A Romantic Road Trip To Backyard Beaches: Edmonds And Mukilteo

With winter weather readying surprises at every corner, sometimes a local road trip is the smartest option. Take this romantic staycation in Edmonds and Mukilteo for saltwater views, art and culture, romantic park walks and fine dining.

Edmonds features a quaint, pedestrian-friendly downtown that’s walkable in most weather conditions, with plentiful shops, restaurants and pubs to duck into. Don your rainproof coats (or wait for a sun break) to explore the mile of easily accessible shorelines or 47 parks and open spaces.

Exploring the town

Start your day at an odd strip mall, where Cottage Community Bakery rolls out the dough daily for hungry locals in the know. Crusty loaves of bread, incredible cookies and other baked treats are available — buy a few pieces to tide you over.

Or plan to wait for a while to access the massive all-day breakfast menu at downtown Edmonds’ Rusty Pelican Cafe. You’ll need to put your name on the waitlist for the small restaurant, but a pager alerts you to your table’s readiness. In the meantime, browse the craft, food and farm market stalls at the city’s Winter Markets on the last Saturday of the month.

After breakfast, take a quick photo of The Edmonds Visitor Center housed in a log cabin, then pop into the restored 1910 Carnegie Library, now housing the Edmonds Historical Museum. The museum features a warming exhibit on coffee and tea worldwide on the main floor.

Head downstairs to find a re-created Victorian parlor with a local family’s original furnishings, information on the town’s history and transformation and even an original jail cell.

Then, browse the shops. If you haven’t visited downtown Edmonds in a while, you may be surprised at the burgeoning collection of upscale boutiques, hip art galleries and hands-on activities.

Several standouts include the chance to try your hand at drawings, oil pastels and more at big, open and free tables at Graphite Arts Center. Or plan your next trip using the travel library and informed humans at Rick Steves Travel Center. Don’t miss the collection of fascinating, unusual and portable French antiques (such as hair art and wedding altars) at The Curious Nest, where the owner is happy to explain more about each piece.

For dinner outside the downtown Edmonds core, it’s a short drive to the Edmonds location of Bar Dojo for exciting Asian-Mexican fusion (pork belly nachos with kimchi pico de gallo, for one). Or in downtown Edmonds, enjoy hot crab and lobster rolls on Mar-Ket Fish‘s outdoor heated patio, or oysters and steak at Salt & Iron. The warm wood-paneled interior of ChurchKey Pub serves up hearty Brit-American pub fare like shepherd’s pie alongside lagers, porters and IPAs.

In the evening, Edmonds offers an unusually robust live performance scene for such a small town. Options include plays at Edmonds Driftwood Players and Phoenix Theatre, and live music at Edmonds Center for the Arts.

If you’d like to snag a romantic waterside room, you’ll need to drive north about a half-hour to Mukilteo’s Silver Cloud Hotel, where fireplaces warm waterfront suites. Much smaller than Edmonds, Mukilteo still offers an enormous Lighthouse Park with a historic lighthouse and spectacular sunset views, seafood restaurants and wine bars for overnight libations and snacks.

Edmonds waterfront: Beaches and museums

Park near four beach parks lining the Edmonds waterfront: Brackett’s Landing North and South, Marina Beach Park and Olympic Beach. The beaches testify to Edmonds’ citizens’ restoration efforts, which led to Brackett’s Landing notation as a marine sanctuary.

Keep an eye on Edmonds Underwater Park to spot some of the 25,000 scuba divers visiting annually to explore man-made habitats underwater. The habitats host numerous marine neighbors, including ratfish, sculpins, lingcod and many odd-looking residents.

You’re also well-positioned to board a cruise. Walk on at the Washington State Ferry Edmonds Terminal to enjoy bright blue waters and Olympic views en route to Kingston for just $10.25.

From February through April, gray whales pass through the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound en route to Alaska’s Bering Sea. Edmonds-based Puget Sound Express offers weekend 2.5-hour gray whale tours with optional meals.

Stroll the Edmonds Marina Boardwalk, a promenade alongside families, couples and speed walkers. On the way, you’ll notice restaurants and bars looking out on the view you share of yachts, sailboats and mountain-framed waters. The boardwalk ends at Marina Beach Park, a stop on the popular Whale Trail.

The nearby, simply sophisticated Cascadia Art Museum focuses on Northwest visual arts and design between 1860 and 1970. Rotating exhibits feature lesser-known but excellent works; recent exhibits have focused on the region’s female artists.

Several restaurants dot the waterfront for snacks or midday cocktails and it’s a short walk to the wooden boardwalk at Edmonds Marsh, where migratory and local birds overwinter — and make a racket at dusk.

Alternatively, visit the hike-in-only Meadowdale Beach Park via a 1.25 mile walk Or explore the giant, native forest of Yost Park, where Western red cedar and other evergreens tower overhead. You’re only a few miles from downtown Seattle — and a world away.

Western Washington Toyota Dealers Association is a group of 21 independent dealers formed over 35 years ago promoting Toyota vehicles and services in the greater Puget Sound region. Member dealers live and work in their home communities across Western Washington.

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A romantic road trip to backyard beaches: Edmonds and Mukilteo

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