San Juan Islands
Good to know
- Best time to go
- June to September
- Budget
- $$
- Accessibility
- limited
- Coordinates
- Open in maps
The San Juan Islands are an archipelago of 172 named islands in the Salish Sea between the Washington mainland and Vancouver Island, accessible by Washington State Ferry from Anacortes. Orca, or killer whales, are reliably present in the waters around San Juan Island during summer months, drawn by chinook salmon runs, making the area one of the most accessible whale-watching locations in North America. The islands support a distinctive dry maritime climate that produces open forests of Oregon white oak and rocky shorelines favored by harbor seals and bald eagles.
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