Island Recs
San Juan Island is a summer paradise! We’ll have wedding-related events and activities on the island Friday, August 9 through Sunday, August 11. If you’re looking to otherwise fill your time, see below for recommendations on activities and places to check out!
Island Activities
Whale Watching
Whale watching is one of our absolute favorite activities in the San Juans! There are a few different types of whales that frequent the area (orcas, humpbacks, grays) and you have a very high chance of seeing them! We’d recommend going on a whale watch longer than 3 hours to increase your chances, since the whale watch tour groups have scouts who will let them know where the whales are in the early morning, so a longer tour lets you travel farther to go see them if needed. Here are a few operators we’ve heard good things about:
There are other operators too, so go with the provider that floats your boat!
Kayaking
We set up a 4 hour (2.5 hours on the water) kayak tour with SeaQuest Kayak Tours for our wedding guests (unfortunately we won’t be able to join since we’ll be on a family whale watch) on Friday, August 9th from 10:30 am - 2:30 pm. It’s $147 a person (with taxes and 6% credit card fee) and you can sign up at this link. Make sure you mention you are on the custom tour with Ira’s wedding. Please note: the link says 10:30 - 1:30, but that’s just a system limitation on their end.
If you are interested in a bioluminescent tour or longer 6 hour tour (which they highly recommend) please feel free to sign up for that instead!
Biking
If you’re interested in renting bikes or e-bikes, you can do so from any of the shops listed here. The island is pretty bicycle friendly, just be mindful of cars. There are some moderate hills on the west side, but it’s also very pretty over there. The rental shops will likely sell out so we’d recommend reserving in advance!
Wine Tasting
There’s a nice winery called San Juan Vineyard on the east side of the island, about 5 minutes outside of Friday Harbor. They have a lovely patio to enjoy their wines!
There’s also a wonderful wine bar in Friday Harbor called Madrone Cellars that we like a lot. Both are great options!
Gin Tasting
We absolutely love San Juan Island Distillery, they make some fantastic gins using an apple brandy base and many other local ingredients. They do tastings 1-4 pm on Saturdays and Sundays, however you can text them at 360-472-1532 to see if they’re free another day. If we get more than 5 people who are interested, we can arrange a group tasting on Friday. Let Ira know if you’d like to go gin tasting Friday!
Bird Watching
San Juan Island is a wonderful bird watching destination. We’d recommend the loop at Zylstra Lake Preserve. If you want to borrow some binoculars or birding books, let us know!
Hiking
While the hiking on the island isn’t as grand as the rest of the PNW, there’s some nice trails out there! We really liked Young Hill, anything at American Camp (though we will be there Saturday morning for our pre-wedding run/hike), hiking around Lime Kiln State Park, and Mt. Grant Preserve.
Friday Harbor faves
Drinks
- San Juan Island Brewing
- Madrone Wine & Cider Bar
Coffee
- Little Fox Coffee Shop
- Crows Nest Coffee Shoppe
Bites
- Bakery San Juan (closed on weekends)
- The Market Chef (closed on weekends)
- San Juan Island Sea Salt for fresh-baked cookies
- Oystertale
- Downriggers
Groceries
- Kings Market - legitimately well stocked grocery store
- San Juan Food Co-op
Indoor Activities
- Whale Museum
- The San Juan Islands Museum of Art
The rest of the island
We’ll take the rest of our sightseeing cues from San Juan Island’s Scenic Byway, which circumnavigates most of the island:
From Friday Harbor, head south to American Camp at San Juan Island National Historical Park. This park is huge with forests, beaches, and prairies to explore. You’ll likely spot some bald eagles and red foxes while you’re there!
Next, head west to Lime Kiln Point State Park (aka Whale Watch Park). This is a scenic spot that is supposedly one of the best places to see whales from shore (we have yet to do so, but feeling lucky for 2024)!
Continue north toward Roche Harbor, with options to stop at Krystal Acres Alpaca Farm (for petting cute alpacas), English Camp (a smaller part of San Juan Island National Historical Park, but equally interesting for history of the Pig War), and the Sculpture Park at Westcott Bay (a quirky, artsy spot to stretch your legs just outside of Roche Harbor). Additionally, along this route is Westcott Bay Shellfish Co., a delightful place to spend the afternoon, eating seafood and sipping cold beverages.
place to load up on road trip (or bike ride!) snacks. If you’re there on a Saturday or Sunday and like cider or gin, we also recommend a tasting at San Juan Island Distillery. They also do tastings on Fridays if you just let them know in advance!
If you’re feeling adventurous and want to stretch your legs again, there is also a tiny, adorable county park on the northeastern side of the island called Reuben Tarte County Park. We recommend it as a picnic location and, potentially, whale watching (we saw whales here last time we were on SJI)!
Head back south toward Friday Harbor to conclude your tour of the island. If you need to stock up on libations, we suggest a stop at San Juan Vineyard (also where Aleta’s sister Ara celebrated her engagement over 20 years ago)!