Do you want to hear something surprising about San Juan Island? A war with Great Britain almost started there - all over a pig. Let’s talk about it!

Welcome to episode 38 of the Ready Set Depart Podcast. We are so glad you’re here!

This week, we’re headed to the top left of the US and talking about San Juan Island in Washington. San Juan Island is an amazing place to take your family if you like biking, hiking, orcas, or adventure. Ready to go? Here’s what you need to know.

San Juan Island

I am being very careful to just say San Juan Island rather than San Juan Islands because while they aren’t two different places, they do mean something different.

San Juan Islands is an archipelago in the Salish Sea, which includes Puget Sound in Western Washington and goes all the way up to the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia, Canada. An archipelago is a group of islands that are formed by some sort of geologic activity like volcanoes - like the Hawaiian Islands - or glaciers - like the San Juan Islands. While there are 170 islands, only four have permanent residents on them and only three are easily visited - Orcas Island, Lopez Island, and San Juan Island.

So, how do you get to San Juan Island?

While there are a couple of ways to get there, since I have a very intense fear of small planes, I’ll mostly be talking about ferries. 

But first, the closest major airport is Seattle International Airport in Seatac, which is just south of Seattle. It is an easy airport to fly into with most of the major airlines having flights there daily. 

Then you can make a choice. Do you rent a car and drive to the ferry terminal in Anacortes or do you take a float plane from Lake Union on Kenmore Air to San Juan.

My choice is always the ferry, but I did want to put that out there. So I’ll leave you on your own to make those reservations with Kenmore Air.

But if you’d like to keep your feet on the group, so to speak, your first step will be to rent a car to drive the, on a good day, 2 hours from the airport to Anacortes, Washington where you’ll pick up the Washington Ferry to San Juan.

And honestly? The ferry ride is part of the experience. 

As you’re planning your trip, I would recommend going to the WSDOT website and making a vehicle reservation for both ends of your trip. Especially in the summer, those ferries fill up fast and you don’t want to spend your precious time waiting in line for a ferry.

For those of you who aren’t from the Pacific Northwest, let me tell you about our ferries. They are big. Like they can handle a couple of semi-trucks plus hundreds of cars big. You’ll wait in a waiting area and then the workers will direct you to the boat. They load in a very specific way so that the weight is distributed evenly. It’s pretty cool really. 

You can either stay in your car or go up to the seating area. There are bathrooms there, usually a place to get snacks, and a wall of brochures that makes me smile every time! I love a good brochure.

The ride from Anacortes to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island takes about 1 hour and 10 minutes. They are pretty good at being on time so be there when it says. Also, pay attention to the schedule. It changes from winter to summer so make sure you’ll looking at the right one!

Let’s talk orca!

I am a big fan of orcas, also called killer whales, but I don’t like that name so I’ll just call them orca. They are the largest dolphin species and the second biggest toothed whale. The big males average about 20-26 feet long with a dorsal fin about 6 feet tall! And the females are between 16-23 feet. They live about the same amount as us with one resident female named Granny being documented to be about 100 years old when she died.

So, here’s the difference between resident whales and transient whales. And it’s kind of a big difference. In fact, the scientific community is discussing making them two totally different species of orcas. 

The Southern Resident Orca pods primarily eat salmon and stay in the area all year. In the winter, they can be found from Monterey, California and north in the Pacific Ocean. There are 3 pods in the Southern Residents - J, K, and L pods. Each is led by an older female and her offspring. Right now there are 74 whales in all three pods so they are critically endangered. The Resident Orca are very vocal and if you are an orca expert, you can tell which pod is nearby just by the sounds they make.

The Transient Orca or Bigg’s Whales eat animals that can hear them like seals, sea lions, and dolphins so they are very quiet. They live in smaller family groups of up to 10. They're slightly bigger than the resident orcas and have different markings behind their dorsal fins.

And here’s the interesting bit that scientists long suspected but now know from DNA - these two types don’t interbreed. In fact, transients turn when they encounter the residents. 

So when you’re near the San Juan Islands, keep your eyes on the sea. If you see a black dorsal fin cut through the water, it’s probably an orca and that’s pretty cool.

Where to stay on San Juan Island?

For an island that is about 15 miles long and 6 miles wide, there are a lot of choices as to where to stay. There are hotels. There’s the world famous Roche Harbor Resort. And there are Airbnbs.

We almost always choose Airbnbs or VBROs when we travel as a family. It’s nice to have the extra space and having a kitchen means you can eat at home and that helps save some money.

As to where on the island to stay, there really isn’t a bad option. The island is small enough that you’re never too far from anything, and honestly, part of the charm is just slowing down a little. Waking up to fog over the trees or seeing deer wandering through a field outside your Airbnb feels very San Juan Island.

There is also plenty of camping on the Island if that’s more your speed.

Ok, now for the fun part. What can you do on San Juan Island?

That entirely depends on what interests you and your family.

You can bike.

Though it is a bit hilly. If you just want to bike, go to Orcas Island which is just north of San Juan.

You can hike. 

We really like the Cattle Point Trail that takes you to the southern most point of the Island. It’s not long - only a half mile - but it is beautiful! On a clear day, you can see the Olympic Peninsula with the Olympic Mountains standing tall!

When you reach the cliff, you can turn left and make your way down to the Cattle Point Lighthouse. Though it’s not a big beautiful lighthouse that you can see other places, the view is spectacular. This only adds about 0.6 miles to the hike.

However, remember a hat. If it’s a sunny day, there is no shade. And if it’s a stormy day, it’s nice to keep the rain off your face.

You can go on a kayak tour.

This is definitely a summer thing! And remember that Pacific Northwest summers don’t typically start until at least the Fourth of July. But on a nice day, there is nothing better than being out on the water. There are a lot of tour operators out of Friday Harbor. And you might just come face to face with one of the resident orca!

You can go beachcombing.

Hey guys! Trooper here. Me and Mom are huge beachcombers so this is always something we like to do when we can. We’ve found a lot of sea glass, especially near Cattle Point Lighthouse, as well as some amazing agates. 

Fourth of July Beach and South Beach have really interesting rocks and the views aren’t too bad either.

Sometimes the hardest part about beachcombing is deciding what to leave behind! 

See you guys next time!

You can swim…if you like cold water.

The water in certain places, especially Granny’s Cove, is calm enough to swim. But the water rarely gets above 56℉. It has to be a pretty hot day for me to dip my toes in the water!

You can go to a cute Farmer’s Market.

This is a summer thing for sure, but the San Juan Island Farmer’s Market is probably the nicest farmer’s market we’ve been to. We went in July and it was full of tons of amazing veggies and food vendors and craft vendors. We thoroughly enjoyed it. 

It happens every Saturday April through October and the first and third Saturday November through March.

You can go to the lavender fields.

In the summer, if you drive towards the middle of the island, you will find lavender fields. And the scent will either draw you in or push you away. (I’m less of a fan but they are beautiful.) Stop on in at one of the little gift shops and you will find everything lavender related, from satchels to soap.

You can go to the Whale Museum.

The Whale Museum is a small but mighty museum in Friday Harbor. It combines education with research and is a great stop. There is a fee so keep that in mind, but it’s a great rainy day activity. Or if you have a whale obsessed family member, they’ll like it too.

Speaking of whales, you can go Whale Watching.

As I said, you can see whales from the ferry but why not take a boat that might just know exactly where to find the orca. 

My mom and I took a whale watching tour out of Anacortes quite a few years ago and it was magical. There was a super pod in this secluded cove and the captain shut off the boat so we could just drift quietly among them. You could hear the whales breathe. And at one point, a huge male orca swam straight toward us before rolling sideways at the last second and disappearing beneath the boat. It’s still one of the coolest wildlife experiences I’ve ever had. 

However, since then, the rules have tightened when it comes to whale watching in the Salish Sea. It makes sense. The resident orca are critically endangered and a lot of scientists are now questioning whether they can survive as a group long term. 

When my mom and I went on our whale watching adventure, the rule was to stay 100 yards away from the pod. And it wasn’t always enforced. If they saw them chasing a whale, they’d probably get a ticket, but not much else.

Now the rule is to stay 1000 yards from the whale and if they break that rule, they are punished pretty severely.

So, unfortunately seeing whales like I saw them all those years ago is probably a thing of the past. But, fortunately there’s another way.

Lime Kiln Point State Park is an amazing place to see orca. 

It’s on a rock outcropping that is 25 feet from a very deep channel where the Chinook Salmon run and the resident orca come close to shore to eat the salmon.

The lighthouse that sits on the shore - very cute, but not very tall - has a hydrophone in the water at all times so you can listen to which pods are nearby. 

It is on the west side of the island. The mountains you see in the distance are Victoria, BC, Canada. {Check out episode 29 to find out how fun a long weekend there is!}

If you’re ever at Lime Kiln and you see someone all bundled up with curly white hair sitting and staring at the ocean, it’s probably me. Come say hi and see how many whales I’ve seen.

You can go to the San Juan National Historical Park.

You may be sitting there saying to yourself, “But Ashley, I was promised wars and pigs and all I’m getting is orca and beachcombing.”

Fair enough. Let’s get into the wars and pigs.

In 1846, the Treaty of Oregon was signed in Washington, DC, establishing the 49th Parallel as the northern border of the US from the Rocky Mountains “to the middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver Island.”

The problem was, there were two channels. One channel, Haro Strait, was on the west of the island group and the other channel, Rosario Strait, was on the east. Both countries wanted the islands so depending on which side you were on decided what they meant by “channel.” 

The Hudson Bay Company claimed San Juan Island for Great Britain and established a sheep farm there. The Americans started moving in because the island is a good place for farming. Neither side liked each other very much.

And then the faithful day came on June 15, 1859 when Lyman Cultar shot and killed a Hudson Bay pig. In response, the British were going to round up the Americans and charge them all with trespassing. The Americans made a plea to the military and Captain George E. Pickett, later of Civil War fame, was sent to help them.

Then in response, three British warships were sent to forcefully remove the Americans. 

The “war” went on all summer with the Americans digging in and the British in their war ships - all the while the officers from both sides would go to church together on Sundays. 

No one was willing to make a move and plunge both countries into a war.

Once President James Buchanan heard about it, he sent General Winfield Scott to broker peace.

They decided on joint military occupation until a decision was made - the English Camp and the American Camp. That lasted 12 years until Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany sided with the Americans and the “channel” officially because Haro Strait. 

But had either side been a little less friendly, it could have started a war over a pig.

Now you can go to the San Juan National Historical Park and visit the English Camp and American Camp. There is a Junior Ranger booklet there and we learned a lot from it. And the ranger we met was probably the friendliest one we’ve ever met. He let Trooper hold a musket from the time and told us the story of the War of the Pig.

And I’ll say, the British chose the right side of the island to camp! The American side is desolate and windswept!

So there you have it. San Juan Island with your family. Not to be confused with San Juan Islands.

If your family loves wildlife, history, ferries, tide pools, or just being outside together, San Juan Island is such a special place.

It feels slower in the best possible way. The kind of place where you watch for whales from the shoreline, wander through little farms and harbors, and somehow end up staying outside longer than you planned.

And honestly, that’s my favorite kind of family trip.

And as always, let’s keep making traveling with your family easier, one trip at a time. See ya next time.