Epic ways to spice up your summer

Take a road trip. Soak in a sunset. Get crafty. Have a craft beer. Get tatted or even tie the knot.

Summer adventures abound in every corner of our region. New sights and tastes await. There is so much to experience.

Here are some attractions and distractions to get your summer party started. Take it from there with The Daily Herald’s Best of Snohomish County 2024 list of top picks from over 60,000 votes by readers.

Getting there

Hop on the light rail. The train runs from Lynnwood to Angle Lake, with 23 stations including Sea-Tac Airport along the way. The ride to Seattle’s new Overlook Walk on the city’s waterfront takes about 30 minutes from Lynnwood (get off at Westlake Station and hoof it for six blocks).

Heading to a Mariners game? Plan for a 40-minute light rail ride from Lynnwood. The airport takes about an hour.

Adult fares are $3. Youth 18 and under ride free. Seniors pay $1.

Parking is free at the Lynnwood Transit Center garage, but consider taking a bus or Zip Shuttle to the station. The 1,700-stall garage fills up quickly.

Toss your cares to the wind on a ferry ride to an island. Washington State Ferries has 10 routes serving 20 terminals in Puget Sound and the Salish Sea.

Timed reservations can be made on Anacortes-San Juan Islands and Coupeville-Port Townsend ferries. Edmonds-Kingston and Mukilteo-Clinton ferry routes do not take reservations, but you can buy tickets online.

Fares vary by route. Seniors sail for half price. Riders 18 and under travel free. Pets also ride free, but can’t roam freely.

Download the WSDOT mobile app for schedules and wait times.

Or skip the ferry and drive around to the northern end of Whidbey Island.

The Deception Pass Bridge, which spans a strait separating Whidbey from Fidalgo Island, offers a breathtaking view. Spend the day and go for hike. Bring your Discover Pass to park for free.

The Blue Fox Drive-In in Oak Harbor has movies, go-karts, an arcade and the best concession stand ever.

The Price Sculpture Forest in Coupeville is free to stroll and take a walk on the art side.

Eat, drink and shop in the seaside village of Langley on South Whidbey before heading to Clinton, where you can catch a ferry to Mukilteo.

Port of Everett

Get ready to Jetty on a two-mile human-made barrier island that acts as a breakwater for the Everett marina. Take your own boat to the island year-round or reserve a spot on the port’s passenger ferry during Jetty Island Days from July 5 to Aug. 31. The ferry departs next to the boat launch at 10th Street and W. Marine View Drive. Tickets are $3-$5 (children 2 and under free).

Once you’re there, the water is pretty warm because it’s shallow. There is no electricity, no lifeguards and nothing to buy. Pack everything you need.

Stroll the boardwalk at the Port of Everett and keep tabs on the new restaurants and retail set to debut this fall and winter at the port’s Waterfront Place. Two new buildings will house Alexa’s Cafe, Rustic Cork Wine Bar, Tapped Public House, Menchie’s frozen yogurt and The Net Shed, a fish and chips bar and fresh fish market.

In the meantime, enjoy Fisherman Jack’s, South Fork Bakery, the Jetty Bar & Grille at Hotel Indigo, Sound2Summit Brewing, Bluewater Distillery, Woods Coffee and The Muse Whiskey & Coffee. Or stop by longtime favorites such as Seas the Day Cafe, Scuttlebutt Brewery, Anthony’s Homeport or Anthony’s Woodfire Grill and Lombardi’s Italian Restaurant.

Treats & eats

A second Dick’s Drive-In is coming to Snohomish County. The new restaurant opens June 12 at 1629 Center Road, just off Highway 99 in Everett. If you can’t wait until then, ease on down the road to the Edmonds location at 21910 Highway 99. Happily for us, Dick’s will soon sandwich the county!

Double DD Meats is a ribeye and hot sauce destination in Mountlake Terrace. The store has 3,000 hot sauces, 1,000 barbecue bastes, 500 dry rubs, 400 marinades and 50 flavors of sausage. Plus, it stocks about every kind of meat and fowl, tongue to feet, that inhabits the Pacific Northwest. Bonus: Candies, cheeses and novelty items.

The store, at 5602 232nd St. SW, about a block from the Mountlake Terrace Civic Campus complex, is worth the drive for the meatloaf mix and dark chocolate malt balls. While there, stop next door at the Diamond Knot Brewpub for a giant tater tot to go with your beer or root beer.

You can buy a box of Sweet Mona’s salted chocolate caramels at Sea-Tac Airport — or venture over to the chocolate shop on Whidbey Island where they’re made. The bright yellow shop at 221 Second St. in Langley boasts about 300 varieties of handcrafted sweets.

Trays of haystacks, marzipans and meltaways fill the cases. Cookies, bars and brittles are packaged to-go. Coffee and gelato bars offer hot and cold choices.

Choose your treat, sink into one of the store’s outdoor Adirondack chairs and watch the world go by.

Free-free-free

General admission at the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum at Paine Field is now free!

The museum is a showcase for World War II and Cold War military aircraft and vehicles — many of them in working condition — from the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Japan and the Soviet Union. The collection spans three hangars and includes 26 airplanes, 30 military vehicles and a 46-foot V-2 rocket. Located at 3407 109th St. SW in Everett, the museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday-Saturday.

Gallery showings at the Schack Art Center in downtown Everett are always free. New exhibits pop up every six to eight weeks.

Looking for a one-of-a-kind gift? The Schack’s gift store carries jewelry, glass, ceramics and cards and prints made by Pacific Northwest artists. The Schack is at 2921 Hoyt Ave.

Groove to Music at the Marina on Thursdays beginning July 10 at Port Gardner Landing. Bands, food, crowds! The lineup for the free, eight-week concert series is still in the works.

Friday night and wondering what to do? From July 25 to Aug. 22, enjoy free family-friendly movies at the Port of Everett’s 10th annual Sail-In Cinema. The show gets underway at Boxcar Park. Pack a blanket or low-backed chair.

Explore a super-sized world of superhero and pop culture figures at Funko in downtown Everett. With statues of Harry Potter, Darth Vader, Godzilla, the Batmobile and numerous displays, this is your selfie-ready headquarters.

There is no admission to Funko and no purchase is required — but chances are you’ll walk out with a bobblehead or three.

Make sure to stop by Karl’s Bakery next door for a giant apple fritter. (This one isn’t free.)

Festivals & fairs

June: Sorticulture: The garden and arts festival happens in the heart of downtown Everett, June 6-8, with art vendors, plant specialists and featured gardening experts. More than 100 artists sell their handcrafted garden art and outdoor living products.

Edmonds Arts Festival, June 13-15. The 68th annual festival in downtown Edmonds features more than 160 artists, juried art from more than 400 regional artists and art from students in the Edmonds School District. You’ll find sculpture, paintings, ceramics, printmaking, drawings, photography, blown glass and more, plus plenty of food vendors, live music and performing arts groups.

July: Silvana Fair, July 26. Billed as the best little one-day fair in the whole world! Music, live-stock judging, food, arts and crafts, petting zoo and a greased pole contest to boot. From show dogs to award-winning alpacas, the free fair offers just about everything including free parking. In its 78th year.

August: Evergreen State Fair, Aug. 21-Sept. 1 (closed Aug. 27), Monroe fairgrounds. About 350,000 guests attend each year. It is the largest county fair in the state, with rides, games, 4-H contests, concerts and demolition derby.

Fresh Paint, Aug. 16-17. The Schack Art Center’s festival features art fresh off the easel, art for sale, live music, activities and glass blowing in downtown Everett.

All summer long: Stop, shop and walk at the area’s many Farmers Markets: Edmonds on Saturday. Snohomish on Thursday. Everett on Sunday.

Sound & Summit

This article is featured in the summer issue of Sound & Summit, a supplement of The Daily Herald. Explore Snohomish and Island counties with each quarterly magazine. Subscribe to receive all four editions for $18 per year. Call 425-339-3200 or go to soundsummitmagazine.com for more information.