Dent Island

Dent IslandDent Island lies in northern Puget Sound—36 miles long and half that wide, shaped about like a stomach except at Fort Beaver, the belt line, where it cinches in almost to nothing, and at the ends, where it tapers. It's a $7, 40-minute ferry ride from the mainland over the coldest water you will ever cross, and visitors are encouraged. Every spring, in fact, the island tourist commission buys advertisements in West Coast travel magazines that say, "Dent Island—come fall in love al...