EXPLORE: Manette to Port Orchard via the Foot Ferry

ferry adventures

The Kitsap transit foot ferry embarks from Bremerton to Port Orchard on the 00:15 and 00:45 of each hour.

a step by step guide

Easily stroll from Manette and the Bremerton Waterfront, across the Sinclair Inlet, to the Port Orchard Waterfront.

Easily accessible to pedestrians, an abundance of shops, restaurants, and parks in Kitsap are equally enjoyable - but we especially appreciate the ease with which one can walk from Manette to downtown Port Orchard. 

Bremerton docks

Below and beside the large main dock for the big white and green State Ferries is a smaller dock where the Kitsap Transit foot ferries and fast ferries load and unload passengers. You’ll see electronic kiosks for Fast Ferry tickets but FOOT FERRY tickets to Port Orchard are not sold in advance. $2 cash or Orca card are the only forms of payment and are collected on board by an attendant.

Return trips from POrt orchard to Bremerton are on the 00:00 and 00:30 daily.

soggy or sunny?

Depending on the weather it can either be a foggy, soggy excursion or a bright and sunny sailing…either way, you’re on a historic wooden passenger ferry that harkens back to bygone days when dozens of private ferry operators shipped passengers hither and yon amid the vast network of coastline cities such as Olympia, Seattle, Shelton and Port Townsend in what was known as the Mosquito Fleet.

Nowadays just a few of these boats remain and for a couple of bucks you can cross Sinclair Inlet to either downtown Port Orchard or Annapolis, a nearby neighborhood of Port Orchard which unloads right next to Whiskey Gulch.

shipyard views

The small boats chug loudly as they make the short trip across the inlet. As you pull away you can get a better view of the massive working of the PSNS shipyard and the various vessels stored and in dry dock. It’s not uncommon to spot a harbor seal or two swimming around the fortified edges of the shipyard or lazing about on the floating pontoons.

walking Port Orchard

On the Port Orchard side you’re met with the Kitsap Library branch and a totem pole carved in 1989 by Frank Smith - a Makah Indian Nation tribal member.

waterfront walking path

From there you can either go straight and start to climb the precipitous hill that is Sidney avenue or head left down Bay Street, towards a series of pocket parks, shops and footpaths. A righthand turn on Bay Street will bring you to the local community theater and boat launch.

Bay Street Storefronts

Bay Street is dotted with eateries, bars and more than its fair share of antique shops. If you’re still hungry The Brick House has a big bar menu and plenty o beer, The Coffee Oasis does (you guessed it) coffee as well as pastries, bagels and breakfast items and Carters is the local go-to for ice cream and baked yummies. La Palapa, the cozy budget Mexican joint and Thai Charlies round out the downtown small restaurant scene.

Sand in your toes

Heading left down the boardwalk will bring you to a small children’s park and some admittedly tiny but very cute and welcome sandy beach access points.

Beach Drive

If you keep on heading left down the walking path you’ll eventually cross the small metal bridge that spans Black Jack Creek. Here Bay Street turns into Beach Drive. A sidewalk/shoulder extends down Beach Drive, flanking the shore exactly opposite from Manette for several miles.

On the other side of the metal bridge, this is where you hop off the path and pop into Damn Fine Pizza for some of the best sourdough crust in Kitsap and a few rounds of pinball.

feeling adventurous

Walk all the way down to Annapolis - a tiny community adjacent to Port Orchard - where Whiskey Gulch can be found serving shots of espresso OR whiskey. The coffee and liqueur are backed up by an impressive menu and a big line up of beer taps. WG overlooks the water and when the tide is out you can see blue herons standing stoic in the glistening mudflats.

If instead of going left or right or diving face-first into one of the aforementioned restaurants, elect for a climb up Sidney Ave. First stop: Sidney Art Gallery & Museum - an historic building with an eclectic assortment of local crafts and art on display and for sale as well as a small museum upstairs.

Keep climbing, and at the top of the hill you’ll be rewarded with a birds-eye view of the shipyard and the ferries and sailboats moving to and fro across the inlet.

When you’re ready to return to Manette - retrace your steps to the foot ferry.

Whether you choose to eat and adventure on the Manette side, the downtown Bremerton waterfront side, or the Port Orchard waterfront side, there really is no way to do a walking foot ferry adventure the wrong way..

happy walking

more ways to explore port orchard