On San Juan Island, Islanders obsess about the Orcas! These huge marine mammals frequent our shores from late March to early October, and their whereabouts, health and activities are more important to the islanders than any celebrity sightings. Book an adventure trip and search the straits and bays for the killer whales of the Salish Sea. You will be guided by trained naturalists who will spot Bald Eagles and countless other marine birds and mammals which fill the waters on the Island.

Whether you only have an afternoon or several days to spend on the water, heading out with a highly trained guide for a sea kayak adventure is a memorable experience. If you bring your own kayaks, there are several safe harbors from which to launch, and islands awaiting your discovery.

Just outside Friday Harbor is San Juan Vineyards, a family owned winery that offers Chardonnay, Estate-Grown Siegerrebe and Madeleine Angevine, Riesling, Merlot, Cabernet-Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Mona Vino (affectionately named after the Island’s only resident camel). Tour the winery, participate in tasting, join their wine club, or purchase a bottle to take home or for a picnic around the Island. Sample other Washington state produced wine at one of the many restaurants on the Island.

During the summer months, you have so many great restaurants to choose from you might wish to sample appetizers at one, entrees at another and dessert at yet another! Or just plan to spend enough days on the Island to indulge in each of the delicious fares. Pacific Northwest cuisine, Asian cuisine, and a variety of seafood to delight your palette.

If you love art and learning, you will stay busy on San Juan Island. Visit the Westcott Bay Institute Sculpture Garden and view 130 outdoor sculptures. At
the Whale Museum, you will find much more than a static display of whales. The museum is committed to the preservation of Orcas and the stewardship of the Salish Sea environment.

Stroll along a pebbly beach, find a private alcove, stride amongst tall trees, hike through a meadow full of foxes and rabbits. Bike the 32 mile trail around the island, or just pedal peacefully through the town of Friday Harbor. Maps and trail guidelines available at the two National Park Sites or ask your Concierge.

Scoot around town or visit the entire island using a fun & safe alternative transportation.

Whether it is a fishing trip, wildlife viewing, or sunset sail, there are many sizes and styles of boat to rent, including those with a full crew.

Experience some “flight-seeing” and soar above San Juan Island with your own private pilot. Bring your camera – you might even see some whales!

Ride the ferries to Orcas, Shaw and Lopez Islands, or schedule private transportation to some of the other islands (there are 743 islands, islets and reefs – 428 at high tide!) Explore the archipelago in all its beauty.

The Fields are open for visiting and wandering at any time (just close the gates behind you please). The farm is committed to sustainable agriculture, creating essential oils, handcrafted personal products, and lots of tasty edibles!

Open year round, this is an interesting stop for your Island tour. Knitters can purchase yarn with the photo of their Alpaca and children can visit with the cute Alpacas.

Whether you are searching for a best selling novel, a seaworthy kayak, a crystal mermaid sculpture or the perfect toy for someone, downtown shopping at Friday Harbor is the place. This pedestrian-friendly (and pet friendly!) town is a comfortable stroll along wide sidewalks, and the gently sloping hills bring you to spectacular views of the harbor.

A trip to San Juan Islands is not complete without learning about the infamous Pig War, a peaceful mediation between the USA and Great Britain that started over a pig ’s death in 1859 and was not settled until 1872. Visit American Camp and English Camp for an interesting view into the politics of the time.

Looking to add that Rhinoceros Auket to your birding list? Or perhaps you would like to stand on a shore and watch bald eagles dip and turn in the sky above you? San Juan Island is home to many species, from finches to shorebirds. Bring your binoculars!

Bring all the lenses because the wide angle will cover the sweeping vistas, the zoom will capture that orca just offshore at Lime Kiln State Park, and the macro will allow you to bring home the most exquisite shot of the tiny purple flowers along the trail. Or just grab the family digital and get great pics for online of you and the alpacas, you and your sweetheart on South Beach, or the fog rolling in over the harbor.

There are so many romantic and picturesque spots for saying “I Do” on the island we won’t even attempt to put a list here. State parks, city parks, by the harbor – and several of the inns boast lovely gardens suitable for a small wedding. And the honeymoon begins with sending the wedding guests back to the mainland while you have the luxury suite at the inn, a private hot tub or Jacuzzi, and dinner at an intimate restaurant.

Yes, you can do that anywhere! But a true romantic knows that the right kiss at the right time at a spectacular place can be a memory of a lifetime. Friday Harbor has some places that are so famous for kissing they ended up in a book about the Best Places to Kiss in the Northwest!

Whether you are with your sweetheart or a novel you have been longing to read, Friday Harbor ’s cool summer evenings and winter rainy days give you the perfect excuse to turn off the cell phone, shut down the email, and build a cozy fire in your suite at the Inn. Lose yourself for hours wrapped in a warm blanket, gazing into the fire or into that special someone’s eyes.

Charter a boat for the day or grab your fishing tackle and head to the beach or even the interior of the island for fresh water fishing. Or do your fishing on the pier at the marina (the fish market is right on the docks!)

Friday Harbor people love music, food and culture. There are two terrific theater companies, and the Islanders use any excuse or holiday to have a parade and community picnic! Check with your Concierge prior to your trip to learn about the happenings on the Island.

The Island boasts a 9 hole course that is rated one of the best in the Northwest. Don’t let its some what open landscape fool you. The 19th hole is sure to quench any thirst!

The community of Friday Harbor offers opportunities to continue with your regular routine of yoga, pilates or spinning, or to enrich your life with classes in art, beading and even tide pool exploration. Make your holiday fun and a learning experience as well.

Relax those muscles and especially that brain as you ease into Island time while soaking in the hot tub. A glass of wine, a fantastic sunset, and the world is yours again.

Get away from the routines, the soccer practice, the piano lessons and the minivan for a few days! Bicycle around the island, go to a small town play, stroll along the docks and admire the big boats. Reconnect with your family in a laid back atmosphere.

Well, at least get over that writer ’s block! A long walk on a peaceful beach, a hike in the woods, or maybe standing in a field of lavender will provide just the right stimulus to bring that book out of the computer and into the best seller stands!

Bring your board of directors, planning committee or project team to the Island for an intensive focus on your issues. You won’t have to worry about disruptions, and there are several team building options available. After the meeting, reward their dedication by taking the entire group sea kayaking, whale watching or to one of the local restaurants.

Friday Harbor is the perfect place to escape traffic (not one red light on the island), intrusive neighbors or in-laws (they can ’t just “drop in” when the ferry ride is at least an hour), or whatever is stressing you these days. Take a moment to heal yourself, to indulge in your own recovery and remember, you cannot take care of others unless you take care of yourself first.

No time to catch up and feel like your best friends are slipping away? Round them all up for a girlfriend getaway here in Friday Harbor. Get all the latest on their lives, their loves and their projects while you treat yourself to a large suite at a bed and breakfast, an afternoon at the spa, and a trip around the island courtesy of a tour bus. Renew those lifelong friendships and give them the special treatment they deserve.

Bring your dry suit or rent equipment when you get here, but you do not want to miss some of the best cold water diving in the world – an underwater playground where you will find sea urchins, harbor seals, wolf eels, and ling cod, and maybe even a dahl’s porpoise or two. Spend a lazy summer afternoon exploring walls around the nearby islands.

The view of the turquoise blue water surrounding the forested islands of the San Juan archipelago is not one to be missed! Take an intro course, get your private pilot, instrument, or commercial rating and fulfill a lifelong dream of soaring over paradise.

Your Innkeepers can prepare a sumptuous picnic banquet ready for the back of a moped or bicycle, your back pack, or even the saddlebags for a horse as you explore the Island. Find the perfect spot, put down the blanket down, and watch the wildlife, listen to the birds, and get to know that special someone.

Yearning to add the Pacific Northwest cuisine to your list of cooking skills? Sign up for a class with the author of La Cucinia Anna Maria: Good Life Recipes from San Juan Island and learn her secrets.

Discover parts of the Island even some of the residents haven ’t been as you and your trusty steed wander along green paths on a cool summer afternoon. Be sure to put this on your list no matter when your visit the islands.

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west all over the world, but it just looks more spectacular here on San Juan Island. The colors range from peach to brilliant orange, and the memory of it lasts a lifetime. Great viewing from Friday Harbor, Roche Harbor, Lime Kiln, or South Beach.

Make Friday Harbor your stepping off point as you take a cruise and learn how to sail the big ships that before you have only admired from afar.

Work out the stress and the kinks of city life with a massage, either at a spa or in your room. This is the fast track to settling in for island time and launching a slower pace for your holiday.

The San Juan Islands are actually the tips of underwater mountains, but some parts are a little higher than others – on San Juan Island, try a hike up Mt. Finlayson, Mt. Dallas, Cady Mountain, and Mt. Young – they may not be the Rockies, but the view will make you feel on top of the world.

The San Juan Islands are part of Washington State, after all, and we do love our coffe here. Bring a book or a friend or your dog and relax with a great cup of joe.

The fairgrounds at Friday Harbor offers a chance to try that triple backflip jump thingy you saw your teenage son do the other day. Keep 911 on the speed dial on your cell phone! This is a great place to watch kids practice their aerobatic maneuvers and release a little steam.

Make this a holiday where you give something back to the places you visit – volunteer to help out with wildlife rescue, restore some hiking trails, or help out one of the many non-profit organizations on the Island.

Summertime brings a variety of people to the islands, and a great opportunity to observe the human species in tourist mode. Stroll down to the ferry landing, get an ice cream cone, and sit back on a park bench and watch the world go by.

On weekends in the summer, there are a variety of re-enactments at American and English Camp, remnants of the not-so-well-known Pig War. The San Juan Historical Museum is a good place to start for this tour, and the docents there can outline the perfect places to visit to help you enter the past.

Bluegrass music, flowers, local farmers with fresh produce, potters with their wares, and al the local townspeople milling about doing their weekly shopping – picture perfect!

Take a short drive out towards Roche Harbor to Westcott Bay and visit a working oyster farm. Choose the ones you want, and bring them back to your inn – bon appetite!

During the pig war, the Americans chose a blustery hilltop to place a cannon and defend the land from the British. The cannon is gone, and so is the threat from the British, but the spot makes a fantastic place to fly kites! No utility poles, non-stop brisk winds, and a meadow where you can run forever until that kite is airborne.

Come to the lanes, offer to be a sub for one of the weekly leagues, or reserve a lane and brush up on those strikes and spares!

Let a guide tell you all the stories as you ride along in a pleasant coach, stopping at all the major tourist attractions and photo opportunities on the island. It is reasonably priced and fun to meet the other passengers as well.

Plan your visit in time to be in Friday Harbor for one of many festivals planned for the year: The Lavender Festival, the San Juan County Fair, the San Juan Marathon, Shakespeare Under the Stars, Harvest Festival, Art & Nature Festival, Artists’ Studio Tours, Encampment…whew! There are too many to list!

Okay, now it is your turn. The island means something different to each of us, and there is a chance to discover a hidden spot, a new friend, a fantastic view, or some way to discover a memory to last a lifetime. Make the #50 on this list your own special challenge!