Day Tripping on Chuckanut Drive

A few weekends ago, Curtis and I took a day trip along Chuckanut Drive and Whidbey Island. This is an easy, very scenic fun little day trip from Vancouver.

Chuckanut Drive also known as state highway 11, which begins at the Victorian town of Fairhaven for visitors travelling from the North. Fairhaven is a historic town, with Victorian brick buildings and quaint cafes and stores. For several kilometers the road sticks close to the shoreline, offering fantastic views of passing bays, with islands in the distance. Completed in 1896, Chuckanut Drive was the first land access to the Bellingham Bay community of Fairhaven from points further south. Prior to its completion, the everyday access into the area was by boat due to an impermeable covering of ancient cedars growing from the mountains to the sea.

You can see the oyster farms on the coastline and there are many great food destinations along the way, from the popular The Oyster Bar to trendy eateries in Edison.

We ate at Mariposa in Edison, this is worth the drive alone. I had the gordita plate with grilled pineapple and pork, the flavours were fresh and tasty.




The main street of Edison is full of eateries and small shops. There is also a very great bakery, and I dare you to not eat anything you buy there before getting home!



Stopping in La Conner is also a must, located on the river it’s full of antique and vintage stores with an abundance of seafood restaurants.


We drove to Anacortes and browsed a few stores than continued back over to Oak Bay.

To get there you go over Deception Pass which is gorgeous! You can park the car and walk over the bridge and the view is worth it.

With the navy base nearby, jets pass over constantly and it’s pretty cool. Being a Top Gear fan, I have that song stuck in my head while listening to the jets roar past.

Have you travelled along the Washington coast? Any spots we missed or should visit next time?

I’d love to continue on through Whidbey Island on the way down to Seattle one day. Also take a road trip through Eastern Washington over to Montana and hopefully continue onto Chicago and Detroit. That looks to me as a pretty cool trip, hitting up the old Route 66 and seeing Yellowstone!