After our fun day in Victoria, we took a ferry from Sidney, B.C, to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. Friday Harbor is such a cute town that I can’t wait to visit again! We checked in to our hotel and headed out to dinner at The Bluff. My only request was to eat at somewhere with a view, and man did we find the perfect place! The food was incredible, and it was the perfect end to the day to sit and watch the sun set over the water.
The next day we set out to explore the island. Here are the highlights!
Lime Kiln Point State Park, a.k.a. Whale Watch Park
We’d heard that this was a great place to see whales, so we spent quite a bit of time hanging out here, hoping to see them! Unfortunately we didn’t spot any this time, but I can’t complain about this view!
The park is also home to a beautiful lighthouse that was built in 1919.
J and his dad had a great time checking out the tide pools along the shore,
and we were even lucky enough to get to see a bald eagle soaring overhead!
Pelindaba Lavender Farm
Our next stop was at Pelindaba Lavender Farm, and we arrived just a day after their big lavender festival. Their fields were gorgeous, and we loved walking through some of them. They have a wonderful shop and exhibits showing the many benefits and uses of lavender.
San Juan Island National Historical Park – American Camp
Next we headed to the southern part of the island, to part of San Juan Island National Historical Park. We stopped for a few minutes at the South Beach trail and then headed up to Cattle Point Lighthouse.
Roche Harbor
Our final stop on the island was at Roche Harbor, which is a little resort area. We only had a few minutes to explore here before needing to head back to Friday Harbor to catch the ferry home, but it definitely seemed like a fun place to come back to someday!
We took the ferry back to Anacortes and got some incredible views of Mt. Baker on the way.
San Juan Island is just one island in the group of San Juan Islands (confusing naming, I know!). Other islands in the area include Orcas, Shaw, Blakely, and Decatur. I absolutely loved our time on San Juan Island and can’t wait to come back and explore some of the others.
Have you visited San Juan Island or any of the other islands? I’d love to hear your suggestions on which to visit next and what to do! The islands make a great weekend getaway and I’m anxious to get back.
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