Getting around Darrington with Community Transit
Community Transit is here to get you where you want to go. We are proud to be a part of the Darrington community — we live here, ride here, and drive here. Wherever you need to go in Darrington, feel good about how you get there.
About Darrington
Darrington is a small mountain town in the foothills of the Cascades, located where two rivers once joined in a valley between the Sauk and the Stillaguamish rivers. The Sauk-Suiattle tribe were the first people to settle in the valley and today their tribe headquarters are located in Darrington. Darrington is connected to nearby areas by State Route 530, which runs along the two rivers towards the city of Arlington, located 30 miles to the west.
Town is home to a variety of small logging and lumber companies as well as Hampton Lumber’s state-of-the-art mill. Darrington’s location near the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and scenic rivers make it a popular destination for outdoor recreation.
People traveling to and from the area can ride from Community Transit buses along Route 230, which connects people to the neighboring Smokey Point Transit Center in Arlington. DART paratransit service and Vanpool are also options. The Sauk-Suiattle DC (Darrington-Concrete) Direct Shuttle Bus Service, a program operated by the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe, also offers public transportation to residents of the reservation, Darrington, and surrounding communities.
Spanning over 27 miles between the City of Arlington and the Town of Darrington, the Whitehorse Regional Trail follows the path of the former BNSF railroad through the North Stillaguamish River Valley, offering a scenic travel option for people hiking, biking, and riding horseback.
New Zip Shuttle pilot areas now available
Zip Shuttle service areas now include Lake Stevens, Arlington, and Darrington in addition to Alderwood to make getting around even easier!
Popular Destinations
D'Arling Direct shuttle service
Homage's D'Arling Direct, combined with Community Transit’s Route 230 service, gives you more options for travel between Darrington and Arlington on weekdays and weekends.
Travel back in time on a transit tour of local museums
Pictured above: A park and picnic area at the Stillaguamish Valley Pioneer Museum in Arlington.
Snohomish County is rich with the history of hardworking families who moved west and built the communities we’re proud to call home today. Some of the most unique museums that are open to the public in Snohomish County today hold treasures that tell interesting stories of how the region was established. Step aboard a Community Transit bus and relax on the drive to a world gone by. Don’t just read about history (although you can take a bus to a library if you want to read about history). Transit makes it easy to experience it yourself.
Stanwood Area Historical Society museums - home of the Snow Goose & Birding Festival
27122 102nd Ave NW – Stanwood
Route 240
Plan My Trip
If you haven’t visited the town of Stanwood, it’s in the northwest corner of Snohomish County. There you will find the Stanwood Area Historical Society campus, with historical exhibits at the D.O. Pearson House, the former home of Stanwood’s first mayor; The Floyd Norgaard Cultural Center (”The Floyd”); and the Dave Eldridge Center, originally named the Stanwood Camano History Museum. In addition to regional relics and art, Stanwood is home to one of Western Washington’s most spectacular events, the Stanwood Camano Snow Goose & Birding Festival. This annual event takes place Feb. 24, 2024, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Step aboard a transit bus and enjoy the views of wildlife. Discover the Snow Geese, Trumpeter Swans, and why this community is internationally recognized.
Stillaguamish Valley Pioneer Museum – where coho salmon still spawn
20722 67th Ave NE, Arlington
Routes 220 & 230
Plan My Trip
Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes when you take the bus to Arlington to explore this museum’s campus which includes Pioneer Hall, a park and picnic area, outdoor displays, and three ponds. Kids and adults alike will enjoy the life-size animal displays and a model train depicting the Darrington Logger chugging along the north fork of the “Stilly” (Stillaguamish River). Fishing is a big part of the economy and culture for local tribes. The ponds at the museum are networked with Portage Creek and the Stilly, which flows into Puget Sound. From the museum’s observation deck overlooking the creek, you’ll have an excellent view of the Coho salmon working their way up the fish ladders, along with muskrats, beavers, and river otters, depending on the time of year.
Blackman House Museum – inventor of roof shingles
118 Avenue B, Snohomish
Routes 109, 270 & 271
Plan My Trip
The Blackman House Museum occupies the former home of a pioneer logging family who invented the process of cutting and drying roof shingles so they could be mass-produced and carried by train across the country. The Blackman family was part of a community that homesteaded from Snohomish north to the Stillaguamish. They launched an empire shipping boatloads of Pacific Northwest cedar and fir lumber. If you walk out on the dock at Hill Park and look to the right, on the northeast shore of Blackman Lake, you can see pilings that date from 1876. Three bus routes stop within a half-mile of the Blackman House Museum in Snohomish.
If you enjoy your tour and want to keep exploring, here’s a list of ten more interesting museums throughout Snohomish County. To find out which destinations are near the bus routes add the address here.
Route information is accurate as of this article’s publication date. As our communities grow, Community Transit makes changes to stops and routes to best serve riders. For the most updated route information use our Plan My Trip tool.
