San Juan Islands

Summer (June through September) is the finest season overall: the Southern Resident killer whales are most reliably present in the Haro Strait and San Juan Channel (their primary summer feeding ground for Chinook salmon); the weather is at its finest (the San Juans lie in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains and receive only 25-30 inches of rain per year — far less than mainland western Washington — with warm, clear summers averaging 70-80°F and reliable sun); and the full range of ferry service, guided tours, whale-watching cruises, and sea-kayaking operations is available. July and August are peak season (advance reservations for the Washington State Ferry are essential for vehicles — book 3-6 months in advance for summer weekend dates). Shoulder season (May and October) offers fewer crowds, lower prices, and the earliest and latest whale-watching opportunities. The San Juans are genuinely beautiful year-round — winter brings bald eagles (concentrating on the islands in large numbers), harbor seals, and Steller sea lions to the winter shorelines; the islands are wonderfully quiet and the pace contemplative in the off-season.

The San Juan Islands have been inhabited by the Coast Salish peoples — the Lummi, Samish, and other Straits Salish nations — for at least 5,000 years; the islands’ protected waters provided abundant salmon, shellfish, and marine mammals, and the San Juan Island shorelines preserve shell middens and cultural sites from this long indigenous occupation. Euro-American exploration of the islands began with the British explorer George Vancouver in 1792; both the United States and Great Britain claimed the islands under competing interpretations of the Oregon Treaty of 1846. The “Pig War” of 1859 (precipitated by the shooting of a Hudson’s Bay Company pig on San Juan Island by an American settler) nearly resulted in armed conflict between American and British forces; the Kaiser of Germany was called in as arbitrator and awarded the islands to the United States in 1872. The Friday Harbor town on San Juan Island grew as the archipelago’s commercial center in the late 19th century; the islands’ current character as a destination for outdoor recreation, whale-watching, and artist communities developed in the mid-20th century.

The San Juan Islands are composed of a geologically diverse assemblage of rock types — the result of accretionary tectonics during which a series of oceanic island arcs, seamounts, and ocean-floor basalts were scraped off the subducting oceanic plate and accreted onto the North American continental margin during the Mesozoic and early Cenozoic eras. The islands’ rocks include Paleozoic metamorphic rocks (schists, phyllites, and marble — among the oldest rocks in Washington State), Jurassic and Cretaceous volcanic rocks (basalt and andesite from ancient island arcs), Cretaceous limestone (the San Juan Islands carbonate platform), and Eocene intrusive rocks (granodiorite on Orcas Island). The islands themselves were shaped by Pleistocene glaciation — the Cordilleran Ice Sheet (a continental ice sheet that extended from British Columbia south into Washington) covered the entire San Juan Islands archipelago to a depth of thousands of feet; glacial erosion and deposition sculpted the islands’ rounded hills, steep-sided fjord-like coves, and glacial-till plains.

The San Juan Islands support one of the richest marine mammal assemblages in the contiguous United States. Southern Resident killer whales (orcas) — the J, K, and L pods, totaling fewer than 80 animals — historically used the Haro Strait and San Juan Channel as summer feeding grounds; their presence (and the crisis of their declining numbers, driven by Chinook salmon depletion, vessel noise, and contaminants) is the most compelling wildlife story in the Pacific Northwest. Transient (Bigg’s) killer whales (mammal-eating ecotype, genetically distinct from Residents) are now increasingly common around the islands year-round. Harbor seals (hauling out on almost every rocky islet), Steller sea lions (at their winter haul-outs), Dall’s porpoise (bow-riding the ferry wakes), and harbor porpoise are abundant. Bald eagles (concentrated on the islands in winter — counts of 100+ are not unusual in December and January) are extraordinary. Pelagic birds — rhinoceros auklets, pigeon guillemots, tufted puffins, common murres, and marbled murrelets — are abundant in the marine waters.

The San Juan Islands archipelago sits at the heart of the Salish Sea ecosystem — the inland sea (Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Strait of Georgia) that is one of the most ecologically rich and most endangered marine ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest. The kelp forests (bull kelp — the large, sinuous brown alga that forms underwater canopies off the rocky island shorelines) are the keystone habitat of the San Juan Islands marine ecosystem, supporting rockfish, lingcod, dungeness crab, sea urchins, sea stars, and the marine mammals and birds that prey on them. The crisis of the Southern Resident killer whale — driven by the collapse of the Chinook salmon populations that are the orcas’ primary prey — is the defining ecological story of the Salish Sea; efforts to restore Chinook salmon populations (through dam removal, habitat restoration, and hatchery management) are directly connected to the survival of the Southern Resident population.

The San Juan Islands hold a unique and beloved place in Pacific Northwest culture — a destination of extraordinary natural beauty and biological richness that has been a center of orca conservation (the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor was the first whale museum in the United States; it has been central to public education about orca ecology and conservation for decades), a community of artists, farmers, and year-round residents who have shaped the islands’ distinctive character, and a destination for outdoor recreation that draws visitors from across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The San Juan Islands are what the Pacific Northwest aspires to be: beautiful, ecologically rich, and still somehow manageable in scale and character. The orcas are the islands’ cultural heart.

The San Juan Islands are accessible by Washington State Ferry from Anacortes, Washington (85 miles north of Seattle via I-5 and WY-20). The ferry serves four islands — Lopez, Shaw, Orcas, and San Juan — on a round-trip route; the ferry ride from Anacortes to Friday Harbor (San Juan Island) takes approximately 75-90 minutes. Vehicle reservations are strongly recommended for summer weekend travel (book at wsdot.wa.gov/ferries months in advance for peak summer dates). Walk-on passengers (no vehicle) can board the ferry without a reservation (check-in at least 30 minutes before departure recommended in summer). The San Juan Islands can also be reached by Kenmore Air floatplane service from Seattle’s Lake Union; passenger ferry service from Bellingham, Anacortes, and Victoria, BC. Friday Harbor has full services. Orcas and Lopez have limited services (lodging, restaurants, basic groceries; no large-scale resorts). Check Washington State Ferry for current schedules and reservation windows.

The San Juan Islands National Monument (BLM) encompasses the majority of the undeveloped islands and reefs in the archipelago. San Juan Islands National Historical Park (NPS) preserves the American and English Camps. Moran State Park (Washington State Parks, Orcas Island) encompasses Mount Constitution and the finest hiking terrain. The Southern Resident killer whale population (“Endangered” under the Endangered Species Act) is the defining conservation concern of the islands; viewing guidelines for whale-watching (maintain 300-yard distance from all killer whales; no approach or intercept of their travel direction; vessels off within 15 minutes of any orca encounter) are established by federal law. The San Juan Islands Rosario Strait shipping lane is a significant source of vessel noise and disturbance to foraging orcas; vessel speed restrictions are in effect during salmon season. Support the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor and the Center for Whale Research in their orca monitoring and conservation programs.

Sea kayaking in the San Juan Islands requires careful assessment of tidal currents and weather — the tidal currents in the San Juan Channel and Haro Strait can reach 4-6 knots at maximum flood or ebb; paddling against the current in open water is exhausting or impossible; always plan routes with the tide. The weather in the San Juans can change rapidly (the Strait of Juan de Fuca funnels strong westerly winds into the channels in afternoon); always check the NOAA marine forecast before launching a kayak. Never approach killer whales in a kayak — the 300-yard federal viewing distance applies to human-powered craft as well as motor vessels. The Washington State Ferry (a large vessel) creates a significant wake; give the ferry a wide berth if paddling in the ferry lanes. Drowning risk in kayak incidents is dramatically reduced by consistently wearing a properly fitted personal flotation device — always.

Washington State Ferry: vehicle reservation strongly recommended for summer (book at wsdot.wa.gov/ferries); walk-on passengers no reservation required. National Monument (BLM): no fee for most island access; camping at designated marine state park sites requires Washington State Parks reservation and fee. Whale-watching: federal regulations require minimum 300-yard distance from all Southern Resident killer whales (vessels — including kayaks — must not approach or intercept; be/off within 15 minutes of an encounter). Moran State Park (Orcas Island): camping by reservation (Washington State Parks reservation system). San Juan Islands NHP (American and English Camps): free NPS site; no camping. Fishing: Washington State fishing license required. Pack out all trash from any remote island campsite.

Anacortes, Washington (the ferry terminal — a pleasant working waterfront town with full services, excellent seafood restaurants, and the gateway to the San Juans), Bellingham (25 miles north of Anacortes — a vibrant college town with Western Washington University, Whatcom Falls Park, and excellent services for a San Juan Islands base), the Skagit Valley (south of Anacortes — one of the finest tulip-field and agricultural landscapes in the Pacific Northwest; the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in April draws visitors from across the region), Olympic National Park (ferry connection from Friday Harbor to Sidney, BC then south through Vancouver Island, or by car south through the Hood Canal) and North Cascades National Park (east of Anacortes via WY-20 — the “American Alps”) define the regional landscape. The San Juan Islands anchor the northwestern corner of Washington State’s outdoor geography.

The finest single experience in the San Juan Islands is to rent a kayak from a Friday Harbor or Orcas Island outfitter, paddle to a marine state park campsite on a small outer island (Stuart Island, Jones Island, Sucia Island — the “crown jewel” of the San Juan Islands Marine State Park system — all have excellent campsites accessible only by boat or kayak), and spend a night under the stars with the sound of harbor seals and, if lucky, the blow of passing orca pods. Reserve marine state park campsites months in advance for summer weekends (they fill immediately). For the finest orca-watching, contact the Center for Whale Research (on San Juan Island) for real-time pod-location reports; the Southern Residents’ movements are tracked daily during summer and the information is shared publicly. From June through September, whale-watching cruise boats typically encounter the Southern Residents on 80-90% of summer trips.