Taking a Washington State Ferry with a dog or pet

WA Ferry Tracker › Taking a Washington State Ferry with a dog or pet

A Washington State Ferry is one of the simpler ways to take a dog across Puget Sound — boats, outdoor decks and a crossing that is usually short enough that a well-prepared pet can ride without much fuss. The official policy is also short, and it is stricter than some riders expect once you get upstairs. Pets are welcome, but they are not allowed in the galley, on seats or tables, or in about half of the indoor cabin on the galley end of the boat. This guide sticks to what Washington State Ferries (WSF) and WSDOT actually publish on their pets page, what you can bring aboard page, accessibility page and first-time rider notes. Where they do not say something — a pet fare, a weight cutoff for "large" versus "small" dogs, a mapped relief area at each terminal — we say so instead of guessing.

Pets are welcome, with rules

WSDOT's pets page opens with the welcome, then the conditions: "Pets are welcome when traveling with us, but there are a few rules to help keep everyone safe and comfortable. By law, service animals are allowed in all areas. Livestock must remain in proper enclosures."

The same page then states the basic cabin rule in one sentence: "All pets must be on leashes and are allowed in most passenger areas," followed by the places they are not allowed. The shorter what you can bring aboard page says it a slightly different way, and that wording is useful as a cross-check before you leave the house: "Dogs on leashes are allowed in most passenger areas, but there are some places where they are not allowed. All other pets must always remain in a crate or carrier. Livestock must remain in proper enclosures." Read together, the two pages agree: a leashed dog can share most of the passenger spaces; a cat, rabbit or other non-dog pet rides in a crate or carrier the whole time; livestock never travel loose.

WSDOT also says "Signs show where pets are allowed and not allowed." If a posted sign and your memory of this guide ever disagree, follow the sign and the crew. Vessel layouts differ, and the half-cabin restriction on the galley end is described as something that "will eventually be marked by signs."

Where pets cannot go

WSDOT lists three exceptions. They apply in addition to the leash rule, not instead of it.

Indoor food service areas, including onboard galleys

Pets are not allowed in indoor food service areas, "including onboard galleys." WSDOT's first-time rider page says many ferries have food and drinks in a dining area, that you can order food throughout the trip (and alcohol up to 15 minutes before arrival), and that vending machines are also available. Those indoor dining spaces are exactly the kind of area the pet rule carves out. If someone in your group wants a galley meal, plan on taking turns: one person stays with the pet in a pet-friendly part of the cabin or on an outdoor deck while the other goes to the counter. That turn-taking is our suggestion, not a WSF procedure — WSF simply says pets stay out of the food service area.

Traveling with kids and a dog? Our ferry with kids guide notes the same galley restriction and is worth pairing with this page. Kids ride free as passengers (under 19, unless they are the driver), and the galley is often where a family wants to sit. With a pet along, pick seats in the pet-friendly half of the cabin instead.

Seats and tables

WSDOT says it twice, which is a good hint they mean it: pets are not allowed "on seats or tables," and "at no time are any pets allowed on seats or tables." A small dog may sit on your lap. That is not the same as parking the dog on the bench next to you or on a galley table. Large dogs stay on the floor.

About half of the indoor passenger cabin on the galley end

This is the rule that surprises people who remember older, looser cabin habits. WSDOT says pets are not allowed in "about half of the indoor passenger cabin on the galley end of the vessel, as will eventually be marked by signs." Pets "may pass through this area while boarding or leaving the vessel but should continue through to pet-friendly areas without lingering."

In plain language: if the stairs or walkway from the car deck or the overhead loading ramp drop you near the galley, you and your leashed dog (or your carrier) can walk through to get to a pet-friendly section. Do not settle there. Look for signs, keep moving toward the other end of the cabin or an outdoor deck, and if you are not sure, ask a crew member rather than guessing which bulkhead is the dividing line. WSF does not publish a vessel-by-vessel map of that half-cabin line, so we will not draw one.

Large dogs, small dogs and every other pet

Once you are in a pet-friendly passenger area, WSDOT splits animals into three groups:

• Large dogs must stay on the floor. Combined with the leash rule and the "no seats or tables" rule, that means a large dog rides on the floor beside you, not on the bench, not in the aisle if it blocks people, and not loose.
• Small dogs can sit on their owner's lap or remain in a carrier. A lap is allowed. A carrier is allowed. A seat of their own is not.
• All other pets must always remain in a crate or carrier. The bring-aboard page repeats this without the "dogs" exception: if it is not a dog, it stays in the crate or carrier for the whole trip.

WSF does not publish a weight, height or breed cutoff for "large" versus "small." We will not invent one. If your dog is clearly not a lap dog, plan on the floor. If you are on the fence, a carrier plus a leash covers both of the options WSDOT lists for small dogs, and it keeps you from negotiating the definition in a crowded cabin. WSF also does not publish a limit on how many pets one rider may bring, a muzzle requirement, or a list of restricted breeds. Those details are simply not on the pets page or the bring-aboard page.

A crate or carrier is not optional for cats and other non-dog pets. Even a calm cat in a harness does not meet the published rule. Bring a carrier you can keep closed, and keep a hand on it in a crowded stairwell or on a ramp.

Owner responsibilities — and what crew can ask you to do

WSDOT puts the duty squarely on the owner: "Pet owners are responsible for keeping their animals under control and cleaning up after them." "Under control" is not defined beyond the leash, carrier and behavior rules already listed, so treat it as the ordinary meaning: the animal stays with you, does not jump on other riders, and does not block stairs, doorways or the flow of people getting on or off.

Cleanup matters on a shared boat. WSF does not publish a list of pet-relief stations at terminals or a dedicated relief deck on each vessel. Bring bags anyway, use them if you need them, and do not assume there will be a grass patch or a marked relief area waiting at Colman Dock or on the other side. If WSF does not document a relief area at a terminal, we cannot tell you one is there.

Crew have clear authority if something goes wrong. "For safety reasons, or if a pet is not behaving appropriately, crew members may ask owners to move their pet to an outdoor deck or back into their vehicle." That sentence does two useful things at once. It confirms that outdoor decks are an accepted place for a pet (at least when crew send you there). It also confirms that driving on has a fallback the walk-on rider does not: your car. If your dog is overwhelmed by the cabin — noise, other dogs, a busy galley-end walk-through — going outside or returning to the vehicle is exactly what WSF says crew may require. You do not have to wait for crew to suggest an outdoor deck if your dog would be more comfortable there; just stay out of the posted no-pet areas and keep the animal leashed and under control.

Service animals

Service animals are not treated as pets. WSDOT says so on both the pets page and the riders with disabilities page, in matching language:

• Service animals "are allowed to accompany people with disabilities in all public areas of our terminals and vessels as required by state and federal law."
• "Owners must keep their service animal in control, and the animal must be housebroken."
• Employees are authorized to ask three questions: whether the animal is a service animal; whether it is required because of a disability; and what task the animal is trained to perform.

That is the published test. WSF does not ask riders to show a special service-animal ID on these pages, and it does not describe a registration program for service animals. It also does not publish a separate policy for emotional support animals, therapy animals or comfort animals. The two categories it does publish are service animals (allowed in all public areas, with the control and housebreaking rules above) and pets (the leash, carrier, galley and cabin rules in the rest of this guide). If your animal is a pet and not a service animal, WSDOT's accessibility page points you to the pets page rather than to the service-animal rules.

Questions about service animals go to the WSF ADA Accessibility Coordinator at 206-515-3437 or wsdotada@wsdot.wa.gov. The same contacts appear on the riders-with-disabilities page for ADA complaints, along with WSF customer service at 206-464-6400 (toll-free in Washington and British Columbia at 888-808-7977).

Livestock

WSF's livestock rule is one sentence, repeated on both the pets page and the bring-aboard page: "All livestock are required to travel in an appropriate enclosure at all times." WSF does not spell out enclosure types, species or a livestock reservation process on those pages. For more information it points you to 206-464-6400 or its online contact options. If you are actually moving livestock rather than a household pet, call before you travel instead of inferring details from the dog rules.

Walk on or drive on with a dog?

Both are allowed. WSF does not publish a separate "pets must walk on" or "pets must stay in the car" rule. The choice is about the line, the weather and whether you want the car as a backup.

Walking on

• You will almost always fit. WSDOT's best times to travel guides are "for vehicle traffic only." The same page adds that "in almost all cases there is room for walk-on passengers and bicyclists." A busy Saturday vehicle line is not, by itself, a reason to leave the dog at home. Our walk-on passenger guide covers tickets, turnstiles and overhead loading in more detail.
• Official timing is tight; a leash makes it tighter. WSDOT asks walk-on passengers to be aboard at least five minutes before the sailing. That is a minimum, not a comfortable target when you are also holding a leash, a carrier, a ticket and maybe a coffee. Give yourself extra time so you are not jogging down a ramp or negotiating a turnstile in a rush. WSF does not publish a longer official arrival time for riders with pets, so the extra buffer is our advice, not a WSF requirement.
• Getting aboard. WSDOT says walk-ons cross a ramp onto the ferry, then have indoor and outdoor seating and are free to move around — subject, for pets, to the cabin rules above. If overhead loading drops you near the galley end, keep walking to a pet-friendly area instead of lingering.
• No car to retreat to. If crew ask you to move an unhappy pet and you walked on, the option they name that still applies is an outdoor deck. That is a strong reason to pack a layer and to pick a sailing where standing outside is realistic.

Driving on

• The car is a published fallback. Crew may ask you to take the pet back into your vehicle. That only works if you drove on.
• Timing. WSDOT asks vehicles to be in line at the tollbooth at least 20 minutes before departure on most routes, or at least 30 minutes if you have a reservation (and it says to check the reservation page, because the window can depend on the route). Reservations are available on Anacortes/San Juan Islands and Port Townsend/Coupeville, according to WSDOT's first-time rider page. Everywhere else, plan on first-come, first-served loading.
• You may leave the vehicle once you are aboard. WSDOT's first-time rider page says: "Once you get on the boat you may leave your vehicle." Turn off the car alarm, set the emergency brake, follow loudspeaker directions and return when asked. "May" is not "must." If your dog is happier in the car with you for a short crossing, WSF does not require you to go upstairs.
• Do not invent an unattended-pet rule. WSF does not publish a sentence that says you may leave a pet alone in a vehicle, and it does not publish a sentence that forbids it either. What it does publish, on the safety and security page, is "Do not leave any personal belongings unattended, even for a few minutes." Our take: keep an adult with the pet, whether that is upstairs, on an outdoor deck or in the car. Do not treat the vehicle as a crate you walk away from.
• Leaving the holding-lane line costs you your spot on routes without a reservation. Do the relief walk and the water break before you join the vehicle queue, not after.

A simple way to choose: for a city-to-city day trip like Seattle–Bainbridge or Seattle–Bremerton, walking on with a leashed dog is usually the least stressful option, and walk-ons almost always fit. For a longer island day or a trip where you want a quiet place if the cabin is packed, drive, and pick your sailing with our best-time / peak-wait guide so you are not sitting in a holding lane with a restless dog.

Outdoor decks, the galley and picking a seat

WSDOT's first-time rider page tells walk-ons there is indoor and outdoor seating and that "you are free to move around." Combined with the pet rules, that gives you three workable places for a dog: a pet-friendly indoor cabin area (not the galley end, not the food service area, not on a seat), an outdoor deck, or — if you drove — your vehicle.

Outdoor decks are often the most comfortable choice for a dog that wants air, a view and fewer table legs. They are also where crew may send you if there is a safety or behavior issue. WSF does not publish deck-by-deck pet rules beyond that, and it does not say decks are required. Practical notes that are ours, not WSF policy: keep the leash short near railings and doors, watch your step on wet outdoor or car decks, and bring a layer. Puget Sound wind on an open deck is part of the ride.

If you want food, remember the indoor dining area is off limits to pets. Vending machines are mentioned on the first-time rider page; WSF does not say whether every vending area is inside a no-pet food-service zone. When in doubt, follow the signs and ask crew rather than walking a dog up to a counter. There is no public Wi-Fi on WSF ferries or at terminals, according to the same first-time rider page, so do not plan on streaming something to keep a bored dog occupied — a chew, a familiar blanket in the carrier or a short outdoor-deck stand usually does more good.

Give yourself extra time

A leash in one hand and a ticket in the other is enough reason to beat WSF's published minimums. Recap of those minimums, from the first-time rider page:

• Walk-ons: be aboard at least five minutes before departure.
• Vehicles, most routes: in line at the tollbooth at least 20 minutes before departure.
• Vehicles with a reservation: at least 30 minutes, and check the reservation page for the route.

WSF does not add a pet-specific arrival window on top of that. Adding 10–15 minutes of your own is how you avoid a rushed ramp, a tangled leash at a turnstile and a dog that picks that moment to freeze. If you are driving, use WSDOT's best-time charts and our peak-wait guide to skip the sailings where vehicle lines regularly overflow. Before you leave home, check WSF travel alerts for delays, cancellations and elevator or restroom outages. An elevator outage matters if you are carrying a crate; WSDOT posts those on the alerts page and notes that accessibility "varies by terminal and ferry."

One more timing rule that catches people: once loading begins, you need the captain's permission to get back off the boat. WSDOT's safety page says that if you need to disembark shortly after boarding, you explain the situation to a crew member, who alerts the captain. The captain decides, and may ask for identification. Getting off without permission "will be considered suspicious and may cause sailing delays." In other words, the waste bag you left in the terminal or the water bowl still in the car on the dock is not something you can casually retrieve after you have boarded. Do a last-pocket check before you walk on or leave the vehicle holding area.

What to pack

This is a rider checklist, not a WSF packing list. WSDOT's published requirements are a leash for pets, a crate or carrier for every pet that is not a dog, and — for small dogs — the option of a carrier instead of a lap.

• A leash you will actually keep on the dog in terminals and in passenger areas. "All pets must be on leashes" is the pets-page rule; the bring-aboard page says "dogs on leashes."
• A crate or carrier for any non-dog pet, and a good idea for a small dog if the cabin is crowded or you want a defined space that is not someone else's seat.
• Waste bags, because you are responsible for cleaning up and WSF does not publish designated relief areas.
• Water for the animal. WSF does not say bowls are provided.
• A layer for you if you expect to stand on an outdoor deck, plus whatever your dog needs for wind or rain. WSF does not publish pet-weather advice; this is common sense for Puget Sound.
• Everything you need from the car before you go upstairs, because you cannot hop back off once loading has started without the captain's permission, and because you should not leave belongings unattended.
• Your own ticket plan. WSF does not publish a pet ticket. Bring whatever passenger or vehicle ticket you already need; see the walk-on guide for how walk-on tickets work at each kind of terminal.

What WSF does not publish (so we will not invent it)

A useful pet guide is also honest about the gaps. As of the WSDOT pages we saved for this article, WSF does not publish:

• A separate pet fare or pet reservation. The pets page and the bring-aboard page do not list a charge to bring a dog or a cat. They also do not say "pets ride free" as a fare category. Passenger and vehicle fares work the way they always do. If you want that confirmed for an unusual situation (a crate that changes your vehicle length, livestock, and so on), WSDOT says to contact customer service at 206-464-6400.
• A definition of "large" versus "small" dog — no weight, height or breed chart.
• Breed restrictions, muzzle rules, or a cap on the number of pets per rider.
• Mapped pet-relief areas at terminals or a dedicated relief spot on each vessel.
• Vessel-by-vessel diagrams of the "about half" of the cabin on the galley end. Signs and crew are what WSF points you to.
• A separate policy for emotional support or comfort animals. WSF describes service animals and pets. If your animal is not a service animal under the questions staff may ask, follow the pet rules.
• Permission to leave a pet unattended in a vehicle — or an explicit ban. See the driving section above for what WSF does say about leaving belongings and about crew sending a pet back to the car.

For anything else, WSDOT's pets page says: "For more information contact us at 206-464-6400 or online." The first-time rider page lists that number and the toll-free 888-808-7977 line between 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time daily.

Day trips that work well with a dog

WSF does not rate routes as more or less pet-friendly. What does change is what you do on the other side, and how long you are on the boat. Outdoor time after you get off helps a dog shake off a crossing, so these are the day-trip pages we already maintain — use them for walking directions and timing, and do not treat them as official off-ferry leash or park rules (city parks and trails have their own):

• Seattle ↔ Bainbridge — the classic walk-on. A leashed dog, a cabin or deck on the way over, and a town you can explore on foot from the terminal. Pair it with this page's cabin rules so you do not sit down in the galley-end half by habit.
• Seattle ↔ Bremerton — WSF or the Kitsap Fast Ferry. The boardwalk and waterfront are right there after you get off; confirm any Fast Ferry pet rules with Kitsap Transit directly, because this guide only covers WSF's published policy.
• Edmonds ↔ Kingston — walk-on or car, with notes on the long Edmonds ramp. A crate or a large dog on that ramp is a reason to give yourself more than the five-minute walk-on minimum.
• Mukilteo ↔ Clinton (Whidbey) — usually a car trip, which gives you the vehicle fallback WSF describes if the cabin is a poor fit for your dog.
• Ferry with kids — if the dog and the toddler are both coming, read both guides. Free youth tickets, strollers and the car-deck nap question live on that page; the galley and cabin-half rules live here.

Want a heads-up before you clip on the leash? WA Ferry Tracker shows live boat positions, drive-up space and reservation space, and can send free WhatsApp alerts so you are not killing time at the terminal with a dog who thought this was a walk.

A few safety notes that also apply with a pet

These are not extra pet regulations. They are WSF safety rules that are easier to trip over when your attention is on an animal:

• Do not leave belongings unattended, even for a few minutes. Unattended items that are not treated as suspicious become lost-and-found and get removed, according to the safety page. That includes a carrier you set down "just for a second."
• Follow crew and Washington State Patrol instructions. The safety page asks riders to do that for security-related directions. It also matters if crew are redirecting you and your pet.
• You may see working dogs in the vehicle holding lanes. WSDOT says Washington State Patrol troopers may walk among vehicles with explosive-detection dogs "trained to detect explosive materials only." Those dogs are doing a security job. They are not a reason to take your pet off-leash or to approach them. If your dog is reactive to other dogs, give the team space — that is our courtesy note, not a WSF pet rule.
• In an emergency, the riders-with-disabilities page says crews evacuate the car deck and public spaces to assembly stations in the main passenger cabin. Follow crew instructions immediately, including if you had been sitting with a pet in a vehicle or on an outdoor deck.

The official pet policy itself is short enough to reread the morning you travel: leash (or carrier), stay out of the galley and off the furniture, skip the galley-end half of the cabin except to walk through, keep the animal under control, clean up, and listen if crew send you outside or back to the car. Do that, and a Washington State Ferry is a perfectly ordinary way to take the dog along.

FAQ

📤 Share this on WhatsApp

Sources

• WSDOT – Pets
• WSDOT – What you can bring aboard
• WSDOT – Riders with disabilities (service animals)
• WSDOT – Safety and security
• WSDOT – First-time riders
• WSDOT – Best times to travel
• WSDOT – Travel alerts

Independent guide, not affiliated with Washington State Ferries or WSDOT. Schedules, fares, holiday timetables and line rules change, so confirm on wsdot.wa.gov before you travel. Last updated November 8, 2026.