pictures of Mount Rainier!
We decided to start Saturday morning off with some coffee and a hike. Despite being a fairly small island there are a couple of trail systems boasting more than 15 miles of maintained trails on the island. We started off with a short hike down to the Point Robinson Lighthouse. The beach was beautiful and the flowers were spectacular. This was the perfect start to a lazy day hiking around the island.
Once we were all warmed up we decided to head to the Island Center Forest. We opted for the locals only entrance, which was hidden down a dirt road masquerading as someone’s driveway. Tricky! Once there we grabbed a map (they have a whole stack of them at the trail head and headed out. We were very glad we had that map as we hiked as there were splits about every quarter-mile and we would have gotten turned around pretty easily. We stopped to talk to some locals at the entrance and they suggested we check out the Valley of the Firsts on our way out, so we made sure our route included that. It was so worth it, and totally the highlight of the hike. We only hiked about 3 of the 10 miles of trails, but I would love to go back and hike the rest another time.
After all that hiking we were starving so we headed back to downtown for lunch. We are both huge fans of tacos (who isn’t!?!?) so we opted for tacos at Zamorana. The food was phenomenal, and the service was exceptional! I may have left my purse there after lunch and not noticed for a good hour, when I came back they had saved it for me behind the counter and only briefly joked about someone running off with it! 🙂
On our way back to our little cabin we stopped off to see the infamous bicycle in a tree. The tree is only about 20 feet back from the road, so it was a quick stop, and to be honest a little underwhelming. But we came, we saw, and we took a picture anyway!
We spent the rest of the afternoon lazing around the cabin, playing cards on the deck and taking in the sights. Vashon is a truly beautiful island, with very little development and the perfect balance of beaches and forest.
Once we finally got hungry enough to venture back downtown we decided to get some sushi from The Red Bicycle. The sushi was great, fresh and perfectly prepared, however the service left a lot to be desired. We showed up just before the sushi chef was leaving (8 pm) so if you do decide to go there make sure you get there early! We followed dinner up with a stroll through downtown.
We decided to check out the Maury Island Marine Park for a little night hiking and were not disappointed. The trail to the water is a well maintained access road, and the waterfront was beautiful. I don’t recommend heading down after dark like we did, unless you come prepared with a big flashlight and some real shoes. Have I told you I like to hike in flip flops on vacation? It definitely makes things interesting!
We headed home Sunday morning well rested and with our souls recharged. I can’t wait to go back to Vashon again and try some more trails and kayaking around the sound! Have you ever been? What did you think? Where is your favorite weekend getaway?
If you are looking for other awesome destinations in Washington check out my post on Kalaloch and the Washington coast!
You might also like to explore Mt. Rainier.
Or maybe even Mount Saint Helens!