September 2-5, 2026
After flying into Seattle where I met up with my three college roommates, we drove a little over two hours to the coastal town of Anacortes where we boarded the ferry and headed out to the San Juan Islands! (Tip: If you are just walking on to the ferry, you can likely do this spontaneously as the ferries are huge and there was tons of extra space and seats on our ferries even though we were traveling over Labor Day weekend. However, if you are planning to bring your car, then I highly recommend reserving your tickets well in advance.)
The ferry will make several stops at the various islands, but plan on about an hour ferry ride depending on where you are getting off.
We decided to stay on Orcas island.
Our first morning there, we headed to Mount Constitution, located within Moran State Park.
At 2,409 feet, there are some great views!
From there, we drove to the trailhead of Rustic Falls and Cascade Falls.
We made it!
You know what puts me in a good mood? Getting another ✅ in the 1000 Places book so that I can update my travel blog 😉
Then we made our way down to Cascade Lake and walked all around.
After building up an appetite from all that walking, we headed into town and enjoyed a delicious home-cooked meal at Lone Pine Larder.
The following morning, we headed to the Western part of the island to Deer Harbor.
We hopped on a boat and headed out whale watching in search of the famed Orca pods!
Success!
We wrapped up the day with shopping in the fun boutique shops in Eastsound and dinner at Mijitas Mexican Kitchen.
Don't worry, we saved room for dessert! I highly recommend ice cream from Clever Cow Creamery, which offers over a dozen flavors from locally sourced Lopez Island Creamery.
And then we enjoyed one last epic sunset from the balcony of our Air BnB 😍
Verdict: Maybe it was the amazing weather or maybe it was the delightful company of dear friends or maybe it was a combination of all of that in this beautiful, remote location. But it was definitely a winning combo and I give the San Juan Islands two thumbs up 👍👍
I highly recommend! Well played on this one, 1000 Places book!
