Peak and Off-Peak Island–Mainland Service

You may have noticed that the peak (summer) and off-peak schedules introduced in 2025 for Friday Harbor have an interesting, counter-intuitive, difference: there’s one less round trip between Friday Harbor and Anacortes in the summer than in the off-peak season. Why, you ask? That’s because the summer schedule prioritizes direct service between islands and the mainland. This means that the boat might come less often, but when it does, the whole boat is more likely to be fully allocated to one island, keeping overall capacity the same or enhanced. Having single-destination sailings also simplifies loading when there are many more riders who are unfamiliar with operations, which helps avoid loading delays. In contrast, the off-peak schedule relies on shared runs, which allows more frequent sailings. These new schedules were developed in 2024 with the input of a 25-member community task force and broad community engagement.