Know&Go Guide: Friday Harbor, San Juan Islands, Washington, USA
The San Juan Islands are the jewels of the Pacific Northwest or PNW, as the locals call it.
Surrounded by the the Salish Sea, just three of the 172 named islands – Lopez, Orcas and San Juan – are set up for visitors. President Obama designated the islands a National Monument (an area of special and outstanding importance to the country) in 2013, making official what locals had know forever: it’s 405 hectares (1000 acres) of gorgeousness.
The most popular base for a sojourn to the SJIs is Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, the biggest and most populated. Like a modern day Brigadoon, this charming town appears on the horizon in the distance. Having evaded the dreaded urban renewal, most of the beautifully maintained buildings are original – dating from the late 19th/early 20th century. The gorgeous hanging flower baskets, dotted around the downtown, add to the fairy tale appeal.
“This is the kind of place where just wandering aimlessly and getting lost is half the pleasure.”
This sweet town is where the ferry from the mainland arrives and is the gateway to the wonders that the island holds: from lavender fields to alpacas; island-made wine & spirits to 19th century army camps where the most bizarre ‘war’ was waged.
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Excerpt from the book, The USA 50/50 Challenge:
The San Juan Islands were discovered and named by the Spanish explorer Francisco de Eliza in 1791. Their location, directly in between Canada’s Vancouver Island and mainland USA, made them to subject of lengthy border disputes, until it was drawn in between Vancouver Island and San Juan Island. In fact, it’s impossible to tell which island belongs to which country without looking at a map. When I do look, it appears to me that the massive Vancouver Island is a pig snuffling at the truffle-like San Juans.
Which leads nicely into the fact that San Juan Island was the location of the last war fought between Britain and the USA and it all began with a pig. Both countries had laid claim to the island, after the Oregon Treaty of 1846, as they wanted its natural resources and occupied it jointly, much to the consternation of the Northern Straits Coast Salish people who had lived there for at least three thousand years.
In June 1859, an American shot a British pig that had strayed onto his land. There was a disagreement as to what the compensation should be and, bizarrely, it quickly escalated with troops being brought in on both sides. San Juan Island remained under joint military occupation, effectively martial law, for the next twelve years.
As the Civil War happened during this period, the San Juan dispute was forgotten by the higher-ups and everything remained as it was until 1871, when Britain and the USA signed the Treaty of Washington. To finally resolve the standoff, the powers that be (even more bizarrely) appointed Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany to be the arbiter of the ongoing disagreement and his commission took nearly a year to decide in favour of the USA. They declared the international boundary now passed through Haro Strait – in between Vancouver Island and San Juan Island – and both sides withdrew their forces.
So, it was less of a war and more of a standoff that lasted thirteen years, where the only casualty of The Pig War was the pig. -
In busy times/high season you must purchase your ferry ticket in advance from Washington Ferries: passenger only or car with passenger/s.
You also have to get yourself to the gateway port, Anacortes – by car, train, bus or seaplane – and arrive one hour before departure, regardless of mode of transport.
Note: A car is not necessary if you are staying in or around Friday Harbor, so parking is available for a relatively inexpensive fee at the ferry terminal. However, if you have time to see the whole island, bring it along.
Experience
Downtown
This ferry trip takes sixty-five peaceful minutes, passing many uninhabited, pine clad islands before getting to the big three: Orcas, Lopez and San Juan Island.
Arriving via the ferry is a great way to wind down and prepare yourself for the pace here. With 250 days of sunshine a year, it’s a definite departure from Seattle’s usual gloom.
The ferries leave from and return to the port town of Anacortes and there are several ways to get to the port, see the Getting here drop-down above for more details.
I'm not a good sailor and tend to avoid small boat activities. In fact, I had been scheduled to take this exact trip ten years ago, during The USA 50/50 Challenge, and I bailed on them – however, I'm glad I went this time.
The water was calm, we found a family of orcas and I caught a spy hop* with my camera. The experts on board (Olivia and Becca) gave us informative and interesting talks. They told us what to look for (rock sausages, anyone?) and when we found the killer whales they kept us informed of what was going on.
Even if we hadn't seen anything it was still a nice cruise around the islands. I especially liked the fact that the captain kept us at a safe distance and respected the wildlife’s space. After all the whales don't know we're there to look at them and it's not their job to entertain us. It was a good learning experience.
*Where whales and dolphins pop their heads vertically out of the water in order to visually inspect the environment above the water line.
This is the embodiment of the saying “good things come in small packages.”
This fabulous small art gallery/museum has been beautifully designed and curated by Peter Lane, who kindly took me through even though it was closed. The paintings shone from the walls and I stayed much longer than I should have.
It’s worth a good hour of your time to stop and appreciate the artists on display and to purchase the lovely/quirky things in the gift shop.
The people here are passionate about educating humans on these wonderful creatures – the Salish Sea is home to orca, minke and humpback whales – and what can be done to protect them.
However, the museum itself looks like it's from 1992 with very little interactivity and, in this day and age, that's expected. I hope they receive funding to update, as this is the perfect spot to learn about whales and then go out and see them in their natural habitat.
On the plus side, the gift shop was good with a nice range of products.
Further afield
I drove to the centre of the island, looking for this farm, and arrived in the south of France.
Fields of lavender were laid out under blue skies, in flower and smelling divine. They cultivate all their flowers in these organically certified fields and extract the essential oils in their on-site distillery. The wide range of products cover botanical, culinary, personal care, therapeutic, household and pet care.
Created by Stephen Robins – a South African who gave it the Zulu word for ‘place of great gatherings’ – it’s a beautiful oasis of purple and green with a free cutting garden. They do everything from hosting weddings to making lavender ice-cream.
Nestled in the island interior lies this family-run enterprise.
I visited ten years ago when it was Krystal Acres Alpaca Farm – which started after the unexpected win of a charity bid on alpacas at an auction in the early 2000s. It’s now 40 acres of gently sloping sunny pastures covered in an ever growing herd of more than seventy alpacas – fluffy, inquisitive creatures – frolicking the late summer day away or taking shade under the massive, one-hundred-year-old oaks.
At the gift shop you can purchase products – clothing, accessories, yarn and toys – made from their fleece.
It’s a great activity for families and to introduce children to these gently creatures.
Consume
As you leave the ferry, this cafe is directly in front of you and it’s a perfect first stop in Friday Harbor.
Even though I arrived in late summer, it was a cold, drizzly day so I decided on a warming hot chocolate and it hit the spot.
Open daily from 7am-2pm, with seating outside and scrumptious goodies within, you’ll be suitably fortified for strolling around this lovely town.
Word of warning: in all of Washington state – being the home of real coffee stateside – when you order a regular sized espresso-based coffee you will be getting two shots of the good stuff, unlike the rest of the world where one will do! I learned this the hard way and from then on asked for one shot/weak.
I looked all over Friday Harbor for dinner on an end of summer Wednesday evening and found this place.
I ordered a cup of PNW chowder and a basket of fries to take back to my room. The service was quick and friendly. The chowder was good, the fries were excellent!
Open daily from 11:30am-7pm.
Looking like frontier town saloon, this cafe is open daily from 7am-2pm.
The interior has colourfully ‘muralled’ walls, while international flags adorn the ceiling.
The menu is quite extensive, with pages crammed with many and varied breakfast options plus burger, salad and wrap options available for lunch.
It’s a popular spot and the wait time can be impressive, but don’t be in a hurry and you’ll enjoy your meal.
This quirky restaurant was full to bursting with happy diners when I stopped in.
I didn’t stay, as the wait would have been epic, however, it was so popular and serves such delicious looking food (I spied on tables as I walked through) that it deserves a mention here.
The owner/chef is from Amsterdam – thus the destinations signs seen above – and he lovingly creates pizzas, salads and desserts Tuesday-Saturday from 4pm-7.30pm.
Purchase
This is the kind of gift shop you wish was in your neighbourhood!
Operating since 1977 inside an 1890s building and originally called Sand Pebble, it recently rebranded as Pebble.
I walked in and was met with the most fabulous scent which, it turns out, is an amalgam of all the products. I tell you, if they could make a candle out of it, I would buy it in bulk!
I could have happily spent at least two hours just looking at everything – and what they don’t have isn’t worth mentioning – and the shopping would have been epic, but I was travelling carry-on only and I’m still sad that I couldn’t buy what I found.
Open daily 10am-6pm. BTW their online shop has everything the real thing has – without the atmosphere and that scent – so, if you live in the USA, click the link above and shop to your heart’s content!
For those of us who love a good used bookstore, this place is a gold mine.
A fairy tale cottage crammed with over 40,000 titles – with a computerized inventory… that’s nearly unheard of for a used bookstore… it’s a unicorn!
I spent a happy time here ten years ago and I’m thrilled it’s still in operation. Sadly, it wasn’t open when I was visited this time, but I still have my happy memories.
Open 7 days, 10am-4pm.
Groceries, souvenir or picnic fixins’? You’ll find it here.
This family-owned downtown store has been serving the community and visitors since 1929. It’s deceptively large inside and you’re sure to find everything you could possibly want. They even offer free deliveries back to the dock, if you sail over from another island.
Open daily 7.30am-9pm.
Rest
I stayed here on my first/last visit to Friday Harbor ten years ago during The USA 50/50 Challenge and I so enjoyed it that I was thrilled to stay here again.
I’m so happy that they are still here and thriving with their sense of humour, found through the little touches in the hotel, holding strong. It was like coming home. Of course, the hotel has been through a major renovation in the ensuing time and is even more fabulous than it was.
Below is what I wrote about it then in my book:
“My hotel, the Island Inn, was just across the road from the dock and the ferry ride prepared me for their slogan, “ready, set, slow.” This is a place with a sense of fun and my beautifully decorated room, Sweet 1, had huge, harbour-facing windows to watch the floating traffic. The vast bathroom had lush Malin+Goetz toiletries and a temperature-controlled floor. It was stylish, comfortable and considerately furnished with mason jars of their custom muesli and ground coffee plus an actual electric kettle for boiling water – so important for a true tea drinker as it is impossible to boil water for tea in a coffee maker... believe me, I’ve tried and regret it to this day.”Today, check-in is online with texts from the concierge to facilitate your access, and they provide you with everything you need for a comfortable stay (this time in Sweet 2) including the above mentioned goodies.
It was another wonderful stay that has me wanting to return again soon, so I bought a T-shirt with their slogan to remind me.
This guide details all of the things The Packed Bag experienced. Please see San Juans Islands Visitor Bureau for more.