Bainbridge Island

An Island, a City, a State of Mind

Just a short ferry ride from downtown Seattle, Bainbridge Island feels considerably farther away. The skyline slowly recedes across Puget Sound, forested shoreline comes into view, and the ferry deposits passengers at the edge of Winslow, a compact downtown made for exploring on foot. That relationship with the water has shaped Bainbridge for generations.

Long before Europeans arrived, the island and surrounding waters were home to Coast Salish peoples, including ancestors of today’s Suquamish Tribe. Later, logging, farming, shipbuilding and maritime trade connected Bainbridge increasingly closely with Seattle. Eagle Harbor’s protected waters became a center of activity, while small steamships belonging to Puget Sound’s famous “Mosquito Fleet” carried people and goods between the island and mainland. Winslow grew around the harbor and eventually became the island’s commercial center.

As forests were cleared, farming became another important part of island life. Japanese immigrants and their families helped establish Bainbridge’s agricultural community, and the island became particularly well known for its strawberries.

That history also gives Bainbridge a sobering place in American history. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Bainbridge Island was targeted by the first Civilian Exclusion Order. On March 30, 1942, 227 Japanese American residents were forcibly removed from the island with only days to prepare. They left from the Eagledale ferry dock and were eventually incarcerated at Manzanar and Minidoka. Today, the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial preserves the story with a simple message: Nidoto Nai Yoni — “Let It Not Happen Again.”

Bainbridge also contributed something considerably more lighthearted to American culture: pickleball. The game was invented here in the summer of 1965, when three local families began improvising a backyard game using a badminton court, paddles and a perforated plastic ball. What started as a way to entertain their families eventually became one of America’s fastest-growing sports.

Through all those changes, Bainbridge has retained something of its older island scale. The ferry remains one of the best ways to arrive, and stepping off it puts you within minutes of Winslow Way, local coffee shops, restaurants, tasting rooms and the waterfront.

That’s what makes Bainbridge such a natural Urban Wine Walk. Start with the ferry ride, find a cup of coffee, wander through Winslow and along Eagle Harbor, and stop for a flight of Washington wine. Between stops, boats cross the same protected waters that once supported shipyards and the Mosquito Fleet, while wooded hillsides remind you that you’re still on an island.

Eventually, walk back toward the ferry and find a spot outside for the trip home. As Bainbridge recedes and the Seattle skyline grows larger, the return journey becomes part of the experience.