Spring Ferry Reservations open on March 6, 2023

Vehicle reservations on the Washington Sate Ferry for spring travel from Anacortes to Friday Harbor for travel between March 26 and June 17 will become available at 7:00 a.m. PT on Monday, March 6.

30% of spaces are released 2 month before your travel date. An additional 30% are released 2 weeks before. 30% are released 48 hours before with 10% being available for stand-by travel each day. Reservations are highly recommended. No reservations are needed for walk-ons and bikes.

With early Spring the rich cultural offerings on the isle reemerge like the wildflowers on the prairie. Experience the renowned Salish Sea Early Music Festival at Brickworks featuring musicians from all over the world. Explore the three new Spring exhibitions at the Island Museum of Art or the hilarious Alfred Hitchcock play at the community theatre. Check out the new restaurants and shops and treat yourself to a rejuvenating anti-aging facial and a signature massage at the adorable Spa at Earthbox.

Witness the first wildflowers and baby foxes make an appearance, have a sunset picnic on the beach, yoga in the moss on top of a mountain, find a pot of gold on the self-guided St Patti’s Day scavenger hunt or go on the first whale watching tour of the season. Early Spring on San Juan Island is a real treat.

Winter Guide to San Juan Island

One of the best kept secrets about San Juan Island is visiting during Winter, when you have the beaches to yourself and it rains only half as much as in Seattle. Here is our guide for your Winter road trip to San Juan Island, complete with insider tips:

Where to Stay

The Earthbox Inn & Spa in Friday Harbor is the only hotel on the island with an indoor heated pool, sauna and hot tub, perfect after a day of hiking or before treating yourself to a soothing massage at their cute day spa. Or check out the historic and super romantic Bird Rock Hotel, just two blocks from the ferry landing, with 15 unique rooms, many featuring two-person jetted tubs, fireplaces and harbor views.

Insider Tip: Take advantage of the amazing Winter Specials these hotels are running.

Where to Eat

For a fancy night out, treat yourself to Downriggers on the waterfront, with its cozy bar and amble seating, reliable service and excellent Pacific Northwest fare. Don’t miss uncomplicated lunch or dinner at San Juan Brewery. Catch some live music and delight in their well-made ales and beers. If you are coming for a special occasion, check out the charming farm-to-table COHO Restaurant, open on all holidays, often featuring themed dinners and wine pairings.

Insider Tip: Take a cooking class at COHO (food and fun included) and learn to make a three course local, seasonal feast from the very best.

Galleries & Museums

Friday Harbor has three acclaimed museums and seven galleries and you can walk to all of them. Start at the Whale Museum, a remarkable natural history museum of our Resident Orca killer whales. Take in the charming Museum of Art, displaying local and regional art. Meander through the grounds of the open-air Historical Museum a few blocks away and see such gems as the first county jail.

Insider Tip: Support the Whale Museum by getting your souvenirs from their absolutely adorable gift shop.

Wildlife & Birding

The waters around San Juan Island are not only on the whale migration superhighway, but also on the Pacific migratory bird flyway, making Winter wildlife watching on the isle absolutely fabulous. Explore San Juan Island’s south around Cattle Point Lighthouse for some unforgettable birding. Head to Lime Kiln State Park, one of the best places to see Orcas from land in the country.

Insider Tip: Next to the Lime Kiln Lighthouse find an interpretive display with a button. Press that button and hear live what’s going on under the water in front of you.

Best Beaches

Jackson Beach is just a mile from Friday Harbor. This pretty driftwood and pebble stone beach features a shelter, barbeques, picnic benches and a bathroom. On a stormy day treat yourself to wild South Beach, the isle’s longest beach. Watch otters, foxes, sea lions, eagles and maybe even a family of Orcas while not seeing another human soul for miles.

Insider Tip: If it’s just too windy on South Beach, cross the road and hop on over to 4th of July Beach, which is sheltered by forest and calm even on a stormy day.

Must-do-Hikes

Find the Mt Young trailhead at English Camp National Historical Park. It’s a steep mile and a half to the top with unforgettable views. At Lime Kiln Sate Park go north along the cliffs and come to a rebuilt lime kiln, go further and enter a strange land of lime quarries in the deep woods. On South Beach go north, explore the prairie and its wildlife and find secret beaches.

Insider Tip: Treat yourself to a lovely seafood lunch at the Westcott Bay Shellfish Farm near English Camp

7 Not-to-Miss Things to Explore on your Romantic San Juan Island Getaway

Spoil your Sweetie with a romantic getaway to gorgeous San Juan Island this February. It’s so easy and fun. Love is in the air at the cute coastal town of Friday Harbor with its amble shops, galleries and restaurants. Treat yourself to a love-themed 6-course dinner at the utterly romantic Farm-to-Table restaurant COHO, a few blocks from our hotel. Find a beach for just the two of you at the vast and stunning American Camp National Park. Go birding, have a picnic at the whale watching park and renew your commitment to each other in paradise. Find 7 Not-to-Miss Things to Explore on your Romantic San Juan Island Getaway here.

San Juan Island for the Holidays

November 2022

Nothing is more peaceful and fun than a zero-stress San Juan Island getaway for the Holidays. Go beachcombing, light house-hopping and wildlife watching on the isle’s serene beaches and prairies, before treating yourself to an array of heartwarming, small town holiday events. Find gifts for everyone on your list in the delightfully walkable Friday Harbor, twinkling with Holiday lights, and bring back what the season is really about.

Where to stay for the Holidays

The Earthbox Inn & Spa, 3 ½ blocks from the ferry dock, not only has an adorable day spa, indoor heated pool with sauna, hot tub and exercise room and the cutest gift shop, they also offer amazing Holiday Specials.

Insider Tip: Reserve a Sea Place by the pool; a roomy studio with full kitchen, sky-light, two comfy queen beds, sofa and dining room table.

Where to Dine

Downriggers

Treat yourself to authentic Pacific Northwest cuisine and fresh seafood at Downriggers on the waterfront. Downriggers is usually open from 11:00am to 9:00pm, except on: Thanksgiving 1:00pm to 7:00pm, Christmas Eve until 8:00pm, closed on Christmas Day, open on New Year’s Eve and Day.

Insider Tip: Start your feast with fresh, local Vodka Oyster Shooters and leave room for S’Mores Pot de Crème.

COHO

This quaint farm-to-table restaurant in downtown Friday Harbor is open on all holidays for delicious, themed, multi-course dinners. Reservations are a must.

Insider Tip: Start your experience with a Gin Cocktail and pair your dessert with an Apple Brandy from the local San Juan Distillery

Duck Soup

With its lodge feel and stone fireplace, Duck Soup, located in the woods by a lake, has been serving local, organic, seasonal and foraged fare long before “farm-to-table” was even a term. Open Friday to Sunday 5:00pm to 9:00pm. Their last day of the season is December 18, 2022. Don’t miss this total treat.

Insider Tip: Consider the Duck Leg Confit or the Lamb Rack as your entrees.

Holiday Markets in Friday Harbor and on San Juan Island

Island Artisan Holiday Market  - November 25 & 26, 2022, at the Fairgrounds

This juried show and sale of our talented San Juan County artists wares is the place to find breathtakingly stunning, island-made jewelry, pottery, carvings, paintings and more. 10% of everything you spend will go directly to the Island Artists art scholarship program.

Holiday Art Making Bazaar – December 10, 2022, at the Alchemy Art Center

Visit the magical Alchemy Art Center in the heart of San Juan Island, browse local pottery, fabric prints and photography for sale in their fantastic geodesic dome and make holiday art at their studio with the entire family.

Old Fashioned Holiday Market – December 9-11, 2022, at Brickworks

Enjoy the indoor-outdoor holiday crafts market, island food vendors, local farm products, live music, and local libations in downtown Friday Harbor. Free activities for kids and grownups alike including hay and horse rides, kids crafts, marshmallows by the fire, and a visit from Santa, wohoo!

Enjoy the Beautiful Journey to San Juan Island

On the way to your island getaway this Fall, treat yourself to a sunset ferry ride to Friday Harbor. There is nothing like it to start your vacation. As of October 1, 2022 youth under 18 rides free on the Washington State Ferries.

San Juan Island in the Fall

The leaves are falling and the humpbacks are returning, while San Juan Island, tucked inside the Olympic rain shadow, shines in the Autumn sun. Find yourself alone with the sea lions and Bald Eagles on a stunning beach hike before treating yourself to a luscious, seasonal farm-to-table dinner at one of the cute Friday Harbor restaurants. Bike the highest mountain and hike the longest beach without another human soul in sight. Celebrate the long lazy days of Autumn on the isle with the authentic Oktoberfest at San Juan Brewing on October 1, 2022. Or treat yourself to the first in-person Friday Harbor Film Festival since 2019 on October 21-23, 2022 and see the newest environmental documentaries all over walkable Friday Harbor. Don’t miss the free Fall Family Art Days every Saturday at the San Juan Museum of Art and know that, starting October 1, youth under 18 years ride free on the Washington State Ferries. Find Everything you need to Know about travelling to San Juan Island in the Fall here.

Accessible San Juan Island

The San Juan Islands are former mountain tops created by glaciers. They left behind some mighty hills and stunning vistas for us to enjoy. Many of those, including San Juan Island’s highest publicly accessible mountain and its longest, most gorgeous beach are accessible by wheelchair. Explore museums and parks, street fairs, live music and all the Summer fun the isle has to offer. Check out more wheelchair accessible ideas in this lovely article San Juan Island on Wheels.

Friday Harbor & San Juan Island without a Car

This summer save some gasoline, don’t worry about parking and ferry reservations, and leave your car on the mainland for your San Juan Island getaway. Explore Friday Harbor, its cute restaurants, boutiques and galleries on foot. Hop on the open-air Jolley Trolley to see all of the sites or explore the isle in style in an electric Fun Utility Vehicle. Because this is your time to truly relax.

Check out this article by our friends from the Bird Rock Hotel San Juan Island and Friday Harbor without a Car for more tips on traveling San Juan Island sans auto.

Best Spots to Explore San Juan Island’s Rich History

From the two National Historical Parks remembering the last war fought on American soil to the sites of traditional hunting and fishing camps of the Coast Salish people from thousands of years ago, San Juan Island has the most fascinating past.

Start by exploring the former fishing village of Friday Harbor and its many historic buildings. Don’t miss the Exaggeration Postcards, a new outdoor exhibit in Sunshine Alley, depicting this art form popular between 1900 and 1940. But there is more, so much more. Find the best spots to explore the isle’s turbulent past in this article History Lives Here on San Juan Island.

Cool New Things to Check Out this Spring in Friday Harbor and on San Juan Island

One of the joys of visiting Friday Harbor and San Juan Island in Spring is checking out what’s new each year and what fun places and cool adventures our artistic and creative San Juan Islanders dreamt up and realized. Let us share our absolute favorites with you:

 Lunch at the Net Shed

Once a rustic, cozy wedding venue at the beautiful Westcott Bay Shellfish Farm, the Net Shed reimagined itself as a lunch destination with amble outdoor seating by the bay and a menu to die for. Choose oysters baked to perfection or freshly chucked on a bed of rock salt, clam or mussel bowls, local bread and cheeses, all paired with the most sumptuous local wine and beer. A total treat.

Insider Tip: Reserve a table outside, with view of the farm.

 Open Mic at Everelse

This tasting lounge and natural wine bar with the most beautiful outdoor wine garden is right in the heart of Friday Harbor. Don’t miss the Sunday open mics, food pop-up and live music events and treat yourself to the best local wines and a yummy charcuterie plate.

Insider Tip: Visit for Happy Hour from 3:00pm-6:00pm.

Electric FUV’s at Susie’s Mopeds

Susie’s offers new, so very cool, electric Fun Utility Vehicles to rent this Summer. Perfect for leaving your car on the mainland and keeping the island air clean. Those puppies have seat warmers, handwarmers and can go 70 miles on one charge, which is plenty for our little isle.

Insider Tip: Make your reservation before you arrive.

A Picnic from Picknick

This cute wine bar by the waterfront offers exceptional picnic baskets for all occasions and tastes with an emphasis on simple, fresh fare. Picnics come with compostable plates and silverware. Have a flight of wine while waiting for your graze box from land or sea, then head to a guided whale watching tour or the beach for sunset.

Insider Tip: The entire shop has a 20% off sale through May 22, 2022.