San Juan Islands

The San Juan Islands are what happens when you scatter 172 islands across the cold, clear waters of the Salish Sea between Washington State and Vancouver Island. Only four islands are served by the state ferry system — San Juan, Orcas, Lopez, and Shaw — and each has developed its own distinct personality, from the artsy waterfront of Friday Harbor to the quiet farm roads of Lopez where everyone waves at passing cars, whether they know you or not.

The islands exist in a rain shadow created by the Olympic Mountains to the south, which means they get significantly less rain than Seattle — about 29 inches per year, roughly the same as Los Angeles. Summers are dry, warm, and long-lighted, with some of the most beautiful weather anywhere in the Pacific Northwest. The combination of mild climate, sheltered waters, and relative isolation has created an ecosystem that draws both wildlife and the people who come to watch it.

Orca whales are the headline act. The San Juan Islands are the best place in the world to see orcas from land — Lime Kiln Point State Park on San Juan Island is the only land-based whale watching park in the country. The resident Southern Resident orca pods pass through Haro Strait regularly from late spring through fall, and on a good day you can watch them hunt salmon, breach, and spy-hop from the rocky shoreline. Whale watching tours by boat offer even closer encounters, though the land-based experience is free and, on the right day, just as spectacular.

Beyond the orcas, the islands reward slow exploration. San Juan Island has Friday Harbor — a walkable waterfront town with galleries, restaurants, and the Whale Museum — along with American Camp and English Camp, two national historical parks from the bizarre "Pig War" of 1859, when a British pig wandering onto an American settler's potato patch nearly started a war between the United States and Great Britain. The story is absurd and the parks are beautiful.

Orcas Island is the largest and most topographically dramatic, with Mount Constitution rising 2,409 feet above the water in Moran State Park. The drive (or bike ride) to the summit ends at a stone observation tower built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, with 360-degree views encompassing Mount Baker, the Cascades, Vancouver Island, and the scattered islands below. The park also holds mountain lakes, 38 miles of trails, and some of the best car camping in the state.

Lopez Island is the flattest and friendliest — nicknamed "Slowpez" by locals for its unhurried pace. It's the best island for cycling, with quiet farm roads rolling past organic farms, vineyards, and shoreline parks. The Lopez Island Farmers Market on Saturdays in summer is small-town Pacific Northwest at its most charming.

Shaw Island is the quietest of the ferry-served islands, with no commercial businesses and a population under 300. Most visitors pass through on the ferry without stopping, which is exactly how Shaw likes it.