San Juan Islands

The San Juan Islands have become, in recent years, a quick and delightful weekend getaway. The group of islands is situated north of Puget Sound, south of the Strait of Georgia, and around Friday Harbor. With very moderate weather, the islands receive less than half the rain Seattle does, and 247 days of sun out of the year! With the ease of ferries and airplanes to connect the islands to the rest of the state, San Juan County has grown in leaps and bounds in recent years. Ferries run routinely between the islands and are connected to the mainland by a ferry terminal located in Anacortes, WA. It is also possible to get to the islands from Sydney, British Columbia.

Originally inhabited by Native Americans, in particular members of the Lummi Nation, the islands were settled by American and British citizens in the 1850's. In 1859, jurisdictional disputes came to a head between the two countries. The story, as told in local legend, starts with a British pig that kept getting into an American settler's potato patch. Lyman Cutlar, the American, continually chased the pig away, but it always came back. One day, fed up with chasing the annoying animal out of his garden, he took his shotgun down off the wall and shot and killed the pig. When British authorities came to arrest him, the American authorities took exception to the arrest. Soon there were British warships challenging the American navy in the waters off the coast of the island. It looked as if war would break out (over a pig!), but thanks to some tricky, last minute diplomacy, war was averted, and the authorities agreed to work together until territory could be assigned. This occurred a few years later through a third party arbitrator.

There are several islands in the San Juan’s. The two main islands are San Juan Island and Orcas Island. San Juan Island is the location of the county seat, employing many people in its operation. Other people find work in the tourism industry or own small businesses. Waters around San Juan Island are also famous - they were one of the locations used to film the "Free Willy" movies. Appropriately, the island has an interesting Whale Museum. Orcas Island is famous, as well, but for different things. It is a larger island than San Juan, but has a smaller population. Many tourists whale watch from this island and visit Mt. Constitution, which offers world famous views of the surrounding area. Smaller islands, which are also popular tourist destinations, are Lopez Island and Shaw Island. However, all of the islands are popular for whale watching, kayaking, many other outdoor sports, and a quick getaway from everyday life.