The Bellingham Cruise Terminal is a ferry terminal and transportation hub located near the Fairhaven neighborhood in Bellingham, Washington, United States. It was completed in 1989 [1] and provides easy interchange between various modes of transportation. Operated by the Port of Bellingham [2] the facility serves over 200,000 passengers a year. [1]
Ferry services include weekly Friday departures and arrivals on the state-run Alaska Marine Highway System. [3] There is also an additional summer ferry on alternating Saturdays. Alaska-bound ferries also stop in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, providing a direct link between the lower 48 states and northern British Columbia. [4] [5]
The terminal offers regular passenger ferry access to the nearby San Juan Islands, operated by private companies. [6] [ unreliable source? ] [7] [8] [ unreliable source? ] It is home port for small cruise ships, whale watching boats and charter vessels. [9] [10] [ unreliable source? ] Beginning in September 2020, the terminal has also been home to a temporary ferry to Point Roberts, providing alternative access amid the COVID-19 pandemic and closure of the Canadian border. [11]
The cruise ship terminal is located adjacent to the Fairhaven train station, which is served by Amtrak's regional Cascades service. It is the northernmost stop in the United States, with trains continuing to Vancouver, British Columbia, and south to Seattle, Portland, Oregon, and Eugene, Oregon. [12] The building is owned by the Port of Bellingham and also serves as a Greyhound bus terminal. Whatcom Transportation Authority operates local buses between the terminal and other parts of Bellingham. [13] Private airport shuttles offer scheduled service to Bellingham International Airport. [13]
A visitor information center is nearby on Harris Street. The Cruise Terminal includes a restaurant, [1] short and long term parking, and vessel sewer pump-out. [14] [15] The terminal is accessed from Interstate 5 via State Route 11.[ citation needed ]
 | This section needs to be updated.(April 2023) |
The proposed 2019 budget from the Alaskan state government includes $100 million in cuts to the Alaska Marine Highway system, representing a loss of 75% of current funding. With the cuts, the ferry system could be modified into a seasonal, summer-only service, or cut entirely. [16] [17]
Transportation in Puerto Rico includes a system of roads, highways, freeways, airports, ports and harbors, and railway systems, serving a population of approximately 4 million year-round. It is funded primarily with both local and federal government funds.
Bellingham is the county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies 21 miles (34 km) south of the U.S.–Canada border, between Vancouver, British Columbia, 52 miles (84 km) to the northwest and Seattle 90 miles (140 km) to the south.
A ferry is a boat that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus.
Blaine is a city in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. The city's northern boundary is the Canada–U.S. border; the Peace Arch international monument straddles the border of both countries. It is the fourth largest incorporated city within the Bellingham Metropolitan Area. The population was 5,884 at the 2020 census. Since Blaine is located right on the border with Canada, it is the northernmost city on Interstate 5.
British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry services for coastal and island communities in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Set up in 1960 to provide a similar service to that provided by the Black Ball Line and the Canadian Pacific Railway, which were affected by job action at the time, BC Ferries has become the largest passenger ferry line in North America, operating a fleet of 41 vessels with a total passenger and crew capacity of over 27,000, serving 47 locations on the B.C. coast.
Fairhaven was a settlement in Washington state founded in 1883 by Dan Harris. In 1903, it became part of the city of Bellingham and remains a historic neighborhood.
The Alaska Marine Highway (AMH) or the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is a ferry service operated by the U.S. state of Alaska. It has its headquarters in Ketchikan, Alaska.
Bellingham International Airport is three miles (5 km) northwest of Bellingham, in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. BLI covers 2,190 acres (886 ha) of land, and is the third-largest commercial airport in Washington.
State Route 11 (SR 11) is a 21.28-mile (34.25 km) long state highway that serves Skagit and Whatcom counties in the U.S. state of Washington. SR 11, known as Chuckanut Drive, begins at an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5) north of Burlington and continues northwest through several small towns and the Chuckanut Mountains to the Fairhaven district of Bellingham, where the highway turns east and ends again at I-5.
MV Matanuska, colloquially known as the Mat, is a mainline Malaspina-class ferry vessel operated by the Alaska Marine Highway System.
The M/V Columbia is a mainline ferry vessel for the Alaska Marine Highway System.
People in the San Francisco Bay Area rely on a complex multimodal transportation infrastructure consisting of roads, bridges, highways, rail, tunnels, airports, seaports, and bike and pedestrian paths. The development, maintenance, and operation of these different modes of transportation are overseen by various agencies, including the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the Association of Bay Area Governments, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. These and other organizations collectively manage several interstate highways and state routes, eight passenger rail networks, eight trans-bay bridges, transbay ferry service, local and transbay bus service, three international airports, and an extensive network of roads, tunnels, and bike paths.
Rosario Strait is a strait in northern Washington state, separating San Juan County and Skagit and Whatcom Counties. It extends from the Strait of Juan de Fuca about 23 kilometres (14 mi) north to the Strait of Georgia. The USGS defines its southern boundary as a line extending from Point Colville on Lopez Island to Rosario Head on Fidalgo Island, and its northern boundary as a line from Point Migley on Lummi Island to the east tip of Puffin Island and then to Point Thompson on Orcas Island. Rosario Strait runs north-south between Lopez, Decatur, Blakely, and Orcas Islands on the west, and Fidalgo, Cypress, Sinclair, and Lummi Islands on the east.
Fairhaven Station, also called Bellingham, is a train station serving Amtrak's Cascades route, as well as a bus station serving Greyhound Lines and local Whatcom Transportation Authority buses, in Bellingham, Washington, United States. Built in 1995, the station is located near the Bellingham Cruise Terminal, the southern connection for the Alaska Marine Highway. Water Taxi services and seasonal whale watching excursions also provide connections from the Bellingham Cruise Terminal to the San Juan Islands.
The U.S. state of Washington is home to a number of public and private ferry systems, most notably the state-run Washington State Ferries.
Transportation in New Jersey utilizes a combination of road, rail, air, and water modes. New Jersey is situated between Philadelphia and New York City, two major metropolitan centers of the Boston-Washington megalopolis, making it a regional corridor for transportation. As a result, New Jersey's freeways carry high volumes of interstate traffic and products. The main thoroughfare for long distance travel is the New Jersey Turnpike, the nation's fifth-busiest toll road. The Garden State Parkway connects the state's densely populated north to its southern shore region. New Jersey has the 4th smallest area of U.S. states, but its population density of 1,196 persons per sq. mi causes congestion to be a major issue for motorists.
Transportation in San Diego consists of a variety of air, road, sea, and public transportation options.
General Miles was a steamship constructed in 1882 which served in various coastal areas of the states of Oregon and Washington, as well as British Columbia and the territory of Alaska. It was apparently named after US General Nelson A. Miles.
The Whatcom Chief is a ferry in Washington state, United States. The ferry carries both pedestrians and vehicles to Lummi Island from Gooseberry Point west of Bellingham, Washington.
MV Tazlina is a ferry operated by the Alaska Marine Highway System. It began serving Southeast Alaska Communities in 2019.