Edmonds can be accessed by ferry, car, train and bus. Three major highways pass through Edmonds. These highways are SR-99, SR-104, and SR-524. SR-99 moves traffic north-south on the eastern edge of Edmonds. SR-104 and SR-524 are east-west highways connecting I-5 and SR-99 to the downtown area, the waterfront and the Ferry Terminal. SR-524 is on the north side of Edmonds (through Lynnwood as 196th Street SW), and SR-104 (Edmonds Way) on the south.
ORCA Card
“No need for correct change, just tap your ORCA at the card reader and your fare is paid. Whether you commute in the region by ferry, train, rail, or bus – or a combination – one card is all you need.”
Mass Transit in the Puget Sound area has coordinated on the use of the ORCA card for payment of fares. With the ORCA card, discounts for intra- and inter-system transfers are automatically handled. You can set up your account for automatic funds transfer to your ORCA card whenever your balance gets below a set amount. And you can set up purchase of monthly passes that are automatically completed for you each month.
The ORCA card is accepted on Community Transit, Everett Transit, King County Metro Transit, Kitsap Transit, Pierce Transit, Sound Transit (including Sounder) and Washington State Ferries. See the ORCA website for more information.
Washington State Ferries
The quickest way to get to the Olympic Peninsula is through Edmonds, then across Puget Sound via the Edmonds-Kingston Ferry.
The Edmonds-Kingston ferry leaves from downtown Edmonds about every 40 minutes during the day. Click here for more information about the Washington State Ferries, and the Edmonds-Kingston Ferry.
This is a very popular route and you may encounter backups for cars and trucks during commute times and on the weekends at popular travel times. Bicycles and motorcycles always board first, and there’s never a backup for foot traffic, so if you can leave your car behind, you’ll be ahead!
Community Transit
Community Transit provides bus service throughout Snohomish County, plus routes to Bothell, Bellevue, Seattle. Commuter routes also serve Seattle during peak periods.
Sounder (Sound Transit Commuter Train)
The Burlington Northern Railroad tracks run through Edmonds near the waterfront. Both Amtrak and Sounder (Sound Transit commuter service) use these tracks.
The Sounder commuter train, part of Sound Transit, runs four times from Edmonds (actually starting in Everett, stopping at Mukilteo and Edmonds) to Seattle each weekday morning and four times from Seattle to Edmonds (and beyond to Everett) each evening. Special trains run to and from some Mariners Baseball games.
For schedule information, Click here.
Additionally, two Amtrak runs each direction take commuters. That schedule information is also on the schedule pages referenced above.
Amtrak
Amtrak stops in Edmonds on runs both north and south between Seattle and Vancouver, BC.
I’ve taken Amtrak to Portland, Oregon, for a weekend several times. Each time I left mid-morning Friday and had a very enjoyable ride, arriving in Portland mid-afternoon. The route follows the waterfront much of the way, and you get a different view from the train than you do from a car on the freeway (not to mention the relief from hassling with traffic). The return trip left Portland mid afternoon and arrived back in Edmonds in the evening.
Prices as I write this (May, 2023) for one adult are between $31 and $74 each way from Edmonds to Portland for a Coach seat, and $57 to $97 for Business Class (which I highly recommend!).
More information on traveling Amtrak can be found here.
