Anacortes · WA
Westside, Anacortes: The West Streets Above Guemes Channel
The west side of Fidalgo Island.
Where the Westside sits in Anacortes
The Westside is the grid of west numbered streets, West 2nd up through about West 11th, that climbs the hill above Guemes Channel between downtown Anacortes and the ferry terminal. Oakes Avenue runs along its north edge by the water. Behind it to the south is the ridge where Rockridge sits, starting at West 12th Street, and where the Cranberry Lake section of the Anacortes Community Forest Lands begins. It is the part of town that is close to everything and belongs to nothing in particular, which is why locals just call it the west side.
It is a real climb: West 2nd Street sits well above Oakes Avenue, and West 7th sits well above West 2nd. Roadside Park down at Jackson and Oakes has the Guemes Channel view at street level; how much of that view a home up the hill gets is decided house by house.
Talk with DiAnn about the Westside
Homes on the Westside of Anacortes
The lots are old and the homes are not. Every Westside home I have sold sits on lots from the Northern Pacific Addition to Anacortes, one of the original city plats, and every one of them was built this century: a 2020 rebuild on West 2nd Street, on a lot where the previous house burned in 2019, a 2005 home and a 2012 home on West 7th Street, and a 2023 home on West 3rd Street. Lots run 0.14 to 0.18 acre, the size the grid gives you.
This is a part of town I have worked steadily: a seller on West 2nd Street, buyers on West 7th Street twice, and a buyer on West 3rd Street. The county lists the West 2nd Street home with a small, partly obstructed view of Guemes Channel, and that is the thing I watch closest on the west streets: a channel view from the deck and a channel view from the main living room are two different prices.
Getting around from the Westside
Oakes Avenue is the road: east to 12th Street, Commercial Avenue, and downtown Anacortes, west to the Washington State Ferries terminal at Ship Harbor. Oakes, 12th Street, and Commercial are the state highway spur, so they are also the way to Highway 20 and the mainland. Roadside Park, a 0.3-acre street end at Jackson and Oakes with Guemes Channel views, is the neighborhood's spot to watch the ferries go by, and the Guemes Channel Trail runs along the waterfront from the Edwards Way cul-de-sac about a mile toward town. None of the west numbered streets reach the water; the channel side belongs to the lots on Oakes Avenue itself, which the county describes as medium bank above Guemes Channel, so the park and the trail are how the Westside gets to the beach.
The honest trade-off, and how I work it
The Westside is not a marina neighborhood like Skyline and it is not the historic grid like Old Town. It is in between, in location and in character, and that is its appeal for people who want to be near the ferry and near downtown without paying for either name. The trade-off is that the view is lot by lot, and Oakes Avenue carries the ferry traffic on summer weekends.
Selling a Westside home means proving the view and pricing against the real channel-view sales, which I track. See selling your home and start with the free EPIC™ Home-Selling Report. If you are moving out of a long-held west side home into something simpler, rightsizing is my specialty. Buyers, start with buying a home or trading up, and see my current listings. Neighbor pages: Rockridge and Oakes Ave. DiAnn Sager, RE/MAX Gateway, Anacortes. Ask me about the Westside.
By the road from Westside
By the road from the middle of Westside, it is 2.7 miles to the Anacortes ferry terminal, 1.7 to 10th and Commercial, 18 to the Burlington I-5 exit, 42 to downtown Bellingham. These are road miles from OpenStreetMap routing, measured September 2026, by road and not by ferry.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Westside of Anacortes?
The grid of West 2nd through about West 11th streets on the hill above Guemes Channel, between downtown and the ferry terminal, on lots from the old Northern Pacific Addition plat. West 12th Street is where the Rock Ridge plat begins.
Do Westside homes have water views?
Some do. The county lists a West 2nd Street home I sold with a small, partly obstructed view of Guemes Channel. It is lot by lot, and I confirm the view from inside before we price or offer.
How close is the Westside to the ferry and downtown?
Both are on Oakes Avenue: Commercial Avenue and downtown to the east by way of 12th Street, the Washington State Ferries terminal at Ship Harbor to the west.
Buying in Westside
Selling in Westside
The method
How we do it in Westside
Explore more of the North Puget Sound
Ready to make your move with DiAnn Sager?