Everett

Flanked by craggy mountains to the east and sweeping vistas of Whidbey Island [1] to the west, Everett is a convenient stopover for those in search of recreational escape. Highway 2 begins its eastward march to Stevens Pass [2] and Wenatchee [3] here, and the Snohomish River curves north on the edge of town and creates a maze of islands and sloughs before emptying into Puget Sound.

Though the town is in the process of gentrification by commuters slogging through traffic to Seattle [4] each day, it is at heart a blue collar community. The neighborhoods here are filled with sailors serving at nearby Naval Station Everett, lineworkers laboring at the town’s Boeing factory [5], and even some bastions of Everett’s oldest trade working away at the local lumberyards and paper mill.

Visitors will find South Everett a forgettable tangle of strip malls, chain restaurants, and used car lots, but venture north and you'll be rewarded with a small but pleasant downtown enclave of restored brick buildings and well-tended historic homes.

Getting to Everett

The impressive Everett Station is the biggest multimodal station serving Snohomish County [6]. Settled at the junction of Pacific Avenue and Smith Avenue, this is a major hub for local buses, Amtrak trains, and Sounder commuter trains.

By Bus: Everett Transit (425/257-8803, www.everettwa.org/transit [7]) buses provide transportation within the city and to the Mukilteo [8] ferry dock. To get out of town, use Community Transit (800/562-1375, www.commtrans.org [9]).

For long-haul service along the I-5 corridor, Greyhound (800/231-2222, www.greyhound.com [10]) is the best bet, linking Everett to Bellingham [11]; Olympia [12]; Vancouver, Washington [13]; and other points south.

Travelers from Spokane [14] or Boise may want to consider the Northwestern Trailways (800/366-3830, www.northwesterntrailways.com [15]) line running across the mountains over Stevens Pass [2] on Highway 2. Roundtrip fares to Spokane are about $75.

If you’re flying into Sea-Tac airport, Shuttle Express, (425/981-7000 or 800/487-7433, www.shuttleexpress.com [16]) has door-to-door van service between Sea-Tac and Everett; reservations are required.

By Train: Each weekday Sound Transit’s commuter train the Sounder (206/398-5000, www.soundtransit.org [17]) runs three times in the morning from Everett to Seattle [4], with stops at Mukilteo Station and Edmonds Station along the way, and three routes back again in the evening. The ride takes about one hour and costs $4.50 each way.

Amtrak trains serve the area from Everett Station (425/258-2458 or 800/872-7245, www.amtrak.com [18]). The Empire Builder heads south to Seattle and east to Spokane [14] and Chicago. The Cascades provides daily train connections between Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, B.C., via Mount Vernon [19] and Bellingham [11].