Anacortes–San Juan Islands ferry

Ferry service to the San Juan Islands was provided by a variety of companies and operators in the early 20th century. On April 26, 1922, the Anacortes–Sidney route was inaugurated on two converted steamships.[6] The state-owned Washington State Ferries took control of the routes in 1951 and assigned MV Vashon to the San Juan Islands runs.[7]

WSF began offering reservations for trips on the San Juan routes in January 2015 in response to chronic overcrowding of passenger vehicles. The reservations are split into batches, with spots released two months, two weeks, and two days prior to sailings; 10 percent were set aside for standby vehicles. Reservations were free but incurred a $10 fee if unused on the same day.[8] The system was implemented following a 2009 mandate from the state legislature as a stopgap measure to control capacity while new vessels and expanded terminals were constructed.[9] The reservations system suffered from website crashes and glitches in its first months, but was received well by local residents.[8][10]

In March 2020, WSF suspended service to Sidney on Vancouver Island due to international travel restrictions imposed by Canada and the United States amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] At the time, seasonal service had been expected to begin on March 29, but was delayed a month—and later indefinitely.[12][13] A shortage of available maritime workers and vessels prevented service to Sidney from being restored after travel restrictions were lifted in 2021; the shortage also caused "unprecedented" service disruptions to the still-operating San Juan services, where 45 percent of trips from July 2021 to June 2022 were delayed.[14][15] As of February 2023, the Sidney route is not planned to be restored until 2030 due to vessel availability issues.[16]