Things to do on San Juan Island!

We had two of our friends birthdays and we decided to whisk them away to San Juan island to celebrate it. We left around 5:00 am to catch 6:30 am ferry to San Juan Island. It’s an hour drive from Seattle to Anacortes from where all the ferries leave to San Juan County. The ferry ride is about 2 hrs and you enjoy the beautiful sunrise and islands on your ride.

Day 1: Exploring San Juans

We got there at around 8:30 am and were starving. Friday harbor is a busy harbor and has a very historic look to it. It has a lot of restaurants and bars, coffee shops, ice cream parlors, grocery stores. We decided to have a nice breakfast at Rocky bays cafe which opens early at 7:00 am and has all day breakfast menu. Definitely, a must go place.

• Cattle Point, It was a surprisingly foggy day and we could barely see anything. However, it was a great location and if you walk on the other side of the beach you see a lighthouse. You see a lot of dead jelly fishes on your way so don’t worry if you see one it will not sting. We sat there basking in the mist and clicking pictures near the lighthouse.

 

• Lime Kiln State Park, This state park is famous for whale watching and you see a lot of kayak tours here. It also has a lighthouse which is at a very picturesque location.

• Pelindaba lavender farm, A small walk around the park and few pictures later we decided to head to Pelindaba lavender farm. This place has everything made from lavender. They grow lavender and manufacture lavender products. It has its own distillery and is open for people viewing. Definitely try lavender ice cream with chocolate chips here.

• For lunch, my recommendation would be Mike’s cafe and wine bar. It’s a vegan delight and heaven. Try their crabby cake tacos and burger. I would also recommend trying their schezwan sizzle with rice noodles yumbit!!!
• We had a Sunset kayak tour booked at 4:45PM and were hoping to see orcas on our kayak tour. Unfortunately we couldn’t see any orcas but the experience of kayaking on san juan waters was amazing. Beautiful turquoise blue water and high currents in the evening. It was definitely an adventure. After our three and a ahlf hour tour we were tired and exhausted. We grabbed some food from haileys and headed to our cabin and decided to eat in and chill.

Day 2: More of San Juans

• Roche Harbor, This is a small private harbor that has water activities, restaurants, coffee shops, games, shoppings center. We grabbed some breakfast at lime kiln cafe.

• San juans vineyard, This is a small vineyard and offers wine tasting for $5 ( 3 Tastings) and if you buy a bottle worth $40 or any merchandise purchase you get a $5 refund on your wine tasting. We tried some really good wines and loved the experience and the location.

• English camp which is now called American camp. You will see office quarters, houses and working quarters of camp laundress

• We then left for Jackson beach and relaxed there till it was time for our ferry which was suppose to leave at 6:30PM. While we waited we decided to grab few drinks at Herb’s tavern, this place has good music a jukebox, pool tables and a band playing on weekends. Definitely recommended.

San juan county is a different world in itself. A small town that offers nothing but exclusive experience in every way. A great getaway to just decompress in its natural beauty.